Matt Berflus' take on potential training camp joint practice
Bears writer Adam Hoge had an interview with Bears Head Coach earlier today.
He reported that Eberflus would like to have joint practices with another team, but that will depend on the preseason schedule, which isn't finalized yet.
First of all, joint practices have become more and more popular in the past few seasons. In almost every case, two teams will practice together ahead of preseason games because it does not cause extra travel. The teams are already travelling for the game so they just fly out a couple of days earlier in order to advance those practice
While joint practices have grown in popularity over the years, they aren't mandatory for teams. A total of 23 teams have partaken in at least one series of joint practices last season, and seven of them have had have joint practices with two different teams.
There are so many great reasons to have those practices against other teams. First of all, having an exhibition scrimmage against another team makes the offseason more exciting for the players, coaches and any fans in attendance. Also, it can help both your offense and defense because they can see different schemes, play calls and players. If you don't practice against others teams, you play versus the same guys every single day.
It can also help the rookies take the pressure off a little from the actual games because the environment is much more intense than normal practice. Finally, it can help create better team chemistry because for once, all of the Bears will be rooting for other Bears players.
However, the flip side is that you can see more violence and sometimes even fights. This can be good because players can build an even bigger bond together but it can also lead to injuries...
Take a look at some of the biggest fights that occurred in training camp in the past few years. Most of them came from joint practices:
