Bears and Dolphins Get Different Looks
The Bears not only will host fans at their training camp this year but will also host another team.
According to a team source, the Bears plan to host the Miami Dolphins for practices Aug. 11 and 12 at Halas Hall prior to the first preseason game on Saturday, Aug. 14.
For the Dolphins, it will be the first of two practice sessions with other teams. According to Alain Poupart with AllDolphins, Miami has Atlanta coming in for practices Aug. 18 and 19 prior to their Aug. 21 preseason game.
They had scheduled a practice session like this last year at Denver prior to a preseason game with the Broncos but the pandemic wiped out both the practice and the preseason game.
This is the first time the Bears have brought another team to Halas Hall for practices and the second time the Bears did this since Matt Nagy became coach. In 2018 they had practices in Denver against the Broncos.
There are several reasons teams like doing this but there are also drawbacks.
It lets teams look at how they stack up against some other competition besides seeing their own guys on the field every day.
It also allows them to face different schemes on offense and defense.
The Bears will be conducting competition at the slot and left cornerback positions and facing Miami receivers Will Fuller, Jaylen Waddle and DeVante Parker will be a nice change for young defensive backs Kindle Vildor, Duke Shelley and Thomas Graham Jr., after seeing the same receivers and offense every day. It should give the Bears more to go on when they decide starting or roster spots.
There is a major drawback to this, of course.
It can get more physical going against a different opponent to the point where fights occur.
In 2016 the Bears held practices in New England against the Patriots and it was marred by a brawl. Former Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery and Patriots defensive back Malcolm Butler were involved in unpleasantries and later Patriots center Bryan Stork took on former Bears linebacker John Timu. Several reports said Timu was head-butted by Stork, who had once been ejected from a Patriots offseason practice for fighting.
In the previous year, they practiced with the Colts but didn't have this problem.
The Bears haven't yet announced their camp schedule or how fans can go about acquiring tickets to the practices.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
