The Chicago Bears are conducting a pair of joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts ahead of their preseason game Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
It was an eventful first practice on Wednesday, where there were plenty of standout performances and even a small scuffle that featured Bears rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson after a delivering a big hit during a special teams drill.
“It’s like real NFL football stuff here,” said tight end Cole Kmet, via ChicagoBears.com. “It’s just a lot of fun to be able to come out here and practice against another team. Things get a little chippy, a little chirpy at times. We all like that. It’s fun and we enjoy that. We’ll definitely take full advantage of this week.”
Joint practices serve as an extension of the preseason game, where the coaching staff will get a better evaluation as they look to narrow the roster down to 53 players in two weeks.
But for the players, it also provides a new challenge as they face an opponent that they haven’t spent a couple of weeks getting to know inside and out.
“It gives our guys a fresh look,” said defensive coordinator Alan Williams. “We get the same look since OTAs, so you kind of get used to how this guy blocks the routes they run, the call. Now you have to be able to look out here, see what the formation is, get lined up, ready your keys.
“It’s good to see, ‘Can guys make that transition from what they’ve been doing from OTAs until now and then see a different team, different plays, that type of thing?’ So you really get a pretty good idea of, ‘Can a guy make that transition from week to week?’ That’s a big deal.”
Kmet is excited to go against a new opponent and test some things out on offense.
“We kind of get used to the guys we’ve been going against now for all of OTAs, all of camp,” he said. “You get to go against a new squad here and get to kind of test out some skills and work on some things. It’s always good to be able to do these type of things.”
Joint practices also provide an opportunity for a change of scenery and team building.
“Things get a little dull once you get two, almost three weeks into camp and you’re doing the same thing over and over again,” Kmet said. “Schedule change is nice. I had fun coming out at night. Little change of schedule – kind of treat it like a night game almost. Kind of rejuvenates you a little bit. Looking forward to tomorrow, and it’s just good team building time too. We spend a lot of time in the hotel together and going out and getting something to eat, all those things. It’s just good team building. It kind of just gives you some juice back into camp.”
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