‘We should practice like that every day’ — Bears training camp finally gets chippy as multiple fights break out during intense session
You love to see it.
The first 11 days of training camp for the Chicago Bears have been filled with live battles between the offense and defense and everyone knew eventually the pot was going to boil over.
Finally during Tuesday’s practice, tempers reached an all-time high this offseason with multiple fights breaking out during an intense practice session.
While speaking with reporters before taking the field, head coach Ben Johnson noted today’s session would be a “good, physical” day and it certainly lived up to it.
“This is a big one for us,” Johnson explained. “Changing it from morning practice to noon. It will be a little hotter out there. Really expecting big things here from our guys.”
The focus of Tuesday’s session was to work on a lot of short-yardage and goal-line situations. Right out of the jump, the offense reportedly looked strong with running back Roschon Johnson pounding some tough carries into the endzone, which is when things started getting heated between players.
The first big skirmish involved wide receiver Rome Odunze getting his helmet pulled off, leading to a scrum of players getting into it. Not long after, Johnson got into it with safety Jonathan Owens after throwing the ball at him and eventually bringing him to the ground after a play.
A short while later, second-year defensive end Austin Booker and left tackle Braxton Jones got “tangled up” as well until defensive tackle Gervon Dexter pushed Jones on the ground.
This kind of physically intense session is exactly what this team needed and the best part is everyone came together and made up as a team at the end of practice.
“I feel like we should practice like that every day,” cornerback Tyrique Stevenson said while speaking with reporters after practice. “That’s the message the team shot to us. The coaching staff and everybody, that’s what we need to see out there everyday to be a championship defense and a championship offense.”
Not only was this needed for the players to get some steam off their chests, it couldn’t have come at a better time.
On Wednesday, the Bears will have a scheduled off day for the players followed by another team session on Thursday. Then on Friday, the Miami Dolphins will arrive to Chicago for a joint practice. After today, it’s clear this team is ready to get physical and go up against another opponent for once.
