I keep hearing how the Bears need two weeks of practice to prepare for the Hall of Fame exhibition game against the St. Louis Rams on Aug. 7. While that may be ideal, and while participating teams are allowed to open training camp early in order to have two weeks to prepare, that’s not always the case.
The Tennessee Titans opted to delay the start of their training camp in 2009 despite playing in the Hall of Fame game. That year, Jeff Fisher’s team reported to camp on July 31st. Tennessee defeated the Bills, 21-18, on Aug. 9.
The Bears are scheduled to report to training camp at Olivet Nazarene on July 22nd. While players and owners must find common ground on a new collective bargaining agreement soon for that to happen, its likely the game would not be postponed even if the Bears didn’t report to Bourbonnais until at or around Aug. 1.
For that reason, many Bears veterans are no-doubt hoping negotiations and the start of the new league year drag into the first week of August, because playing a fifth exhibition game is not high on their list of priorities.
