Bears training-camp report: Observations, analysis from the eighth practice

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Bears soach Matt Nagy signs autographs after training camp in Bourbonnais, Thursday morning, July 26, 2018. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

BOURBONNAIS — The Sun-Times’ Patrick Finley breaks down the Bears’ eighth practice:

Fight!

Who ya got in a fight between two of the Bears’ three highest-paid players, Kyle Long and Akiem Hicks?

“I say draw,” coach Matt Nagy joked.

The two scrapped briefly Saturday after Long blocked Hicks on a Jordan Howard run during a live drill. Long’s helmet came off. He played to the crowd but gave Hicks a friendly tap when the dust settled.

“You put yourself in their body,” Nagy said. “How many times do you lose? Not often, right? So when they’re going, somebody usually loses, so there’s a little bit of an ego thing between either one of them, which is natural. But let’s be smart.”

Air Nagy

An old quarterback, Nagy threw some passes — and vowed to again.

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“Before camp’s done, I’m getting in some one-on-one drills, and I’m going to chew our DBs up a little bit,” he said. “The guys love it, and I’ve just got to let them know that I can still throw it a little bit.”

Other observations

After Mitch Trubisky threw interceptions to Nick Kwiatkoski, Prince Amukamara and Cre’Von LeBlanc, Nagy reiterated that he wasn’t concerned: “I love the fact that he’s trying to learn this offense and make throws. I’d rather him do that than take the five-yard check-down.’’

• NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth watched practice and met with Nagy to prepare for the Hall of Fame Game broadcast Thursday.

• The Bears had their largest camp crowd this year: 6,681.

Up next

The Bears are off Sunday and back at practice Monday at 8:15 a.m.

Want your Bears training camp update without delay? Each day of summer practice, Sun-Times Bears’ beat writers Patrick Finley, Adam Jahns and Mark Potash will share exclusive insights on the workout and interviews in a livestream conversation 1 p.m. daily through August 12. Catch their live analysis and ask questions on Twitter: @suntimes_sports or follow Sun-Times Sports on Periscope to be notified of each live report. 

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