There really isn’t much that is new in the NFL, what was old becomes fashionable from time-to-time. It appears the old habit of joint practices leading up to a preseason game are back in fashion, at least for the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots.
According to an ESPN.com report, the two teams will hold a pair of joint practices on Aug. 15-16 leading up to their Aug. 18 preseason matchup at Gillette Stadium.
It will be an interesting mix of players and organizations, especially after the two got together in the offseason to bring Martellus Bennett to the Patriots in exchange for a swap of draft picks. With Bennett in a contract year and unlikely to resign with the Bears long-term, the move made complete sense on both sides.
However, on the field is a whole different matter and joint practices certainly will up the heat a bit in the already scorching month of August.
This announcement also brings back one of the oldest traditions in the NFL, as teams used to hold joint practices together all the time in training camp. None may be more famous and infamous than the old days of the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders getting together in Oxnard, CA. back in the day.
You know, the ones that usually ended in brawls like this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfM6Qv8gXlk
There were also the old days of the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs getting together, however with Mike McCarthy in charge of the team those days are done and dusted.
The real question is if in the day-and-age of “player safety” these practices will become more rare or more frequent? Given the emphasis on less hitting and fewer hours on the practice field, it appears we could be in for the final days of these events happening.
[ESPN]
