Chicago Bears: Things are getting a little tense in training camp

Things are heating up in training camp for the Chicago Bears highlighting the need for the season to start soon.

Training camp started three weeks ago for the Chicago Bears, and it’s becoming blatantly obvious that it needs to come to a merciful end. For starters, there is all of this chatter about Mitchell Trubisky and the overanalysis of every throw he makes. It has grown tiresome to hear and read, especially when Jimmy Garoppolo and Aaron Rodgers throw multiple picks in practice without so much of a peep out of these same national media pundits.

But now it seems the team is growing tired of locking horns against each other in practice every day — which is entirely understandable. Look, I will be the first to admit that the preseason is too long. If you asked the players, most of them would likely say without hesitation, that they do not need four preseason games to be ready for the season. The length of the preseason is most likely driven by — you guessed it — revenue. More games equal more revenue. It’s as simple as that.

Regardless of the reason, the fact remains that with the length of the preseason being what it is,  tensions are likely to boil over at some point. You saw it in Green Bay Packers camp when head coach Matt LaFleur kicked Josh Jones out of practice. You even saw it when things got testy between the Oakland Raiders and Los Angeles Rams during their joint practice, or even when Courtland Sutton and Emmanuel Sanders fought at Denver Broncos camp.

You’ve also been seeing it in Bears camp. First, there was a light kerfuffle between Kyle Long and Akiem Hicks. Two days later, things escalated when Javon Wims and Prince Amukamara were involved in what Matt Nagy later described as a “pillow fight,” though Wims through punches.

Unfortunately, things crescendoed Wednesday night during the Bears surprise simulated game. Once again Long was involved, though this time he apparently removed the helmet of undrafted rookie defensive lineman Jalen Dalton and swung it at him. Long was immediately excused from practice, and Nagy said he would handle it internally.

However, it was also clear Nagy was extremely upset with what transpired. He stated:

"“We’re more mature than that. I know that I personally expect more from us.”"

He went on to add:

"“I think at some point in time, we’ve got to prove that we’re a mature team. We are — I’ve been saying it to you guys for a long time, we have a bunch of high-character people. That starts with us as coaches, making sure we lead these guys the right way. And we also make sure that, you know, they understand that that can’t happen. It just can’t happen. It’s not going to happen.”"

Nagy has been preaching doing the “little things” to his players, inspired by the book “Legacy” by James Kerr which outlines principles of leadership, to include being mindful of the things that may seem trivial but set the tone for how you approach the bigger things.

Well, repeated skirmishes in camp, with players losing their cool is not consistent with that message. And it’s not just bad that players are fighting each other, and could get injured. It’s also about exerting self-discipline. If you don’t show enough restraint in practice to not fight your own teammate, how can you be expected to show restraint and avoid a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty when it counts. That is at the heart of Nagy’s message. Pay attention to the little things and it will carry over to the things that really matter.

Maybe these players just need someone else to hit besides themselves, or maybe they’re just hitting the dog days of August and are tired of camp. Whatever the reason, it needs to get resolved quickly. You can discount a one-off skirmish, but three in the last week for the Bears is not a trend they want to be a part of.