Matt Eberflus Reveals Why Joint Practices Will Be Crucial For Bears

Matt Eberflus has been around the NFL for a long time. He knows the benefits and pitfalls of everything you can do in preparation for a season. One thing he’d wanted to do last season but couldn’t was holding joint practices with another team during training camp. The Chicago Bears’ schedule in August didn’t line up with such a possibility. Eberflus made things work, but he was going to make sure things would be different this year. After some discussions, he got his wish when the Bears agreed to practices with the Indianapolis Colts ahead of their week two meeting in the preseason.

This isn’t a huge surprise. Eberflus has connections to Indy from his time coaching there. GM Ryan Poles is also friends with Colts GM Chris Ballard. It was likely a smooth and easy discussion. Some people don’t quite understand what is so beneficial about joint practices. So the Bears’ head coach explained in his latest presser.

“It’s exciting to be able to do that. We’ve done them in the past. There’s a lot of good work during those crossovers. The 1-on-1s are really cool to do, the pass rushes and the covers and all those things, the DBs versus the receivers. You get to go against a different skillset, which is really neat because you get to adjust your skillset to them, your technique. It’s going to be fun to be able to see that and evaluate that.”

The true benefit is getting to evaluate players on an individual basis when they go against different guys from another roster. Gervon Dexter vs. Quentin Nelson. Tyrique Stevenson vs. Michael Pittman. Darnell Wright vs. Samson Ebukam. Those are only a few examples of the evaluating potential Eberflus and Poles will have.

Matt Eberflus will have one added benefit.

Those practices will also give him an in-depth look at potential players the Bears can add to their roster when Indianapolis starts cutting guys before the season. Don’t forget this team holds the #1 spot in the waiver wire priority list. That means they can claim any player cut by another team they want. It’s something the Bears have taken advantage of in the past. That is how they ended up with cornerback Cre’Von Leblanc six years ago after joint practices with the New England Patriots. He ended up being a solid contributor that year.

If nothing else, those two days will help Matt Eberflus get a proper gauge of which players should be starters, who should be backups, and who likely shouldn’t be on the roster at all. The Colts still have a talented roster of their own despite the struggles last season. It will be great to see who steps up for the Bears when the competition really gets going. Don’t be surprised if there are reports of fights. They tend to happen when so much testosterone is gathered in one place.