LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Bears have already put in a lot of work this summer. They reported to training camp a week early because of the Hall of Fame game. That game meant they had to participate in four preseason games instead of the typical three. The team finally started to turn the page towards Week 1 preparations on Wednesday with their first practice as a 53-man roster, but it’s still just August 28.
“Feels like 10 weeks since we’ve been here at camp,” said linebacker T.J. Edwards.
Many players have made it clear that they’re feeling the grind of the summer. They’re ready for the regular season and real football. Problem is, the regular season and real football don’t come for another 10 days.
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The key for the team to bridge that gap will be to try to stay sharp, while also getting in some R&R to get their bodies and minds in tip-top shape. That will start with a brief break for the players over the weekend.
“That’s gonna be golf for me,” said Edwards. “I’m gonna get out there and hang out and go shoot like 120 or something. I’ll have a good time doing it.”
The team can’t lose focus, however. The end of training camp feels like a finish line, but of course they’re really just pulling into the starting blocks.
Head coach Matt Eberflus said the team took care to make sure their schedule helped the players make that transition from summer program to regular season preparations.
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“The strength and conditioning performance has been a big part of that over these last few days while these cuts have been being made,” Eberflus said. “We’ve done a really good job with that. With the mental side of it, also getting the walkthroughs. (Wednesday) is a big part of it and (Thursday) as well. You just have to stay sharp, you know, your conditioning, staying healthy, and staying sharp mentally.”
This isn’t the only time the Bears will need to reset, recuperate and refocus. Like training camp, the regular season is a grind. This team has postseason aspirations, and if they qualify for the playoffs, obviously they’ll extend that grind. It may sound silly, but it’s something this team hasn’t done since 2020. There are plenty of players on the roster who have never gone through several weeks of January football. For the rookies, a playoff run could mean practically non-stop ball for 17 months. From the beginning of last college season, through the Combine and the draft, mincamps, OTAs and training camp, then this regular season, the first-year players will have only had some time to rest in June.
“The rookie wall is so real,” said Cole Kmet. “It happens to, I think, everybody at a certain point, whether someone wants to admit it or not. You just don’t really know when that will hit.”
Kmet said it’s possible to break through that rookie wall, but the wall does hit hard. He hit his after the team’s Week 16 game in Jacksonville.
“I went home and I was like, ‘Holy s–t. We’ve still got three more weeks left. This is crazy.’”
Kmet said the key for rookies is to lean on the veterans in the locker room for advice and push through, however way they can. Kmet also tries to break up the season into different parts. He sees now through the team’s Week 6 game in London as the first big part.
“Just kind of come in ready to go when we get back for Week 1 and understanding that whatever it is, seven or eight weeks until we get that bye week, that’s kind of that first chunk and that first section you’ve got to worry about. Then you kind of take a little reset from there and worry about the next block.”
The Bears finally play the Titans at Soldier Field in Week 1 on Sept. 8.