The Chicago Bears are getting ready for their third preseason game coming Saturday, August 18th. To prepare they’ve decided to engage in a regular NFL custom. That is to hold joint practices with the team they’re getting ready to face in the Denver Broncos. This is something they’ve done before. In 2016 they traveled to New England to practice against the Patriots.
There are plenty of benefits to such a decision. Most notably is getting a chance to practice against a different team with different players, schemes, and tendencies. It offers your team something new, something fresh. The idea is to sharpen their eyes and senses for the regular season that’s to come.
One could say it didn’t do the Bears any favors two years ago. While they played well in the preseason game against New England, they still finished 3-13. Though in fairness injuries had more to do with that than anything else. Practicing against the Broncos won’t guarantee the Bears win in 2018, but there is one hidden benefit people can’t overlook.
Chicago Bears joint practices gives Ryan Pace a close-up of Broncos roster
One man who must be tickled at the chance to view these practices is Bears GM Ryan Pace. Why? It’s a rare opportunity to get an up-close picture of what another team’s roster looks like in action. Not so much for identifying an opponent, but more for scouting purposes. Don’t forget that the Broncos will have to cut down their roster from 90 players to 53 by the end of this month.
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That includes a number of names they might try to sneak onto their practice squad as potential high-upside projects. Being able to attend practices and watch will allow Pace a chance to possibly view some players he might see fitting on the Bears roster. So in the event Denver did cut somebody he likes loose, he’d have inside knowledge of what they could do.
In case people forgot, this is something he’s done before.
Two years ago Pace took advantage of the joint practices with the Patriots when he signed cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc off waiver. New England had planned to put him on their practice squad but the Bears had seen his skill set at work against their offense and came away impressed. So they put him on their roster. Since then he’s made a number of big plays for them on defense.
Pace didn’t have that chance last year as the Bears chose not to hold joint practices. This he’s back at it. One can only guess at which names he singles out as potential targets before this coming week is out.
