Hoge's Bears Practice Notes: Players Accomplish A Lot In Just 3 Days
By Adam Hoge-
HALAS HALL (CBS) The NFL allows teams with new head coaches to hold five additional voluntary mini-camp practices prior to the NFL Draft.
So why did new Bears head coach Marc Trestman only use three of them?
"I thought that was enough," he said after the team's third and final mini-camp practice Thursday. "I think we got enough in. They're not ready to play a game yet. They've only been working out for a very short period of time. I think we just try to measure ourselves by getting enough done on the field to introduce our football to this team. It's only April and I think we accomplished a lot of what we needed to do over this period of time."
Indeed, this week was all about introducing Trestman's football to the Bears and the new head coach was happy with all three practices, praising the players' ability absorb a lot of information in a short period of time.
After throwing somewhere around 185 new plays at the offense in the first two days, Trestman shortened practice Thursday, running only 40 existing plays, although they weren't scripted ahead of time.
Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker also threw in some blitzes for the first time Thursday to further test the offensive line with new looks.
All three days consisted of a lot of special teams work for most of the team as Trestman believes special teams drills are a good way to teach the fundamentals of tackling and shedding blocks.
What's Next?
Players will return to Halas Hall next week for meetings. To maximize time, the coaching staff didn't do a lot of correcting during practices this week, instead saving that for meetings after reviewing the film.
The coaches will also do some technique work with the players, although that is limited by the collective bargaining agreement.
Trestman's Draft Involvement
Not only has the Bears' new head coach been very involved with the draft process, so has his coaching staff.
"I've been in every meeting. I've sat next to (general manager Phil Emery) in every meeting," Trestman said. "I've listened to all the reports of scouts."
Trestman said his coaches have spent time individually with Emery, as well as with the scouts.
Emery and Trestman will spend the weekend watching film together.
Notables:
- Wide receiver Brandon Marshall and defensive tackle Henry Melton were both absent Thursday because of travel issues with flooding in the area. Both players notified the coaching staff before practice. Remember, this was a voluntary mini-camp.
- The Bears waived guard Chris Riley after practice.
- The Bears' 2013 schedule was released Thursday evening. You can find the full schedule here.
For more Bears coverage throughout the season, follow Adam on Twitter at @AdamHoge.
