BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – Bears coach Matt Nagy introduced another creative way to put individual players in pressure-packed game-like situations during Saturday's training camp practice.
At the conclusion of a 7-on-7 drill, Nagy sent the entire team to the sideline except for quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, receiver Allen Robinson II and cornerback Kyle Fuller. When Robinson hauled in a long pass from Trubisky down the left sideline, every defensive player had to do five up-downs.
Nagy employed a similar scenario during an offseason practice at Halas Hall when he had one kicker represent the offense and another compete for the defense.
"It creates a little bit of pressure," Nagy said. "Everyone's watching you. So even for Mitch to make the throw, the first throw that he made, what better way than in front of our fans to see how you're going to produce one-on-one.
"We're talking about craving pressure with this team. Let's crave it so that when it happens in the game it's natural. And we want to practice it as much as we can. So we'll continue to do that throughout practice.
Later in practice, Nagy staged another one-on-one battle with receiver Taylor Gabriel going mano-a-mano with cornerback Prince Amukamara. When Trubisky failed to connect with Gabriel, every offensive player had to do five up-downs.
"It's just a pressure-filled situation," Amukamara said. "So when a game is on the line and we're on the 3-yard line and the offense is going in and I'm on [Falcons receiver] Julio [Jones] and I know, 'OK, they're throwing a go ball here. It's zero coverage. They're coming at me,' I've already kind of been in that situation. I've felt my heartbeat. I've felt my blood pump and I just have to win for my team."
