Camping trip

Sporting News, The, August 6, 2001 by Dennis Dillon

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME

It's a time of heat and hits, of meals and meeting--but still enough time for a movie. Take a journey inside Bears training camp with Pro Bowl linebacker BRIAN URLACHER.

In its repetitive monotony, an NFL training camp is like the movie Groundhog Day. Players are trapped in a time warp in which the same things tend to happen day after day after day. Only instead of catching a boy falling out of a tree, or robbing an armored truck, or trying different ways to defy death, they suffer a more mundane routine.

Wake up.

Eat breakfast.

Practice.

Eat lunch.

Practice.

Eat dinner.

Attend meetings.

Go to bed.

But today, there's a new twist at the Bears' training camp in Platteville, Wis. Today, hearts are beating faster and attitudes are more intense. After three days and five practices in just helmets and shorts, the players are putting on pads this morning for the first full-contact session.

"I'm looking forward to it," Brian Urlacher, the Bears' standout second-year middle linebacker, says the night before. "I want to be physical and try to send a message right away to myself, and also to the offense."

This is Urlacher's kind of day, and this is his story: one day in the life of a football player at training camp.

Morning

After a breakfast of cereal, watermelon and chocolate milk, Urlacher climbs into a golf cart--the campus vehicle of choice for players and coaches alike--and heads for Pioneer Stadium, about half a mile away from the players' dorm. This is where the Bears prepare for practice. The facility is not ideal--the locker room is cramped quarters for 85 pro football players, and the team had to set up a faux weight room outside, underneath the concrete stands--but the Bears make do.

Urlacher sits on a table in the trainer's room as Tim Bream, the Bears' head athletic trainer, wraps tape around the linebacker's ankles, feet and wrists for support and to prevent sprains. Underneath the tape, Urlacher wears padding on his insteps and the backs of his Achilles' tendons to prevent blisters.

It's 7:45 a.m. Practice still is 45 minutes away. Two boys, who look to be about 11 or 12, are standing outside the gate near where the players pass when they walk to the practice fields, waiting to get autographs.

Most of the players are in the locker room underneath the stadium. A few are sitting on benches outside the locker room. One or two are in a whirlpool, trying to warm their legs.

Minutes later, Urlacher emerges from the locker room and walks into an ultra-modern mobile trailer with smoked-glass doors and windows along the entire front side. Inside are five treatment tables and a fluoroscope. Linebacker Rosevelt Colvin sits on one of the tables, getting a hot wrap on his knees. Urlacher sits on a stool off to the side, his helmet on a table and his shoulder pads and white practice jersey on the floor. He's getting treatment of his own.

"A.C. treatment" he says, smiling. That stands for air conditioning, not anterior cruciate ligament. Platteville has had heat indexes of around 100 degrees in recent days. The voice on the radio says today's high will be 95. Urlacher groans.

His bare right arm, already noticeable because of its muscle mass, is distinguished further by a barbed wire tattoo that encircles his biceps. He chose that design, while attending the University of New Mexico, because "it looked the coolest" On his left pectoral is a smaller tattoo, an infinity symbol with an arrow and a heart. "It stands for endless love" he says. "My wife has one just like it. But you can't put that in. The other players will think I'm a candy-ass."

There are two ways to get to the practice field. Players can walk up a hill, across the street and down a grass pathway between a gantlet of spectators restricted by fences on both sides, or drive over in their golf carts. Urlacher elects to drive. A posse of other linebackers--Colvin, Warrick Holdman and Sean Harris--as well as cornerback Todd McMillon jump on for the ride. Nearly 1,200 pounds of Bears--not good country club etiquette.

The Bears' linebackers begin practice with a walkthrough drill under the direction of assistant coach Dale Lindsey. In slow motion, without helmets, they simulate some of the new defenses Lindsey put in during last night's meeting.

After 15 minutes, a horn blows and the players trot across the field for a 10-minute special teams period. All nine linebackers play on at least one of the special teams; Urlacher is the No. 2 fullback on the punt-protection team, which means he calls the signals and is the last line of defense for the punter.

After a team stretch, the players divide into groups for individual position drills. Urlacher and the linebackers work on both footwork and hand positioning as they hit a blocking sled and tackling dummies that are supposed to represent offensive linemen. Then, there is a 9-on-7 period (no cornerbacks on defense, no receivers on offense) that emphasizes running plays. Hitting is allowed but no tackling.

When the second-team defense comes in, Urlacher takes a break. A water boy hands him a can of Gatorade, and Urlacher downs it in about 30 seconds. About 90 minutes into practice, the entire team comes together for an 11-on-11 drill. This is Urlacher's favorite part of practice. As the defense huddles, he stands in front and calls the signals.