Bears-Colts in Bourbonnais? Watch for the 2016 preseason schedule

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INDIANAPOLIS – Both the Bears and Indianapolis Colts finished up their two-day practice gig pleased with the results, delighted that there were no fights and only occasional displays of ill temper, and willing to do this kind of thing again next year, maybe at Bears camp in Bourbonnais at Olivet Nazarene University.

“Yes, absolutely, I would love to,” said Colts head coach Chuck Pagano. “It’s too close to me [not to practice with the Bears]. You’re two and half-hours or whatever it is. You’re too close not to do it.”

That may depend on the NFL schedule makers, however.

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This year worked out because of geography and the fact that the Bears play the Colts this Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium, so they were going to be in the neighborhood anyway.

It also helps that Pagano and John Fox have an excellent relationship.

“We’re both going to be very open minded about doing it,” Fox said. “I thought it went probably better than any time I’ve ever done this against an opponent. I think the location works.

“[But] so much of it is how the preseason schedule works. [In the] second week [of preseason] I really like. It was good timing; I don’t know I would like it any earlier, and you start getting to that third game, trying to get into your in-season schedule. So the timing of it was great and it worked out really well.”

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Both teams are looking beyond just the two days of work for the true impact of the joint work.

“I think coming off these two days, we’re all going to look back on it and say this was extremely beneficial to our development as a football team and they’re probably going to say the same thing,” Pagano said. “So we’d love to do [practice with the Bears] and continue to.”

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