LONDON—The Chicago Bears got their feet on the ground in England and then they got to work, attending meetings and then starting practice late in the afternoon Friday at The Oval, hallowed cricket grounds in the small Kennington neighborhood just south of the River Thames.
Several players, including Brian Urlacher, Jay Cutler, Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman, tried their hand at cricket as coach Lovie Smith looked on laughing.
Then, the Bears began a short Friday practice.
Matt Forte said the sleep he got on the overnight flight already had him adjusted to a six-hour time difference.
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“I think I have adjusted already,” Forte said. “I feel pretty good right now. The key was going to sleep on the plane.”
Wide receiver Devin Hester practiced and is expected to start after missing time with bruised ribs earlier in the week. He said he was fine, just sore.
“After a tough, physical football game like that, sometimes it will take guys a couple days to come back,” Smith said. “Devin is ready to go. Should be a treat for some of the fans over here that have never had an opportunity to see him play, the greatest returner in the history of the game getting a chance to play here. I enjoy it every time I see him play.”
The Bears will have a walk-through and meetings Saturday with a little free time mixed in. Smith said he doesn’t have any plans to check out some of the top sites in the city.
“It’s a business trip. We sightsee when we’re vacationing in the summer,” Smith said. “We will have a little bit of time tomorrow but that’s not our purpose. Our purpose is to come over here, play a good Tampa team and a win.”
It’s clear the Bears are already tracking the NFC picture because at 3-3 the chances of them climbing into the NFC North race seem remote. They’re looking at a very early wild card picture and have therefore put a great deal of emphasis on an NFC game like this.
“We’re down an NFC game. We have a home loss. In the early part of our schedule we have a lot of NFC opponents on there,” Smith said. “This is a big game. Tampa Bay of course has had an excellent season so far with a 4-2 record. That head-to-head competition always means something at the end. We plan on being in it of course. The leader of our division right now is sitting in pretty good position. This is an important game for us.”
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