Training camp is a grind for all the players because each waking second is spent preparing for, playing, analyzing and focusing on football. Camp is a time to build the unity on a football team.
The Birds will only be at camp from July 27th to August 12th, so this schedule won't be as grueling because it's for a short period of time. When I came into the league we would be at training camp for at least 4, 5, or six weeks. Teams would bring in more players so they could practice more and hit more. Teams nowadays don't hit a great deal because the salary cap and big contracts, put them in a position where they can't afford to get guys hurt. That wasn't the case back in the eighties and early nineties.
Buddy Ryan's training camp in his first year with the Eagles in 1986 was my toughest. We hit every day in the morning and in the evening. We ran after each practice and did 40 and 50 updowns after practice.
The practices were so tough that veterans were deciding to just leave the team and retire. Buddy wanted to find out who were the tough players on the team so he literallly ran guys off.
Training Camp Schedule for The Players
6:00am – Wake Up
6:30am – Breakfast
7:30am – Dressed and Taped For Practice
8:45am – Start Of Early Practice
11:00am – End Of Practice
Noon – Lunch
12:45 – Nap
2:15pm – Afternoon Meeting
3:00pm Get Dressed For Practice
3:30pm – Afternoon Practice
5:30pm – End Of Practice
6:15pm – Dinner
7:30pm – Meeting
10:00pm – End Of Meetings
