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As you might have heard, New York Giants owner John Mara recently floated an idea that has been discussed in league circles for months: Eliminating kickoffs as a matter of player safety. Mara told the Giants' website that "there’s no consensus on it right now, but I could see the day in the future where that play could be taken out of the game."

Such a dramatic change would have far-reaching impact, from eliminating the jobs of kickoff returns to lowering the value of place-kickers. Chicago Bears place-kicker Robbie Gould, speaking this week on ESPN 1000, brought up another point: How would you replace the stadium anticipation of an opening kickoff?

"Eliminating kickoffs completely from the game, and having pee wee football where you place it at the 25- and the 30-yard line, for one, it would make [the opening] very anticlimactic for fans," Gould said.

Gould wondered if Mara was simply tossing out a line to see if any fish would bite.

"I don't think they'll ever do it. In my opinion, the league tries to find ways to make the game safer for everybody. Sometimes the ideas that they talk about never really hit full circle. … It wouldn't surprise me if they put that out there to find out whether or not, or how, the fans would react and make a decision based upon their reaction."

I hope Gould is right. Eliminating kickoffs would end a high-contact play, but isn't the entire game about high contact? And wouldn't the league be on a slippery slope here? It's one thing to toughen rules for hitting quarterbacks and defenseless receivers. It's another to eliminate entire segments of the game.

Even if you're viewing it from a legal perspective, wouldn't the NFL open itself to new liability by eliminating kickoffs? What if a punter, who routinely puts himself in a defenseless position, suffers a severe concussion on a hit and sues the NFL. Couldn't the punter argue that he wasn't given the same protection as, say, special-teams cover men were granted when the NFL eliminated kickoffs?

We could go on. What about pulling guards? Is it safe for a 190-pound cornerback to take on a 320-pound offensive lineman with a head start?

You get the drift. Agree? Disagree? Go right ahead.

Related: Grantland's Bill Barnwell offers some ideas for replacing kickoffs and onside kicks.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- A few thoughts from a pretty quick first half at Lambeau Field:

• The Chicago Bears are doing what most teams would like to do against the Green Bay Packers: Control the ball via the running game and keep the Packers offense off the field. The Bears have rushed for 126 yards, including 89 by Kahlil Bell, and have 207 total yards. But they haven't followed through on the second part of that approach. They have only one field goal to show for their efforts because Robbie Gould missed a 49-yarder and Packers linebacker Clay Matthews stopped another drive with an interception.
• I don't think anyone could argue with the performance of Bears quarterback Josh McCown, who has completed 6 of 9 passes. The Bears have run 24 times and are obviously going to limit McCown's exposure, but I wouldn't even blame him for the interception. Matthews sniffed out a screen and made a great individual play.
• Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers broke the Packers' single-season record for passing yards in a season during the second quarter. Lynn Dickey held the record previously at 4,458 yards. Rodgers appeared to injure his right hand in a collision with Bears defensive end Julius Peppers, but he has completed 14 of 19 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns.
• Did the Lambeau Field crowd boo tight end Jermichael Finley when he was unable to come up with a short catch on the right sideline? Or were they booing the officials' call? I wasn't sure. Finley caught three passes in the Packers' opening drive, including a 2-yard touchdown, but he has also missed on a couple of catchable passes as well.
• I'm not sure why the Bears are using Devin Hester as a returner. His sprained ankle is obviously limiting him and on a few plays he seemed unable to run laterally. That's a recipe for further injury.
• Although the Packers have both starting inside linebackers back on the field, it's worth noting the Packers' run defense is not at full strength. Ryan Pickett still has not been cleared to play after suffering a concussion two weeks ago.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Chicago Bears are doing what you would expect from a team playing an emergency starting quarterback Sunday night at Lambeau Field.

The Bears ran on their first six plays, and quarterback Josh McCown threw four passes in the first quarter. Overall, Bears tailback Kahlil Bell has rushed 11 times for 59 yards.

The Bears have managed to limit the Green Bay Packers' opportunities on offense as a result, but Robbie Gould's miss on a 49-yard field goal has left them trailing 7-0 early in the second quarter.

OK, back to our chat.

PHILADELPHIA -- The Chicago Bears overcame a furious Philadelphia Eagles third-quarter onslaught and a couple of their own mistakes on the road to carve out a 30-24 victory Monday night at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Bears scored an impressive victory, given the circumstances, to boost their record to 5-3.

Let’s take a deeper look:

What it means: If the regular season came to a conclusion today, the Bears would be the second wild-card team behind the Detroit Lions in the NFC. So this impressive victory over the Eagles raises the stakes for Sunday’s game against the Lions at Soldier Field.

The Lions, who are coming off a bye week, lead the Bears in the NFC North standings by one game. So a Bears victory would tie them with the Lions for second place in the division.

Wright nabs first career pick: Major Wright should send linebacker Lance Briggs a thank you card for helping the second-year safety pick off the first pass of his NFL career.

Briggs tipped a Michael Vick pass into Wright’s hands, which resulted in a Bears field goal after the safety’s 36-yard return.

Despite the big play, Wright wasn’t able to stay in the lineup full time. Veteran Brandon Meriweather replaced Wright in the second quarter, but Wright was back at his strong-safety position to start the second half.

Bennett returns: Wildcat quarterback, chain mover. Yes, Earl Bennett resumed his role as Chicago’s Swiss Army knife of offense Monday night after missing nearly six games with a torso injury, and he didn’t disappoint, racking up five catches for 95 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown that gave the team a 27-24 lead.

Bennett caught just two balls in the first half for 40 yards and took one snap as quarterback in the Wildcat formation.

Look for his role to increase as the season continues. Jay Cutler's comfort with the receiver was apparent almost immediately against the Eagles. On Chicago’s first third-down situation, Cutler completed a 14-yard strike to Bennett.

Forte’s first fumble of 2011 a fiasco: Bears running back Matt Forte racked up 79 all-purpose yards in the first half but made a mistake in the second quarter that nearly caused a major momentum swing. After catching a short dump-off from Cutler, the running back looked to make a move on Brian Rolle, who punched the ball loose and scooped up the fumble for a 22-yard touchdown return.

Rolle’s score helped Philadelphia tie the game at 10 with 1:38 left in the first half.

The fumble was Forte’s first of the season, and interestingly the running back hadn’t put the ball on the ground in 347 touches prior to Monday night. Forte’s second fumble led to another Eagles touchdown, but the running back finished the game with a game-high 133 yards rushing.

Gould booms another bomb: Robbie Gould made his second field goal of the season from 50-plus yards when he banged in a 51-yarder in the second quarter to give the Bears a 10-0 lead.

Gould is 7-of-9 from 50-plus yards over the past three years and 7-of-11 from those distances over his career.

What’s next: The Bears take the day off Tuesday before getting back to work Wednesday in preparation for their second meeting with Detroit. The Bears trail the Lions by one game in the NFC North standings and can move into a tie with them for second in the division with a victory.

DETROIT -- A few thoughts on Monday night's Black and Blue matchup at Ford Field, where the Detroit Lions beat the Chicago Bears 24-13:

What it means: The Lions improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1956 and kept pace with the 5-0 Green Bay Packers in the NFC North. In the process, the Lions buried the Bears, who are 2-3 and find themselves three games behind two of their three division competitors. The Bears' season isn't over, but they have a steep hill to climb.

Return to MNF: Detroit fans getting their first taste of "Monday Night Football" in 10 years had a big effect in this game. Pregame introductions by Michael Buffer and a guitar-solo national anthem had a Ford Field-record crowd of 67,861 in a frenzy at kickoff. The Bears' lack of discipline played a role, but in the end the Bears unofficially committed a stunning nine false start penalties, including six in the first half. Overall, the Bears committed 14 penalties.

Big plays: The Lions' offense moved in fits and starts against the Bears' Cover 2 defense, but it got two long and record-breaking plays from its two most explosive players to account for the bulk of its scoring. Receiver Calvin Johnson's 73-yard touchdown reception gave him nine in the first five games of the season, an NFL record. And tailback Jahvid Best's 88-yard run for a score was the second longest in Lions history. Best's 43-yard run in the fourth quarter, meanwhile, put the Lions in position to seal the game while clinging to an 8-point lead. He finished with 163 yards on 12 carries.

CutlerWatch: I actually felt a pang of sympathy for Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, who was under duress even as offensive coordinator Mike Martz called a steady diet of running plays. Tailback Matt Forte carried 22 times for 116 yards, but Cutler still found himself pulling away from Lions defenders, twisting out of the pocket and, on two occasions, shoveling the ball left-handed to a receiver. Midway through the four quarter, the Bears benched right tackle Frank Omiyale for the second consecutive game for his poor pass protection. I thought Cutler played a really nice game considering what he was dealing with. He was sacked three times but completed 28 of 38 passes for 249 yards and a 99.6 passer rating.

LovieWatch: It didn't figure in the outcome of the game, but I don't think Bears coach Lovie Smith had his finest moment late in the first quarter. He turned down a near-automatic field goal of 44 yards by place-kicker Robbie Gould and went for a first down on fourth-and-1 at the Lions' 26-yard line. Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh crushed Omiyale to stop Forte for no gain, and Smith compounded the failure by challenging the spot. Replays clearly showed Suh bringing Forte down before the 25-yard line.

HansonWatch: Here is a fact interesting to me and perhaps you as well: Lions place-kicker Jason Hanson became the first NFL player to appear in 300 games for the same team Monday night. Hanson, 41, has been with the team for 20 seasons.

What's next: The Lions will host the 4-1 San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at Ford Field. Before the season began, did you think Lions-49ers would be one of the biggest games of Week 6? Meanwhile, the Bears will host the Minnesota Vikings in a second consecutive prime-time game, this time Sunday at Soldier Field.

Observations from the Bears 41-13 preseason loss to the New York Giants on "Monday Night Football":

Last October, the Giants slapped 10 sacks on the Chicago Bears.

Monday night, they didn't.

That's probably the most encouraging thing I can say about the Bears loss Monday night at New Meadowlands Stadium. This is not meant as (a total) back-handed compliment. In all sincerity, the Bears' first-team offensive line rebounded nicely from last week's four-sack outing and probably isn't in danger of the kind of shakeup a poor performance in this game could have generated.

Tackles J'Marcus Webb and Gabe Carimi were each called for a false start, but I thought Carimi, especially, held his own against Giants defensive end Justin Tuck. The first-team offensive line played into the third quarter but allowed only one sack. Even that instance seemed more the fault of Cutler, who escaped the pocket but then slid to the ground rather than throw the ball away.

Stranger things have happened, but the Bears would be justified in keeping this offensive line together for at least another week. On a night when many people will overreact to a mostly meaningless preseason score, I also think:

1. Receiver Roy Williams needs to get his act together. His drop of Cutler's first third-down pass of the night, inexplicably undetected until Giants coach Tom Coughlin challenged it, was indicative of the performances he's put forth recently in practice. His second third-down opportunity was more difficult but still could have been caught.

Regardless, how much could Cutler possibly trust Williams at this point? And will the Bears keep him in the starting lineup or at least give Earl Bennett more repetitions? There is no doubt about Bennett's connection with Cutler. He targeted Bennett five times, connecting for three catches and 58 yards.

2. BREAKING: Tailback Matt Forte is fast. Forte put his speed on display during the first-quarter screen pass he took across the field and down the left sideline for 42 yards. That's the kind of (dare I say) Marshall Faulk-like open-field running he brings to the Mike Martz offense.

3. Goal-to-go woes. We've chronicled the Bears' ineffectiveness in goal-to-goal situations over the past few years, and it's worth noting two more failures Monday.

In the first quarter, Forte managed 2 yards on first-and-goal at the 7. The Bears wound up throwing on second and third downs before settling for a 23-yard Robbie Gould field goal.

The Bears signed free agent Marion Barber for these kinds of situations, but in the third quarter, Barber failed on three consecutive runs to push the ball into the end zone. The last attempt was on fourth down at the 1-yard line. Barber still runs hard, but nothing requires more power than a goal-line play.

4. A punting competition? The Bears signed free agent Adam Podlesh to a five-year contract worth $10 million, and almost half of that total is scheduled to be paid out in the next 12 months. You don't commit that kind of money to a punter who isn't a lock to make the team, so it was surprising to hear ESPN announcers describe Podlesh's punting battle with Spencer Lanning based on discussions with Bears coaches.

Lanning has had a nice summer, and I wouldn't blame a blocked second-quarter punt on him. But it would be a stunner if Podlesh weren't the Bears' punter to start the season.

5. Devin Hester's night. It was an interesting one, to say the least. He broke open down the right sideline in the first quarter for a 37-yard reception, but it could have gone for a touchdown if Cutler had got it out in front of him a little more. Later on the drive, however, Hester slipped near the goal line and couldn't reach a pass that otherwise would have gone for a score. He finished with three receptions for 46 yards.

6. Giving up 41 points: I know the final score was ugly, but the Bears defense that will spend regular-season games on the field didn't provide too many causes for alarm as far as I was concerned. The Giants offense went three-and-out on its first two possessions. Linebacker Lance Briggs didn't play and middle linebacker Brian Urlacher left after four series. Not much to see here.

In case you haven't heard, the NFL has mandated all kickoffs be marked at the 35-yard line this season (and preseason). But we spent so much time dissecting the Chicago Bears' mistake/miscommunication/passive protest earlier this week that I think we missed the opportunity to examine both the larger picture and how this mess will affect the NFC North later this season.

Based on my unofficial review of play-by-plays from Week 1 of the preseason, 11 of the NFC North's 12 kickoffs from the 35-yard line traveled into the end zone. The other landed at the 1-yard line. Here is how it broke down:

There are a couple of interesting points to make here. Most notably, we saw some divergent strategies already starting to emerge.

For the most part, Green Bay Packers place-kicker Mason Crosby aired out his strong leg. But if the Packers thought that kicks deep into the end zone would automatically result in touchbacks, they found out otherwise Saturday night. The Cleveland Browns brought back all four kickoffs, returning them twice to the 20-yard line, once to the 21 and once to the 15.

Because some teams don't want to surrender the potential for a big kick return, it's quite possible we'll see many more kickoffs returned from previously too-deep spots in the end zone. Speaking generally this week, Minnesota Vikings place-kicker Ryan Longwell said: "I really do think that. I really think when they can judge the hang time of it, and you've got a lower kick that is 7 or 8 yards deep, I think that will come out a lot more often this year than it has in the past."

On the other hand, Longwell and the Vikings appeared to pursue an alternate goal. The strategy calls for putting high kickoffs short of the goal line in hopes of tackling the returner shy of the 20, where a touchback would be marked. It didn't work too well on Longwell's first kickoff against the Tennessee Titans, which landed 1 yard deep in the end zone and was returned to the 27-yard line. But his second kickoff generated more than four seconds of hang time, according to Vikings special teams coordinator Mike Priefer, and resulted in a return to the 11-yard line.

Said Longwell: "I think that you're going to see a lot of the coaches saying, 'If there is a touchback potential, why do we give them the 20 when we can hang it high inside and the 5, and tackle them inside the 20?' I think it's actually going to flip the other way, from just banging it out and giving them the 20, to 'Hey, let's stuff them inside the 20.' I think there will be a big movement [toward] that as well."

Meanwhile, there are a number of kickers and special teams coaches in the NFC North who are convinced this dynamic will diminish once the weather turns colder. Bears place-kicker Robbie Gould cited the weather issue as a reason he wanted to kick off from the 30 Saturday night against the Buffalo Bills, hoping it would give coverage teams a chance to cover a live return the way they presumably will need to in November and December.

"As the weather changes," Longwell said, "the ball just doesn't fly as far. It's a fact. I think those [deep] numbers will come down."

The Bears have four games at Soldier Field and the Packers have five at Lambeau Field after Nov. 1. We probably won't see many touchbacks, at least in those games. But I'm not convinced we'll see as many touchbacks as we think we might in the first two months of the season. Strategies and skills are still evolving. Stay tuned.

You saw it just like I did. In their first game since the NFL mandated the 35-yard line for kickoffs, the Chicago Bears twice kicked off from their 30-yard line in Saturday's preseason opener. Referee Jeff Triplette allowed it twice until Carl Johnson, the NFL's vice president of officiating, put a stop to it via a phone call to the Soldier Field press box.

So what gives? Why did the Bears add 5 yards to their kickoff coverage territory? And why were they initially allowed to do it? Was it a matter of strategy or confusion?

The answer appears to be both.

At the start of the Bears' locally-produced broadcast, announcers Sam Rosen and Erik Kramer -- presumably reflecting the team's position -- said the rule gives each NFL team an option to mark the ball as high as the 35-yard line. The Bears, Rosen said, had chosen not to take that option. In fact, coach Lovie Smith later told reporters that he wanted to see his coverage teams cover a kick that was more likely to be returned.

Smith: "We know [place-kicker] Robbie Gould. We can put it on the 35, and he can kick it out each time."

One problem: The rule was not intended to provide a choice. Its intent was not to limit kickoff returns but to improve safety on kickoffs. Only a deeply interpretative analysis of the rule's wording would suggest otherwise. Here is how Rule 6, Section 1, Article 2(a) is written in the 2011 NFL rule book: "The restraining line for the kicking team shall be its 35-yard line for a kickoff and its 20-yard line for a safety kick."

I guess you could define "restraining line" as the furthest possible point a team can kick off, and infer that a team could line up further back even though it would seem to create a better chance for a return. Otherwise, I'm not sure why Triplette allowed it, and Johnson's call made clear he shouldn't have.

To be fair, I can see where the Bears were coming from. Generally speaking, kickoffs at the 35-yard line should increase the likelihood of touchbacks and/or short returns. But based on what Gould told the Chicago Tribune, the Bears aren't convinced that touchbacks will rule the day when the weather turns colder.

"By moving it to the 35," Gould told the Tribune, "they think there are going to be more touchbacks and there may be in warm-weather places but not in Chicago, Cleveland, Baltimore, Pittsburgh. There are going to be plenty of places where you're not going to get touchbacks."

On a warm night like Saturday, Gould's kickoffs were likely to carry deep into the end zone. But if touchbacks do indeed diminish later in the season, the Bears ostensibly wanted to practice their coverage schemes in the preseason.

Let's not be completely naive here. The Bears opposed the rule change in March because it will diminish the annual field-position advantage they get from their strong return game. So let's not completely rule out the possibility of gamesmanship and/or that the Bears were making a one-time passive protest to the rule change.

Two people could reasonably argue whether a kickoff from the 35-yard line, combined with a 5-yard limit on head starts for cover men, will actually improve safety. But when a rule is changed for safety reasons, there is no leeway.

It's worth noting that Bears defensive end Corey Wootton was lost for four weeks because of a knee injury on the opening kickoff. I doubt whether the extra 5 yards contributed to the injury. But unless I'm missing something here, the Bears won't get another opportunity to "test" their coverage teams unless they take a delay of game penalty and Triplette shouldn't have allowed this one.

Where to start? I guess at the beginning: The Chicago Bears bussed to Soldier Field on Friday night for their annual Family Night practice at Soldier Field. After examining the playing surface, however, they turned around and went back to Bourbonnais, Ill., for a closed late-night practice.

Locally, this is a big story because fans were already filing into the stadium when the decision was made. I don't think I would be thrilled to have fought through Friday afternoon traffic only to find out the event was canceled at the last moment.

From a bigger picture, however, this episode serves as one of the most glaring examples yet of the Chicago Park District's inability to maintain serviceable grass at Soldier Field. It's one thing for the turf to be torn up by midseason. It's another for it to have sand-filled gaps in the first week of August.

Soldier Field general manager Tim LeFevour told Zach Zaidman of the Bears radio network that the grounds crew had a "miscalculation" on how much water to put on the field. The result is what you see in this photograph from Zaidman and another photograph from Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com. It's true that the Bears were originally scheduled to play in the Hall of Fame preseason game this weekend, but that event was canceled July 21. You would like to think that two weeks would be enough time to get the field ready.

You don't want to go overboard in criticism of a sloppy training camp practice field, especially since the Bears immediately recognized it and didn't put their players at risk. But let's be real. Soldier Field is one of 32 NFL stadiums in the country. It's a basic expectation for the field to be playable anytime between August and January.

It's worth noting the Bears are scheduled to play a preseason game there a week from Saturday. Is it possible to rehabilitate the turf that fast? Are the Bears doomed to an even worse playing field this season than they normally have? Linebacker Brian Urlacher said this summer that the turf is a "disaster." Now, more players are growing concerned. Here's what place-kicker Robbie Gould, who is also the team's player representative, posted on Twitter:

"Field conditions this bad this early in the season is inexcusable. This is becoming a reoccurring problem and needs addressed"

We all know the Bears prefer a torn-up field over Field Turf. This spring, team president Ted Phillips made clear the organization considers the grass a home-field advantage. I have no doubt that it is, but there is a fine line to walk here.

The Bears are trusting that the Park District, which owns and operates the stadium, can maintain safety guidelines in the environment of less-than-ideal conditions. If the Park District made an August watering "miscalculation" that forced the cancellation of a practice, how confident should we be that it will provide a safe field this season? Will this be the incident that finally leads to the installation of Field Turf? Stay tuned.

The departure of longtime Chicago Bears punter Brad Maynard has revealed some previously unknown (at least to me) animosity behind the team's special teams juggernaut and led to a surprising public rebuke of highly-regarded special teams coordinator Dave Toub.

In a series of interviews, most recently with "Waddle & Silvy" on ESPN 1000, Maynard said he and Toub haven't been on the same page for years. The feud apparently began late in the 2009 season, when Toub stripped Maynard's option to determine kick direction. From his ESPN 1000 interview:

"[Toub] always used to let me call the direction of every kick. I'd come up to him on the sidelines and say, 'Hey, let's go left here.' And he would just relay the message to all the guys standing around. Late in the '09 season I ran up there and said, 'Let's go left,' and it was 'No, I'm calling it from now on. We're going right.' It just kind of took me aback a little bit.

"I talked to [long snapper Patrick Mannelly] and [place-kicker] Robbie [Gould] about this from that point on over the next couple years. ... There were times when I literally would say left and he would say right and I would say I can't go right. The wind is blowing right to left, we need to go left. If I hit it right down the middle it's going to carry down the left sideline, and he wouldn't let me do it.

"I've had some teammates say you call the direction and we'll cover it. Just let us know. But I can't do that. I'm not that type of player. I'm not selfish. I'm going to do what my coach asks me to do."

There are obviously two sides to every story, and we haven't yet heard from Toub. Bears coaches aren't scheduled to speak with reporters until Friday.

Gould, for one, seemed to support Maynard's position while talking with Chicago-area reporters Tuesday. This line in particular caught my eye: "He's helped Dave Toub's career tremendously by the fact of having a punter that can do what he did."

I don't think Toub's reputation around the league will be tarnished by this issue, especially if the Bears follow through with their reported plan to sign New York Jets punter Steve Weatherford. Sometimes a coach has to assert himself for the betterment of the team, even if it creates an awkward situation with an individual player. It's just rare that you see dirty laundry of this level aired out in public, and it's been duly noted.

It might be a moot point given the last-minute turbulence surrounding ratification of a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). But for what it's worth, we now have three prominent Chicago Bears players who have expressed at least some skepticism about playing in the Aug. 7 Hall of Fame game after a shortened training camp.

The latest is linebacker Brian Urlacher, who told ESPN he thinks the game already is a "no-go," even if both owners and players approve the CBA by the end of Thursday. The earliest the Bears would report to camp under that scenario is next Tuesday, giving them 12 days to prepare for the preseason opener.

This month, tailback Matt Forte wondered about the increased risk of injury in the rush to be ready for an Aug. 7 game. Place-kicker Robbie Gould, meanwhile, said the Bears "have to have" a full two weeks to get ready.

There is much more at stake in this decision for owners, who derive revenue from preseason games, than players, who don't receive their salaries until the regular season begins. I'm sure Bears coach Lovie Smith would protect his veterans from risk in this game -- i.e., by not playing them. But I've said it before: If the Hall of Fame game is the only on-field casualty of the lockout, both owners and players should consider themselves fortunate.

We've been casting a skeptical eye since last week on the possibility of the Chicago Bears actually playing their Aug. 7 preseason opener in the annual Hall of Fame game. Wednesday, the NFL appeared ready to relent.

League executive vice president Jeff Pash told reporters that he still hopes the game will be played but admitted: "It's getting tight. It's getting pretty tight. It would be pretty challenging so that is one of the things we'll have to focus on."

It would be cool for the Bears to play in that game a day after defensive end Richard Dent's enshrinement ceremony. But the logistics just don't seem worth the trouble. The Bears have already delayed the start of their training camp by four days, meaning the earliest they could report to Olivet Nazarene University is Tuesday. In reality, continuing uncertainty about final ratification of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) makes it impossible to predict when the Bears might get to camp.

Bears tailback Matt Forte and placekicker Robbie Gould have both expressed concern about playing in a preseason game with less than two weeks of training camp to prepare. As each day goes by, the odds increase that the Hall of Fame game will be canceled and the Bears will report to camp along with the rest of the league around Aug. 1. Stay tuned.

Tuesday, Chicago Bears tailback Matt Forte expressed hesitation about playing in the Aug. 7 Hall of Fame game if the NFL lockout delays the start of training camp.

Wednesday, we bring you stronger sentiment from Bears kicker Robbie Gould, who is also the team's player representative to the NFL Players' Association. Gould told WSCR-AM in Chicago that the Bears "have to have" two weeks to practice before starting their preseason schedule.

The Bears' first training camp practice is scheduled for July 23, exactly 15 days before the Hall of Fame game. Here is what Gould said, via sportsradiointerviews.com:

"You can't go from not having any activity whatsoever to straight full pad hitting within two weeks. Because obviously if that happens, guys might have the opportunity to get injured more just from not being able to hit each other all the time. But also you have to have some sort of sessions leading up to those games to make sure everyone has the opportunity not only to stay healthy, but to be very efficient and have a productive season."

This could all be moot in a matter of days. But it's not hard to see where the Bears' players stand on this issue.

Indications late Wednesday night were that the NFL would continue to operate under the "lockout purgatory" rules it established Tuesday and Wednesday while pursuing a legal stay on its lockout. So far, at least, that's exactly the way Thursday has played out.

At least two NFC North players have reported to team facilities to work out but were turned away. While there have been reports of agents calling teams to jump-start free-agent and trade discussions, there are no indications that any moves are forthcoming. We'll leave the legal analysis to the experts, but the practical result is that through mid-morning nothing has really changed.

For those interested:

• Minnesota Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway reported to the team's Winter Park facility but was told by vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski that the weight room was not available. Judd Zulgad of the Star Tribune has the story. Greenway: "I don't want to put anybody in a bad position. I just want to see how things shake out and hopefully it will be soon."
• Chicago Bears place-kicker Robbie Gould tried for the second time this week to work out at the team's Halas Hall facility. Gould, however, tweeted that the locker room and weight room were "closed."

Many of you are already suggesting that the NFL is in contempt of court for refusing to follow U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson's order to lift the lockout. I don't know what to tell you about that. I'm guessing the NFL is banking on winning a stay and then overturning her ruling on appeal. But I thought Bears tight end Greg Olsen had a good point via Twitter: "If the roles were reversed in labor dispute on eve of training camp and a player didn't show up to camp would he be fined?"

As always, stay tuned.

Tuesday came and went without much clarity on when this period of lockout purgatory will continue in the NFL. But for those interested, let's wrap up what happened in the NFC North:

Chicago Bears: Three players showed up at Halas Hall, according to team president Ted Phillips. Place-kicker Robbie Gould, defensive end Israel Idonije and defensive tackle Matt Toeaina were allowed into the building but were restricted from using the facilities. "... [W]e're not opening the building for business yet,' Phillips said. "Hopefully we will soon."

Detroit Lions: According to multiple reports, no Lions players showed up at the team's Allen Park practice facility. Defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch, the team's player representative, advised players against it. Vanden Bosch, via Tom Kowalski of Mlive.com: ""My understanding is that the doors to the facility would be open but we wouldn't be able to work out or talk to our coaches much. I don't know how much progress would be made or what the benefit might be. We'll wait until things become clearer."

Green Bay Packers: According to team president/CEO Mark Murphy, no players showed up at Lambeau Field. Murphy, who has a key NFL role as a member of the Management Council Executive Committee, said he anticipates more clarity by the end of this week. Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press-Gazette has more.

Minnesota Vikings: Backup linebacker Erin Henderson was the only player to visit the Vikings' Winter Park facility. He departed after being told he could not use the cold tub. Coach Leslie Frazier said he had a "very brief conversation" with Henderson as he moved through the building.

According to NFL.com, the NFL Players Association has recommended that agents immediately begin initiating contract discussions with teams. But it's safe to say that teams aren't going to respond. Vikings vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman said teams were instructed to maintain the lockout "status quo" -- when contact with veteran players and agents was barred -- until further notice.