Steve Largent is on WGR and he was talking about his first year in the league. Bum Phillips was his coach and Steve said Bum didn't have much hitting during camp.
He felt like he needed to keep his players fresh and healthy for the season....that's when you let them go.
Interesting, from the "old school" people on here...it made me think NFL back then was practice, practice, practice and hitting, hitting and hitting.
"Players are soft today! They don't even hit in training camp!"