Chicago Bears continue search for quality kicking options
There is an aura of ‘Super Bowl or bust’ around the Chicago Bears. The kicking situation is scary, though, and the team is still looking at other options.
The next step before starting the 2019 NFL season is upon us. The Chicago Bears start training camp this week in defense of their NFC North division title. Also, they are setting their sights on something higher. There is a “Super Bowl or bust” feeling around Halas Hall and the players are itching to get started.
There is something that is still unsettling — the kicking situation. After Cody Parkey‘s double-doing ended the 2018 season in heartbreak fashion, the Bears let him go and now search for a replacement.
During the offseason, the search reached ridiculous levels. At one point there were eight kickers in camp. Then there was the embarrassing time when six of the eight kickers missed the same 43-yard field goal attempt that Parkey missed.
From then on, the Bears cut the circus tents down. They released six kickers and now head into training camp with Elliott Fry and Eddy Pineiro.
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While we wait to see how these two kickers do during the preseason, many feel that the actual kicker who ends up on the roster isn’t there yet. Fry and Pineiro have a total of zero kick attempts in the NFL between them. Even if one of them ends up with the job, there is no telling how he’ll do with the pressure of a real NFL game and the pressure of having all the fans ready to jump at a miss during the regular season.
There are free agent kickers waiting to see what happens. Some like Matt Bryant, Phil Dawson and Mike Nugent are veterans who have made big field goals. I’m sure they’ll keep track of what happens in Chicago and are ready to hop on the first plane to show their skills.
Additionally, there are camp battles for kickers going on with other teams. The Bears will surely monitor those battles and could pick a kicker who may have done well but not well enough to win his particular battle. This is what general manager Ryan Pace had to say, per Bears Wire:
"“We’re excited about the two young guys we have. It’s still open to competition. Guys are going to battle it out. Obviously, we’re scouting the waiver wire as we go forward…Ideal for our franchise is we hit on a young kicker long-term and we march forward that way.”"
While many feel the Bears pick someone up from the waiver wire, this quote might signify that the team may go with one of the two young guys. The fans wanted the team to trade for former Bears great Robbie Gould. Gould is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer and a reunion with the team would make a great story. It won’t happen since the San Francisco 49ers and Gould came up with a contract extension.
Remember, however, how Gould became a Chicago Bears player. He was an undrafted rookie. He failed to make it in a couple of camps, then was a construction worker when he got his shot with the Bears. He then became a legend.
Could the same happen with Fry and Pineiro? That’s a high bar to reach. Having one of them become a consistent, dependable kicker is good enough. If he becomes more, that’s just gravy.
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We hope that this kicking situation can be settled and the right man goes out and does his job during the season. The Chicago Bears have done a good job at getting the right players over the past couple of seasons. Hopefully, it continues with the kicker.