I agree Parkey had a bad season, but so did Gould. There is one glaring consistent spot where both were shipped out right after their low points. I think Parkey is still a very talented kicker. I know it's tough to look past the 2018 season, but in his short 5 year career he's had a rookie season where he hit 89% of his FGs and in 2017 he hit 91%. In between those two seasons he got a serious injury, recovered and was better than ever.
Add in that the Bears will have a dead cap charge of $3.5M this season and $1.25M next season and it's just too much of a knee jerk reaction for me. Here's what I see playing out - Because you have dead cap space for a kicker you'll go a bit cheaper in that spot (Eddie has a cap number of $660K, so he fits). Parkey will get signed somewhere else. When you compare your discount kicker to his stats at the end of the year you'll realize it was a net downgrade and the next offseason you'll be looking for a kicker again.
I will say there is one thing that totally makes the cutting justified. When he went to media outlets and starting to blame other areas that's not cool, but I also think after that playoff game it's on Nagy and Pace to reach out to him and say they believe in him and he's got to do some image rebuild in the offseason. Kicker is a weird position that fans naturally dislike and there is a need to coach them through the media (and social media).
So back to my original point. Chicago is just a tough city to be a kicker in. The weather and field are not optimal and the fan base will turn quickly on whomever is in that spot. The role itself is almost entirely mental and the situation isn't optimal for building confidence.
Specific to Parkey I was sad to see him leave Philly. How often does a rookie kicker come in, start 10 games, hit 89% of his FGs which includes 4/4 from 50+? He actually was better pro than his
college prospect file looked, which happens with that position as they mature and get more focused on their craft. I could see him go to another team and get back to being a 85%+ FG kicker while he continues to get more consistent.
Maybe here's another way of looking at it. When I kicker is lining up for a game winner late the rest of the team is no where near him. The last thing they want to do is add any pressure on them. Just let them work through their own process. I think it's beneficial for fans took that approach (to a certain extent). Let the kicker put his head down and focus on kicking. At the end of every season take a step back and evaluate, but let's not make that player feel more pressure than they already do. Specific to Parkey he's been blamed for the double-doink/partially blocked playoff loss. I know confidence in him was very low going into the game, but no one player ever loses a game. The offense only mustered up 15 points (9 of which came from Parkey's leg) and the defense didn't stop Foles late in the game. There are always multiple spots where a team can win/lose the game and on that day the Bears as a team came up short.
