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The ‘open competition’ for the Bears kicker resumes at training camp: 'Those guys are going to battle it out’
Rich Campbell
5-6 minutes
For the last five weeks, the uprights of Chicagoland relished their safety. The skies were free of footballs. The bombardment stopped. The echoes of doinks reverberated to their silent conclusions, replaced by the tranquil sounds of the NFL’s annual summer break.
This week, though, the blitzkrieg is set to resume. Bears rookies report to training camp Monday at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais. Veterans report Thursday, at which time the kicking competition to end all kicking competitions will continue.
The search commenced six months ago — or was it September 2016 when the Bears cut Robbie Gould? Either way, the Bears aren’t close to a solution. At least not as far as general manager Ryan Pace sees it.
Since the Bears decided to cut Cody Parkey days after his double-doink miss ended the Bears’ promising 2018 turnaround, they have evaluated more than a dozen potential replacements.
Nothing that will help Bears fans sleep better this summer. But Eddy Pineiro and Elliott Fry are set to compete for the opportunity to attempt their first regular-season kicks.
“We’re excited about the two young guys we have,” Pace said Sunday. “It’s still open for competition. Those guys are going to battle it out. Obviously, we’re scouring the waiver wire as we go forward. And it’s kind of open competition as we go forward.”
So, for those who tuned out the spring kicking bonanza at Halas Hall, the Bears’ 10-week offseason program helped them cross players off their list. But it didn’t produce an answer to the biggest question dogging a team that otherwise assembles with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations.
Not that Pace was fazed Sunday. The fifth-year GM exuded a level of optimism standard for start-of-camp news conferences. The Bears, Pace said, are determined to develop the pair of inexperienced kicking prospects alongside the rest of a young, talented team.
“You can point to a lot of guys around the league that have kickers in successful situations that have come a number of ways, and some of them are this way,” he said. “Ideally for our franchise, we hit on a young kicker long term. And we’ll march forward this way.”
It’s an understandable (and inexpensive) approach, even if doesn’t exactly reduce anyone’s anxiety level.
The Bears did, at least, hire kicking consultant Jamie Kohl to help sharpen the kickers’ techniques. There’s a dedicated, ongoing effort to rein in Pineiro’s strong leg and add power to Fry’s consistent swing.
So how does Pace handicap this race? Before coach Matt Nagy taps his creative juices to test Pinerio and Fry in front of crowds at Olivet Nazarene, who begins camp with the lead?
“To be honest, it’s even,” Pace said. “It’s close. That’s why we’re excited.”
Fans in Bourbonnais, though, will be forgiven for not feeling the juice. The Bears have two kickers, which means they have none.
Pineiro and Fry simply represent a baseline. And if the Bears believe there’s a better option out there, they’ll pivot that direction.
In other words, this battle won’t be won until the Bears send a kicker onto the field Sept. 5 against the Packers. And even then, the guy better make his kick.
For now, Pineiro and Fry will try to overcome the standard of inconsistency they established during spring practices. Either one will separate himself during preseason games or the Bears will pluck one from another team when cuts begin in late August.
Nagy has promised to throw the gauntlet at them during practice. From using “Augusta silence” to test their focus this spring to his vow to include media members in the fun this summer, Nagy has a plan.
There won’t be any third-down field-goal attempts in preseason games, but he knows the Bears need to evaluate Pineiro and Fry under the lights.
“There may be some questionable play-calls in the preseason,” he said with a smile.
Everything this summer, then, is a means to an end. Maybe the competition will become an afterthought by January, but, at the dawn of camp, it’s on center stage indefinitely.
Rich Campbell
5-6 minutes
For the last five weeks, the uprights of Chicagoland relished their safety. The skies were free of footballs. The bombardment stopped. The echoes of doinks reverberated to their silent conclusions, replaced by the tranquil sounds of the NFL’s annual summer break.
This week, though, the blitzkrieg is set to resume. Bears rookies report to training camp Monday at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais. Veterans report Thursday, at which time the kicking competition to end all kicking competitions will continue.
The search commenced six months ago — or was it September 2016 when the Bears cut Robbie Gould? Either way, the Bears aren’t close to a solution. At least not as far as general manager Ryan Pace sees it.
Since the Bears decided to cut Cody Parkey days after his double-doink miss ended the Bears’ promising 2018 turnaround, they have evaluated more than a dozen potential replacements.
Nothing that will help Bears fans sleep better this summer. But Eddy Pineiro and Elliott Fry are set to compete for the opportunity to attempt their first regular-season kicks.
“We’re excited about the two young guys we have,” Pace said Sunday. “It’s still open for competition. Those guys are going to battle it out. Obviously, we’re scouring the waiver wire as we go forward. And it’s kind of open competition as we go forward.”
So, for those who tuned out the spring kicking bonanza at Halas Hall, the Bears’ 10-week offseason program helped them cross players off their list. But it didn’t produce an answer to the biggest question dogging a team that otherwise assembles with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations.
Not that Pace was fazed Sunday. The fifth-year GM exuded a level of optimism standard for start-of-camp news conferences. The Bears, Pace said, are determined to develop the pair of inexperienced kicking prospects alongside the rest of a young, talented team.
“You can point to a lot of guys around the league that have kickers in successful situations that have come a number of ways, and some of them are this way,” he said. “Ideally for our franchise, we hit on a young kicker long term. And we’ll march forward this way.”
It’s an understandable (and inexpensive) approach, even if doesn’t exactly reduce anyone’s anxiety level.
The Bears did, at least, hire kicking consultant Jamie Kohl to help sharpen the kickers’ techniques. There’s a dedicated, ongoing effort to rein in Pineiro’s strong leg and add power to Fry’s consistent swing.
So how does Pace handicap this race? Before coach Matt Nagy taps his creative juices to test Pinerio and Fry in front of crowds at Olivet Nazarene, who begins camp with the lead?
“To be honest, it’s even,” Pace said. “It’s close. That’s why we’re excited.”
Fans in Bourbonnais, though, will be forgiven for not feeling the juice. The Bears have two kickers, which means they have none.
Pineiro and Fry simply represent a baseline. And if the Bears believe there’s a better option out there, they’ll pivot that direction.
In other words, this battle won’t be won until the Bears send a kicker onto the field Sept. 5 against the Packers. And even then, the guy better make his kick.
For now, Pineiro and Fry will try to overcome the standard of inconsistency they established during spring practices. Either one will separate himself during preseason games or the Bears will pluck one from another team when cuts begin in late August.
Nagy has promised to throw the gauntlet at them during practice. From using “Augusta silence” to test their focus this spring to his vow to include media members in the fun this summer, Nagy has a plan.
There won’t be any third-down field-goal attempts in preseason games, but he knows the Bears need to evaluate Pineiro and Fry under the lights.
“There may be some questionable play-calls in the preseason,” he said with a smile.
Everything this summer, then, is a means to an end. Maybe the competition will become an afterthought by January, but, at the dawn of camp, it’s on center stage indefinitely.
