Madness at 43 Yards: The Bears Kicker Competition Through the Eyes of Those Who Lived It

[xer0h0ur]

It has been a clown show

There is too much emphasis and focus put on the missed kick (news flash; the new kicker will miss a kick but none of these kickers missed the playoff kick) AND zero emphasis put of the rest of the teams blah performance starting with the bald headed visor wearing guys awful play calling to start the game.

Seems like they've created such and environment where there will be pressure to cut any kicker after they miss a kick.

Don't agree. The media has turned it into a clown show. The Bears have done everything they can to try to make it a successful search for a kicker. There are no guarantees of course on the result but instead of simply churning through a bunch of legs over the off-season they have taken their own methodical approach.

Lets be real here. If everyone agrees that kicking is only in part mechanical, in part born with leg power and by and large mental...then why is it wrong at all to emphasize pressure situations with a gaggle of fucktard mental midgets? Make your kicks. Do your job. Or fuck off. This isn't a pity party.

 

[HeHateMe]

Don't agree. The media has turned it into a clown show. The Bears have done everything they can to try to make it a successful search for a kicker. There are no guarantees of course on the result but instead of simply churning through a bunch of legs over the off-season they have taken their own methodical approach.

Lets be real here. If everyone agrees that kicking is only in part mechanical, in part born with leg power and by and large mental...then why is it wrong at all to emphasize pressure situations with a gaggle of fucktard mental midgets? Make your kicks. Do your job. Or fuck off. This isn't a pity party.

Do u also think the media is responsible for a looming recession?

 

[xer0h0ur]

Do u also think the media is responsible for a looming recession?

Whomst?

 

[iueyedoc]

For a guy with great self professed football knowledge, you sure have been saying some goofy shit.

Calling Dak a starting caliber quarterback is a matter of opinion.

Actually, it isn't. He is a starting NFL QB. One that was offered $30M /yr to remain one.

I don't even know why people care about compensatory picks right now.

Why people care about or want to discuss having a 4th rd pick just disappear? Really?

The media has turned it into a clown show. The Bears have done everything they can to try to make it a successful search for a kicker. There are no guarantees of course on the result but instead of simply churning through a bunch of legs over the off-season they have taken their own methodical approach.

That is quite honestly the opposite of the truth, they churned through more legs than any team in the history of the NFL in an offseason, 6 "fully evaluated" and rejected in a 3 day mass kicking contest, 2 more rejected later. There is nothing at all methodical about that. And as to the circus surrounding it, they made it well known and publicized, Nagy even joking, at one point, to make the press a part of the show.

If you are just trolling with these comments then I must admit I have been hooked through the gills.

 

[xer0h0ur]

The whole compensatory pick thing was tongue in cheek. Of course having more picks is always better. I'm just saying that teams rarely if ever actually get impactful players from them. That was really alI I wanted to say there.

I fully believe what I said about the kicking competition and how its played out. Of course the Bears and Nagy played it up to the media initially. They made an overt move to appease a fanbase that was rabid over what happened. I still believe their approach was methodical. From hiring one of the best kicking consultants, using golf ball tracking tech to analyze every kick, etc. etc. Really whats being criticized here is the mental ringer they were put through and to that I say fuck em. Toughen up buttercup. They aren't being paid to get coddled.

 

[Penny Traitor]

I fully believe what I said about the kicking competition and how its played out. Of course the Bears and Nagy played it up to the media initially. They made an overt move to appease a fanbase that was rabid over what happened. I still believe their approach was methodical. From hiring one of the best kicking consultants, using golf ball tracking tech to analyze every kick, etc. etc. Really whats being criticized here is the mental ringer they were put through and to that I say fuck em. Toughen up buttercup. They aren't being paid to get coddled.

Meh.

You say "methodical" while I am leaning more to things like "overthinking" or even worse "panicking" or even worser "tunnel vision".

I can forgive the first, but those last two are very poor traits in a NFL GM/HC combo.

....and nine kickers is a total clown show...all they do is kick the ****ing ball.....

 

[xer0h0ur]

Meh.

You say "methodical" while I am leaning more to things like "overthinking" or even worse "panicking" or even worser "tunnel vision".

I can forgive the first, but those last two are very poor traits in a NFL GM/HC combo.

....and nine kickers is a total clown show...all they do is kick the ****ing ball.....

Its not like we are talking about a position that requires a whole lot more players on the field at the same time to get a good evaluation of their performance. It just takes a long snapper, holder and kicker to do that. I don't give a shit if they ran 20 guys through the ringer so long as it weeds out the useless.

 

[Penny Traitor]

Its not like we are talking about a position that requires a whole lot more players on the field at the same time to get a good evaluation of their performance. It just takes a long snapper, holder and kicker to do that. I don't give a shit if they ran 20 guys through the ringer so long as it weeds out the useless.

Every single second Nagy spent developing his "Kicker Boot Camp" was a second not spent on polishing his playbook or molding Mitchell into an NFL QB Adonis.

Again...all they do is kick the ball...you could get 90% of your evaluation on YouTube.

Maybe @Grimson is on to something and they should have brought in 20 longsnappers instead.

 

[Toast88]

Don’t agree with everything in here, but this is a good story with some cool insight.

Quite a bit of this has been documented by Chicago media and regurgitated in here, but I guess I did learn a few new tidbits:

-The Bears are the *only* NFL team that is using data metrics as a tool to help evaluate kicks—launch angle, mph off the foot, ball trajectory. This article kind of makes fun of them for that, saying they’re making it too complicated, but I actually think those could be useful tools, and I’d be surprised if everyone doesn’t use them in the future.

-When the Bears famously brought in 9 kickers to minicamp over the offseason, they posted pieces of papers on the wall with scores of each of the kickers, but none of the kickers ever knew how exactly the scores were compiled, and the data metrics, while potentially helpful, were only used by the coaching staff and were never actually shared with the players—seems like a missed opportunity.

-Elliott Fry’s kicking power was a concern from the very beginning for the coaching staff. Good on him for beating out 8 other guys to be in the final two with Eddy Pineiro out of U of Florida. Was a huge underdog story, so sad to now see him go, but hopefully Pineiro does O.K....

Overall, this story paints a picture of a Bears team who let its own obsession with finding the answer at kicker morph into an unhealthy negative vibe full of overcomplication and outthinking themselves.

I disagree with some of the premise of the story. For example, I do think kicking metrics are important, and I don’t think posting scores is dumb. And I do think you have to find some way as a team to create tense moments to evaluate a kicker’s nerves. But I also don’t see the point in dwelling so heavily on a painful memory that only serves to plant a seed of failure in the minds of guys you desperately need to succeed. You wouldn’t keep showing a new QB the previous QB’s playoff-losing interception and have them keep throwing it from the same spot—so why do it with kickers?

In any case, the whole process will become a footnote if they get this right and get a reliable kicker, whether that’s Pineiro or some last-minute trade or signing.

Good article, but didn’t like the opinion inferences.

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1164629066164658179

This guy just lost all credibility.

 

[iueyedoc]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1164629066164658179

Erik Lameburt

 

[Joliet Jake]

Does anyone know what's the deal with Pineiro wearing a bracelet on his right hand during games?
I don't think it's one of those magnetic ones, it looks like something a pinche wears to go clubbing, along with a silk
shirt open to the navel.

 

[remydat]

Heard Bears may give Carli Lloyd a look.

 

[Briggs is GOAT]

Heard Bears may give Carli Lloyd a look.

Would not feel comfortable putting a woman in a position like that. They simply cannot handle pressure situations.




who's going to take this seriously

 

[legendxofxlink]

It has been a clown show

There is too much emphasis and focus put on the missed kick (news flash; the new kicker will miss a kick but none of these kickers missed the playoff kick) AND zero emphasis put of the rest of the teams blah performance starting with the bald headed visor wearing guys awful play calling to start the game.

Seems like they've created such and environment where there will be pressure to cut any kicker after they miss a kick.

Seems like the opposite. Considering they should’ve cut Parkey weeks before the playoff game.... I called the miss a week before, saying Cody would be the reason Bears get kicked out. He sucked all season and they kept backing him.

 

[cubby chubby]

Kickers are like cats. Just can’t fucking trust them.

 

[JesusHalasChrist]