The Chicago Bears have made it crystal clear they’ve changed their approach when it comes to the kicker position. For the past three years, GM Ryan Pace tried to be decisive in his attempts to fix it. First, he signed Connor Barth in 2016, a man supposedly noted for his accuracy from within 40 yards. That flopped. Then he paid big money to former Pro Bowler Cody Parkey in 2018. That turned out even worse.
It became apparent almost immediately that neither man had the mental fortitude to handle kicking in the difficult conditions of Chicago. Not just in terms of the weather but also the expectations. Clearly, their method of evaluating kickers had to change. Based on how things have gone to date, they’ve finally figured out a key truth of the practice.
Keep an open mind.
One thing that has proven true throughout football history is people almost never see the best kickers coming. That’s probably because a great many of them went through personal struggles during their careers in college.
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#Bears will kick the tires on at least two AAF kickers in a tryout at Halas Hall on Wednesday. https://t.co/iJby4VSCV5
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) April 5, 2019
Chicago Bears don’t care about college stats in their kicking search
One common practice for people when evaluating college prospects before they turn pro is seeing how their production was. If it stands out in a positive way, this tends to tell them that the odds favor the player being good in the NFL. However, that practice is dangerously flawed when it comes to evaluating kickers as it turns out.
Many times throughout history it’s been shown that the best kickers in the pros fought through a lot of adversity in college to get where they are. Adam Vinatieri, the greatest of all time, nearly lost his job at South Dakota State to a converted defensive tackle because he was struggling so much.
Morten Andersen, who’s second in league history on the career points scored list had a highly pedestrian 62.5 accuracy rate on field goals at Michigan State. Bears legend Robbie Gould? He wasn’t much better, connecting on just 63.9% of his kicks during his four years at Penn State. College stats repeatedly fail to tell the full story of what a kicker truly has.
By contrast, the most accurate kicker in college history Robert Aguayo of Florida State hit 88.5% of his field goals. Upon reaching the NFL, that number dropped to 71%. This is why people laughing at the Bears’ additions of guys like Redford Jones and Chris Blewitt, guys who have never kicked in the pros before and had erratic college careers have no idea what they’re talking about.
It’s almost impossible to tell when a light truly goes on for a kicker. Not until they’re given an opportunity. That is what the Bears are aiming to do with this competition they’ve opened up. That is why it won’t be surprising if an unexpected name ends up being their guy come opening day.
