There were plenty of standouts at the first padded practice of Chicago Bears training camp. Allen Robinson, Javon Wims, Roquan Smith, and Eddie Jackson were among the common names mentioned. However, a lot of the attention was directed towards young kicker Eddy Pineiro. It was supposed to be his day for work after his competitor, Elliott Fry took his turn on Saturday. There was plenty of pressure going in.
Fry had fired a heck of a first salvo in the battle by going 9-of-10 on field goal attempts. He missed his first kick and then ran off nine-straight including one from 60 yards. That set the expectations for Pineiro. He had to deliver a good showing if he didn’t want to fall into an early hole in this competition. To his credit, he never blinked. Pineiro connected on his first six kicks of the morning before missing one from 53. It was at this point the Bears granted him a choice of what he wanted to do for his final kick.
Initially, the coaches said he could do one from 60 like Fry had done the day before. That didn’t suit Pineiro. He said after practice that he wanted to go bigger.
Indeed they set up from that distance and the kicker delivered. It was a great display of his significant leg strength. Not to mention the deep accuracy he showcased during his time at Florida. However, Pineiro wasn’t done with his boisterous comments just yet. He was then asked if there was added pressure for him to perform since he was acquired by trade.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Not only did the kicker feel nothing of the sort, he feels they got a huge bargain.
Eddy Pineiro has never lacked for confidence since the beginning
People may be shocked that a kicker has the guts to say something like that. Then again, if they recalled Pineiro’s backstory they’d realize this isn’t a surprise. This is the same young man who had the audacity to request the number 15 for his jersey when he went to Florida. The same number that belonged to all-time Gator great Tim Tebow. Not only did he wear it, but he excelled doing so, missing just one kick during his final season there.
Pineiro likely would’ve been the starter in Oakland last season. Things were headed that way. He’d had a great training camp and was a perfect 3-of-3 in the first preseason game. Unfortunately, he suffered an untimely groin injury. This knocked him out for the season, allowing Daniel Carlson to replace him and eventually secure the job for himself. The Bears, smelling an opportunity, traded a conditional 7th round pick for him.
If he’s as good as he believes himself to be, then this would mark the second robbery GM Ryan Pace has pulled on the Raiders in two years.
