Even though his time in Chicago has long since passed, Robbie Gould remains a favorite among Bears fans. He is the best kicker in team history and one of the last survivors of that amazing 2006 team that reached the Super Bowl. So hearing from him is always nice. The kicker certainly had some interesting comments in an interview with NBC Sports Chicago.
It began with Mitch Trubisky. Gould left the organization right before the quarterback arrived in 2017. So the two never had a chance to play together. That didn’t stop the veteran from becoming an admirer of the young quarterback. He believes Trubisky is a serious talent who has managed to find some success in Chicago despite not-always-ideal circumstances surrounding him.
Have fans been too hard on him?
Gould seems to think so. The guy was in the Pro Bowl not too long ago. He had his team in position to win a playoff game in 2018 before Cody Parkey ruined it. Putting the blame for the Bears’ struggles the past two years on him doesn’t seem fair. All that being said, towards the end of the interview he did add another statement that was interesting.
It centered around the Bears’ decision to keep Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy in charge. He stated that the team has made a habit of replacing regimes every three or four years. The only time they didn’t was during Lovie Smith’s run from 2004 to 2012. Part of why that era was successful was the value of continuity. He applauds the organization for staying the course and giving those two a chance to see this thing through.
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Robbie Gould ignores a bit of history with his comments
Is there something to be said for continuity? Yes. His main point isn’t without merit. That being said, Smith didn’t take long in building up credibility. After a down first season in 2004, he went 11-5 in his second season and 13-3 in his third. Both ended in division titles and the latter resulted in a Super Bowl appearance. Those early successes are what carried Smith through a down period from 2007 through 2009 where the Bears were 7-9, 9-7, and 7-9.
Nagy and Pace have no such credibility. Their first year was good in 2018 with a 12-4 record. Since then they’ve gone 8-8 twice and are still without a playoff victory. Nevermind a trip to the Super Bowl. So their argument for being kept around is decidedly weaker than Smith and Jerry Angelo’s was over a decade ago. This is not to say keeping Nagy and Pace will be the wrong decision, but the argument in favor of it that Robbie Gould presents is flawed.
That aside, what’s done is done.
Nagy and Pace are back and all signs point them aggressively trying to upgrade the quarterback position. That means Trubisky is out. The only question left to answer is who will take his place? Bears fans eagerly await an answer. Gould is one of them. The next two months figure to be quite illuminating for everybody. For better or worse.