Chicago Bears: Evaluating Eddy Pineiro without Elliott Fry

The Chicago Bears are down to one kicker. With two preseason games left here is how we should evaluate Eddy Pineiro now that Elliott Fry is gone.

The Chicago Bears did the right thing and made a decision at kicker before their preseason game tonight against the Indianapolis Colts. Whether they made the right decision on keeping Eddy Pineiro over Elliott Fry is still up for debate, but we need to temper our expectations.

With Elliott Fry gone, Eddy Pineiro will see 100 percent of the kick attempts. That means field goals and extra points and even kickoffs will all be his attempts to make. No more sharing reps with Fry. This also means that all week at practice, Pineiro was seeing every rep as well.

Now that gameday is here though, how are we supposed to react every time the kid attempts a kick? First, we need to remember kickers are not 100 percent accurate. I know that is hard to believe, but even Robbie Gould misses a kick or two per season. We also need to remember this is just preseason, but that does not mean Pineiro gets a long leash.

The Chicago Bears have already tipped their hand when they made efforts to trade for ex-Ravens kicker Kaare Vedvik. The Minnesota Vikings ended up landing Vedvik instead by giving the Ravens a 2020 fifth-round draft pick. Personally, I think that is a little steep. I would not have offered more than a sith-round pick and since Chicago missed out on him, Ryan Pace must agree with me.

Let us look at some hypotheticals for tonight, shall we? Eddy Pineiro attempts four field goals and one extra point attempt. He makes three of four field-goal attempts and the extra point. His long is a 52-yarder and his miss was from 47 yards away. Are we to call for his head because he missed one of five of his kick attempts?

The answer needs to be no. I know, I know. You already have your pitchforks ready. You are already coordinating a march on Halas Hall and Soldier Field. Wait. Be patient. We have to give it more time. Remember, there is another game next week against the Titans. Eddy Pineiro has a perfect night that night and makes another three field goals with a long of 54.

He has now made two 50-plus yard field goals and has made 85.7 percent of his attempts. That field goal percentage would have been the 15th best in the NFL last year. Where was Cody Parkey you ask? Well, he was 27th with a 76.7 field goal percentage.

Alright, I have another hypothetical for you. Over the next two games, Pineiro makes 100 percent of his field goals. His long is 49 yards. Does this mean the Bears (and fans) should be content with what they have seen so far? The answer is still no. You see, we should not call for his head, or be content. I know that sounds hard, but it is true.

Pineiro needs to be on a shorter leash than the Bears gave Cody Parkey last season, but it cannot be so short that he is afraid of losing his job every time he attempts a kick. Could you imagine having that pressure at your job? You do not get to an email on time, you are fired. You do not answer the phone quickly enough, you are fired. You have to do your tasks with thousands of people watching your every move too by the way. Yikes.

Here is all I ask of you over the next two games. Remember that we wanted Stephen Gostkowski here in Chicago. Well, he is 2-for-5 this preseason. What about Jake Elliott? He is good, right? Well, he is 2-for-4 this preseason. Robbie Gould is a perfect 2-for-2 with a long of 53 yards, but he is not coming to Chicago and we have to get over it already.

I leave you with my final hypothetical. Eddy Pineiro makes under 80 percent of his field-goal attempts. Yep, over the next two games, Pineiro goes 3-for-5. Now what? Well, the Bears have options. Matt Bryant is still on the streets. He was 96.2 percent accurate last season. Other teams’ cuts will happen soon too. Joey Slye from Carolina could be an option. If they keep him, I’d quickly call Graham Gano‘s agent if I were Ryan Pace.

See, there are options. The Bears are not tied down to Eddy Pineiro. This process is frustrating for Pace and Matt Nagy too. We need to trust they are doing everything possible. The hope is Pineiro is the guy though and we write less about the kicking position heading into 2020.