Cody Parkey should thank his lucky stars that Matt Nagy is his head coach. Were it John Fox or somebody else? The odds are he’d be on the street by midnight after the miserable afternoon he had against the Detroit Lions. A game that including two missed extra points and two missed field goals. All of them dinging off the goal posts.
That performance cost the Bears eight points that could’ve been important if not for a great day by Mitch Trubisky and the offense. Even so, Nagy stated after the game that there were no plans to seek out a new kicker. It’s clear he plans to let this thing play out and see if Parkey can work through the problem.
So what exactly is the problem? It’s not like this is a common trend. Parkey has been known for being a fairly accurate kicker in years past. Yet he’s been off for much of this season. In fact, one might say Soldier Field is a big problem for him as he’s now missed five kicks in that building.
How can that be, you ask? Turns out there’s an explanation behind it.
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Here is all of Cody Parkey’s missed field goals today. pic.twitter.com/tAkxDRHTwP
— The Loop Sports (@TheLoop_Sports) November 11, 2018
Cody Parkey never practicing kicking during the week at Soldier Field
Cheryl Raye Stout of WBEZ 91.5 spoke to the embattled kicker before the game this week. It was there he delivered a rather shocking revelation. It turns out that he never practices kicking at Soldier Field. He instead does it all at Halas Hall. His reasoning? Not ideal.
Speaking to #Bears kicker Cody Parkey this week, he doesn't come down to Soldier Field during the week because of the commute issues, Maybe he should re-think it.
— Cheryl Raye Stout (@Crayestout) November 11, 2018
Here’s the thing. Halas Hall is a complex with practice fields. It may be in close proximity to Lake Michigan like Soldier Field is but wind in a stadium is significantly different from wind on an open practice field. It’s swirling and more blustery than normal. Learning to kick in those conditions is not easy. The fact that Parkey hasn’t recognized this and is putting in the necessary time to learn? That’s a red flag.
It’s unclear what the issues are with his commute, but this man is getting paid millions of dollars to kick the ball through the uprights. He can’t create more space in his schedule to make that trip and learn how to do his job better? One has to wonder if his priorities are in the right place.
Either way, the patience of the coaching staff will only last so long if these problems persist.
