Kickers are a bit of a Rubik’s cube for NFL teams. They’re hard to figure out and may take a long time to solve. The Chicago Bears have figured this out the hard way since letting Robbie Gould walk in 2016. Since then they’ve endured three nightmare seasons between Connor Barth and Cody Parkey. Now they’ve shifted their hopes to a young man named Eddy Pineiro.
Granted, the job isn’t his yet. He joins a competition with both Chris Blewitt and Elliot Fry going into training camp. Still, the fact that the Bears traded for him says a lot about their expectations. Pineiro was a highly accurate kicker at Florida, connecting on over 88% of his field goals there including the final 17 of his college career in 2017.
He’d been viewed as the heavy favorite to win the Oakland Raiders starting job after a flawless first preseason game. Then he suffered an unfortunate setback, injuring his groin. The Raiders found a new kicker and thus parted ways. So is their any way to know for sure whether the kid has what it takes to handle kicking in Chicago?
A couple of his decisions back in college may provide an answer.
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Eddy Pineiro turned down Nick Saban
If you have any understanding of college football, you’ll know the name, Nick Saban. He might be the best head coach in CFB history. A six-time national champion, he has dominated that level for the better part of almost two decades. So try to imagine what it must be like as a young football player to look that man in the face and say, “No.”
Pineiro did just that in 2015. Alabama offered him a scholarship to become their new kicker. Initially, he’d verbally committed to do so. However, Florida came forward with a chance to try out and soon made him an offer as well. Wishing to stay closer to home, Pineiro went back on his commitment to Saban and became a Gator. Talk about guts.
He requested #15 when he committed to Florida
Normally there isn’t much talk in choosing a jersey number. That is unless the player decides to poke at a legacy. From 2006 through 2009, Florida was the stomping grounds of eventual legend, quarterback Tim Tebow. He helped them win two national championships during that span and became a household name. All while wearing his iconic #15.
After he left, nobody wore that number again. That is until Pineiro arrived. Adam Rank of NFL.com believes that reason alone will make him a success in Chicago.
“Maybe I should have been specific when I said that the Bears should go get the kicker from the Bay Area who wears No. 9. But I kind of like Pineiro, for one huge reason: He had the moxie to wear Tim Tebow’s number at Florida. The kind of gumption it would take to walk into the trainer’s room in Gainesville and ask for No. 15 is the kind of attitude you need to be a successful kicker. I love it.”
Things like this prove that Pineiro is just wired different. He’s not intimidated by legacies or outside pressures. This is exactly the sort of personality a good kicker requires. The ability to block out the noise and focus on the moment. This might explain why he hasn’t missed a field goal in almost two years.
