Bears seem ready to start season with Pineiro
Eddy Pineiro wasn't perfect Thursday evening against the Tennessee Titans, missing an extra point out of the gate before steadying with three consecutive field goals, bringing his preseason tally to 8-of-9 on field goals - including 4-of-5 at Soldier Field - and 3-of-4 on extra points.
But guess who else missed an extra point on a windy Chicago night Thursday? Titans veteran Ryan Succop, among the most successful kickers in franchise history, and the NFL record holder with 56 consecutive conversions within 50 yards.
Matt Nagy, who has reminded everyone consistently during the NFL's most discussed kicking competition ever, that no kicker is perfect, was also the one to remind us Thursday of Succop's miss - and that Succop is a good kicker. Nagy would know. Succop's last season in Kansas City was Nagy's first.
As for Pineiro, the last man standing (for now) in the kicking derby, Nagy remains cautiously optimistic that he can be the Bears' long-sought answer to their most vexing riddle.
"I'll go back to it - I want to see a success story from this kid. Hopefully we all do," he said Thursday after the Bears' 19-15 defeat in the preseason finale. "Hopefully he's somebody that we end up going with and we stick with and he wins us games. But the next couple days here a lot of stuff can happen - you never know - so I hate to say, 'We're going to do this, we're going to do that.'"
Nagy is nothing if not secretive, and sure a vet that's too good not to kick the tires on could possibly come available this weekend. That's why Nagy wouldn't go as far as to say Pineiro, whom the Bears acquired from the Oakland Raiders in the spring in exchange for a conditional 2021 seventh-round draft pick, would become the official replacement for Cody Parkey when the roster is trimmed to 53 Saturday afternoon.
But reading between the lines, it might take a double-doink-like surprise for there to be a different outcome.
"That would be a major concern, I think, if you go get somebody to come in here that's never kicked in here or doesn't have that experience," Nagy said. "We've fought through to this point right now. I like where he's at. We'll discuss it and decide the route we want to go, and if it is, then we'll just need to have a little patience."
Nagy has preached patience all along, saying his focus is on how Pineiro responds to each kick - good or bad - but the reality is that the first-year kicker would likely enter the season on a lot thinner ice than Parkey, whom the Bears had financial incentive to stick with throughout his turbulent one-and-done season with the team.
Pineiro said the decision is out of his hands at this point, but he hopes to get an opportunity to kick again at Soldier Field - and not only during games. After helicopters hovered over the stadium for a night practice to spy the embattled Parkey last year, Pineiro indicated he attempted to practice there last week but it fell through.
He would love another opportunity.
"That's a big thing. Hopefully if I'm here Week 1, I would love to come down to the stadium and get some kicks," explained Pineiro, who called the past six weeks a process of attempting to showcase to the Bears his mental toughness. "It's just about getting used to the stadium. It's just different than every other player I've played in."
Everything about this situation is different for Pineiro, who had the Raiders job won last year as an undrafted rookie prior to suffering a season-ending groin injury and watching ex-Minnesota Viking Daniel Carlson seize what was Pineiro's opportunity and never look back. Obviously, the injury was out of his control, but Pineiro said he has no regrets with how he's competed since arriving in Chicago.
" ... I felt like I gave it all I got," Pineiro said of his audition this preseason. "It's just up to them now. Hopefully I'm here Week 1 - that would be nice."
• Arthur Arkush is the managing editor for Pro Football Weekly. For more on the NFL, visit profootballweekly.com and follow Arthur on Twitter