Rozner: Bears' Parkey quietly alive and kicking

You might be old enough to remember when some believed the entire Bears season was hanging in the balance because of Cody Parkey.

Yeah, that was three weeks ago.

It began with the Detroit nightmare when the Bears won but Parkey was 2-for-4 on extra points, 0-for-2 on field goals and hit the uprights four times.

Quite a crowd around his locker postgame that day.

When the Bears defeated Minnesota the next week, Parkey went 3-for-3 kicking field goals, including a 48-yarder with 2:52 left in the game that sealed the deal after head coach Matt Nagy debated long and hard about whether to let his kicker try to end the contest from an uncomfortable spot on the field.

In that game, Nagy went for 2 both times after touchdowns and the Bears succeeded, the coach vague about what he might do moving forward.

After that Sunday night contest, there was again a media throng at Parkey's cubicle.

When they got to Detroit on Thanksgiving, the Bears failed on a 2-point try following their first touchdown, and then Parkey was 2-for-2 in extra-point tries.

Now, Nagy is back to kicking extra points, no one is talking about Parkey and no one is even talking to him.

Well, almost no one.

Late Sunday night after the Bears demolished the Rams, when at least 40 reporters and cameramen crowded around Bradley Sowell's locker, ran to Akiem Hicks, searched for Khalil Mack and headed to the interview room when Nagy and Mitch Trubisky were announced, only one reporter approached Parkey.

And the kicker was a bit surprised I was even interested.

"That's always good when no one is here," Parkey said with a smile. "When I do well, usually no one comes over. I usually don't have the cameras and all that.

"When I do bad, that's when everyone flocks over. So I guess, the less the better."

Since the misery of the Detroit game at Soldier Field, Parkey is 6-for-6 on extra points and had hit 8 straight field goals before a late and meaningless miss Sunday night, meaningless because the Bears' defense was smothering the Rams and would not let up.

Said Parkey of the 38-yard miss, "Just a bad kick."

It was the ease with which he said it and dismissed it that he ought to inspire confidence.

It's not a problem for Nagy, who isn't hesitating to use Parkey for point-after tries or field goals, and things are back to normal and very quiet for the Bears' place-kicker.

"As it should be," Parkey said. "I had a bad game (against Detroit). Chalk it up to that and move on.

"If you look around the league, guys have bad games. It's crazy, but guys have bad games. Just try to bounce back and help your team win. Gotta win today and that's all that matters."

Like so many kickers, Parkey enjoys golf, a game in which you must leave a bad shot behind or suffer on the next swing because of it.

"They're gonna happen," Parkey said of the occasional bad shot. "On to the next one. That's definitely the mindset. What I did today in this game has no effect on what I do next week."

While the noise was rather loud following his midseason slump, Parkey stood up and answered every question, getting his sleep and getting back to work.

It would have been easier without all the attention, but like sixth defensemen and middle relievers, few are interested until something bad happens.

"It really wasn't difficult," Parkey insisted. "Just a football game at the end of the day. You guys hype it up to be this huge deal.

"I put in the work and I try really hard each and every week and that's all I can do. Hang my hat on that and go to bed at night knowing I gave it my all.

"Perspective is important. The longer I keep kicking, the more I'm able to keep it in perspective."

And with that, Cody Parkey quietly exited the Bears' locker room without so much as a whisper from anyone else.

Nice and quiet. Just the way he likes it.