It’s hard to believe that the start of training camp is the first time this year that Chicago Bears players are hitting the practice fields at Halas Hall. Considering the entirely virtual offseason, it’s been seven months since these coaches last saw most of these players.
So when special teams coordinator Chris Tabor saw Eddy Pineiro kicking Monday for the first time since the season finale last December, he was pleased that Pineiro had taken the team’s advice and bulked up to 187 pounds this offseason.
“I’m going to be honest with you, the first day we went out and kicked—I hadn’t seen him kick since the Minnesota game—you’re looking at a bigger, stronger Eddy Pineiro,” Tabor told reporters Thursday. “I was very impressed.
“He has put on the weight that we asked. He actually decreased his body fat and you can tell he is much stronger. When we went out and kicked, the ball is jumping off his foot really well.”
Pineiro put together a solid rookie season in 2019, where he connected on 23-of-28 field goals (82.1%) and 27-of-29 extra points. But there were also concerns, including Pineiro’s rough stretch where he went 3-of-7 on field goals and his noted struggles in the windy conditions of Soldier Field.
Which is one of the reasons why the Bears felt the need to bring in competition for Pineiro in undrafted free agent Ramiz Ahmed, who last kicked for Nevada in 2018.
“He knows that he has to produce,” Tabor said of Pineiro. “I know that he will because he’s just that type of guy. I know he’s done it. He had an opportunity where he didn’t get it done. Those things eat at him. But the good thing is he’s been in those situations and we’ve seen him come through. Now we want to see him take the next step.
“He’s learning how to handle the wind here much better. I’m real proud of him. But we still have a lot of work to do. There’s so much more growth. This player can really take off. I’m excited to watch.”
At this point, the kicker competition feels like Pineiro’s to lose. And if he can build off his solid rookie season, perhaps the Bears can finally find Robbie Gould’s worthy successor.
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