Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy is Going to Ridiculous Lengths Regarding Kicking Competition
By Daniel Lubofsky
The Chicago Bears' 2018 playoff run ended when kicker Cody Parkey clanked a last-second kick off the iron that would've given them the lead over the Philadelphia Eagles. Fans are still heartbroken over it.
In order to make sure such a scenario never happens again, head coach Matt Nagy has taken a creative approach to help his kickers perform under pressure.
We got our first glimpse at Matt Nagy’s kicking competition for the #Bears at rookie minicamp. With the entire team watching, each kicker had one shot from 43 yards out — the same distance that Cody Parkey missed from against the Eagles in the playoffs. 6 misses.
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) May 3, 2019
Rather than recreating the heart-pounding noise box of an NFL stadium, the exact opposite is performed in practice. When a kicker lines up, you can hear a pin drop in what Nagy calls Augusta Silence, replicating the quiet of a traditional game of golf. Per the Chicago Tribune:
"Obviously, you can never re-create the pressure in the game out here, but it’s the closest thing you can get,” kicker Elliott Fry said. “In all the situations, whatever they are, we’re just focused on making the kick and trying to block everything out.
While other NFL teams are dealing with absences, holdouts and malcontents, the #Bears are riding a wave of unity under Matt Nagy. "I love where we're at." But can his "culture of family" survive success? Nagy answers that question, with typical verve: https://t.co/Y6YpFiUYnj
— Mark Potash (@MarkPotash) June 6, 2019
The tactic is one that builds a different type of pressure. Nagy wants to make sure his guys will be ready to rock if a pressure situation once again presents itself. They better be.