Hub Arkush: Matt Nagy says Bears are moving on from 'double doink'

CHICAGO – The majority of New Orleans Saints fans believe with all their hearts that their team would have been in the Super Bowl last season were it not for a missed pass interference call late in the NFC title game with the Rams.

A smaller but still vocal group of Bears fans believes the Bears might have gone to the Super Bowl last season had placekicker Cody Parkey not hit an upright and the crossbar on a 43-yard field goal attempt to lose their wild-card playoff game against the Eagles as time expired.

The “double doink” as it has infamously come to be known has dominated the offseason narrative around the Bears, and coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace have done as much as anyone to perpetuate the focus on it.

At times the hyper-focus on the “double-doink” has become almost comical, with the Bears bringing in nine kickers to try out and no less than eight of them being the focal point of the Bears’ summer OTAs, as each gave his best on a practice field separate from the rest of the team looking to advance to training camp.

Two, Eddy Pineiro and Elliott Fry, emerged from the pack.

Although there was much for Bears fans to enjoy at the team’s annual Meijer Family Fest practice Saturday night at Soldier Field, another showdown between the two kickers was front and center right in the middle of practice.

Each kicker was given eight attempts from different distances – three to the north end zone from 33, 38 and 45 yards, and four more from 38, 48, 53 and 60 aimed at the south uprights.

Pineiro was perfect, and Fry missed only from 60.

Of note, however, was throughout the summer and leading up to camp, almost every time the kickers lined up they would make at least one attempt from the dreaded distance of 43 yards, embracing the pain of last year’s disappointment and serving as a reminder to every one on the team that there is work still to do.

When asked after practice why no 43-yarder, Nagy said that he’s decided it is time to move on from last year and get his team focused where he believes it needs to be to be better this year.

“I’ll be serious with you and completely honest with you that we hit that kind of hard in the offseason, and we used it.

“But now we’re into 2019. For me, the second we stepped [onto the field] at Bourbonnais, we’re moving past that.

“So big picturewise, we’re not forgetting that, but the whole kicker thing, I did tell you guys the whole OTAs, we can’t really do much in OTAs with the other guys. We’ve been doing more of that now with the one-on-ones with the wide receivers and safeties, et cetera, and pulling back from the kickers.”

As a teaching moment for his team, the line in the sand and commitment to moving on not only makes complete sense, but it’s one more sign that although Nagy may be young as a coach, he often seems wise beyond his years.

Still, a kicker does have to emerge, and it’s hard not to feel that Pineiro has had a slight edge in the competition. Saturday night, he acknowledged, was a good night for him.

“It was fun. It felt like I was kicking in a real game. It felt like a real game out there today, so it was cool,” Pineiro said.

“Just the environment – the fans. It was pretty cool.

“I was craving a good day like today, and just getting over that hump. I always feel like I always miss one or something always goes wrong. But today went well.”

There is no quit in Fry, however, and he thinks both he and Pineiro will make it tough on Pace and Nagy to pick a winner.

“I think it’s going really good,” Fry said. “I think we’re performing a lot better than in OTAs. I think we’re both kicking really well. It’s a solid competition right now. We’re both making kicks.”

Fry isn’t wrong, but as he and Pineiro head back to Bourbonnais, there is no denying the pressure is being kicked up a notch now.

• Hub Arkush is executive editor of Pro Football Weekly. Write to him at harkush@profootballweekly.com, and follow him on Twitter @Hub_Arkush.