Bears kicker Eddy Pineiro is in the middle of a slump, but at least he doesn’t need an exterminator.
Via Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times, Bears special teams coach Chris Tabor said he’s been encouraged by what he’s seen from his kicker, who has missed five kicks in the last four games.
“He’s a confident kid,” Tabor said. “And I don’t see any bugs in there or snakes in his head that I’m worried about.”
Pineiro missed a pair of field goals in last week’s loss to the Rams, and watched his team go for a fourth-and-9 rather than letting him try another. He’s 12-of-17 for the season.
But Tabor said Pineiro was 21-of-23 on field goals this week in a workout at Soldier Field, as the coaching staff continues to try to buck him up. As it pertains to the Rams game, Tabor said Pineiro was trying to do too much on his first miss, and “overcompensated” on the second.
“First one, he’s just trying to swing too hard,” Tabor said. “Classic example of a cold-weather kicker going to a warm place and you kinda get mesmerized with, ‘I’m gonna have a big night. Conditions are perfect.’”
Pineiro played grew up in South Florida and played at the University of Florida, and unless things change soon, he might not hang around Chicago long enough to be accurately described as a “cold-weather kicker.”