Bears Kickers Take Some Heat.............

BBAO: Bears specialists scrutinized

November, 15, 2012 Nov 15

7:50
AM ET



By Kevin Seifert | ESPN.com


We're Black and Blue All Over:http://assets.espn.go.com/i/teamlogo.../trans/chi.gif

Given the 180-degree turnaround of his sentiments Wednesday, I'm going to guess Chicago Bears place-kicker Robbie Gould got himself in a bit of hot water by criticizing the field conditions at Soldier Field on ESPN 1000. Gould reiterated his stance during an interview with reporters but recanted and apologized in a statement released by the team Wednesday evening. (It's worth noting that the field will be re-sodded before the Bears' next home game.)

But Gould wasn't the only Bears specialist under scrutiny. As colleague Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com notes, the team tried out four punters at its facility at a time when punter Adam Podlesh has been struggling. None were signed, but two of them were punters the Bears already know well: Spencer Lanning, who spent 2011 training camp with them, and Ryan Quigley, who was with them in camp this summer.

Podlesh ranks No. 21 in the NFL with a 38.4 net average and had three punts under 40 yards last Sunday against the Houston Texans. Replacing a veteran punter in the stretch playoff run is risky, and Podlesh doesn't appear to be struggling enough to make a switch. But the Bears were at the very least weighing their options.

A Bears player criticizing the playing surface at Soldier Field? How dare they? Especially after the Bear and the CPD have done so much to improve it. :rock:

What? Oh you say you're gonna re-sod it anyway and that Gould's complaints had nothing to do with that huh? Yeah OK, anything you say. :4_13_13[1]:


Podlesh isn't having as good a year this year and I'm wondering if that hip injury has anything to do with it or if it's just a bad stretch. He averaged over 40 yards net last year and he doesn't seem to be nailing as many inside the 20 either but I could be wrong.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by soulman

he doesn't seem to be nailing as many ... either

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Could just be old age...

The kicking game is probably the very last thing I'm concerned about. It's something that can improve or bounce back.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bearsinhouston

Could just be old age...

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Yeah I'm havin' that problem myself. Not nailin' as many as I used to. :lol-027:

I have never been a fan of Podlesh.

Robbie was saying the field conditions were bad is something he has to appologize for? I don't get it.

I've always been on the record for this, but i'll say it again: "Bears weather football" = boring trash. I'm sorry, but if i wanted to watch garbage football, I'd have been a cleveland browns fan. We hardly ever win in those stupid, muddy conditions, and even so the games are simply not interesting. I'd rather the Bears play the NFCC in Atlanta or SF than Chicago this season.

It was just a matter of a Bears player once again having made some critical comments about the conditions of the playing surface during the last game. The camera shots during the game showed some rather large pieces of the turf being torn up in the area of the field outside that hash marks. That's the portion that wasn't re-sodded.

What it boils down to is that the CPD continues to take the least expensive approach possible to maintaining that field in optimal condition but that's hardly something new or any kind of earth shaking news. The field holds up pretty well when it stays dry but in wet weather it seems to fall apart.

I just thought it was amusing that someone may have asked Gould to retract his comments is all. It's not like we're not all aware of the problems they have with it and the rest of the league knows it too so what's the big deal. It's no secret that the playing surface ranges from barely adequate to major suckage once the weather get bad.

After last years struggles with it we were all told that would be addresses but has it? Just sayin'.

Things we should give up on hoping will get fixed:
Having an unstoppable passing game
Having a qb that isn't mentally beaten to death during his play here
The field quality
Anything else is possible, like having back-to-back decades of having exactly one wr make the pro bowl.