He could have kicked himself, which Mark Hatley would recognize for the really bad pun that it is if it weren’t so painfully true.
The Bears’ personnel director had a bad feeling during last year’s training camp that he should have listened to his instincts and brought in another field goal kicker. It would turn out to be his biggest regret and, in retrospect, the team’s biggest setback of the season.
An injured Jeff Jaeger and a succession of three different replacements figured into at least three losses, leaving the Bears with the worst field goal percentage in the NFL: 19 of 34 for 55.9 percent. Couple that with the inconsistent punting of former second-round draft pick Todd Sauerbrun, who was not re-signed and is now with the Kansas City Chiefs, and kicking nearly negated an otherwise outstanding season for the special teams unit.
“Last year was the first time ever that I didn’t bring another kicker into camp,” Hatley said. “I’ve always done that because you want somebody who’s used to your snapper and used to your holder in case something happens like what happened [to Jaeger] last year.
“But Jeff had kicked 80 percent, I had a lot of confidence in him and we tried to get an extra body–a wideout, tight end, linebacker–because we felt [nobody would] be able to beat Jeff out. I never had looked at it that way, but I did that time. It was a mistake.”
And one he will not repeat again judging by the gaggle of kickers going through their paces in training camp.
Competing for jobs are three placekickers–sixth-round draft pick Paul Edinger, free agent Jaret Holmes, who finished out the season with the Bears, and veteran free agent Michael Husted–and two punters–free agent Aron Langley and Brent Bartholomew, whom the Bears acquired through a trade with Miami for a seventh-round pick.
Husted, whose overall field goal percentage in seven years with Tampa Bay and Oakland is 71.7, was brought in last week after a slow start by Edinger and Holmes. Hatley also left open the possibility of Jaeger returning.
“I wish somebody would spring out ahead and just run away with it,” said coach Dick Jauron, “but that usually doesn’t happen. You want everything to be clear, but it never is. … We’ll bring in as many guys through as we need to. We don’t want to get caught like we did last year. We want to have a backup plan.”
In last week’s field goal session before a live crowd in Pioneer Stadium, Edinger was 5 of 6, including two from 53 yards; Holmes was 2 of 6 but also hit his 53-yarder; and Husted was 4 of 6, including both 53-yarders.
“The games are what it’s going to come down to,” predicted Edinger, who’s neck and neck with Husted right now, “and how you’re going to handle the game pressure.”
Bears fans obviously are aware of the team’s kicking plight because special teams coach Keith Armstrong says he has been inundated with resumes, and rarely from actual kickers.
“I’m talking about the guy who works on the septic truck,” Armstrong said with a laugh. “They don’t realize that anyone can do it in the park. Try doing it with the mortgage on the line.”
Or in Soldier Field in December. “Having a huge leg really doesn’t matter matter,” Bartholomew said. “You almost have to be better in Chicago because it’s known this is the worst weather to kick in. Every [kicker] in the league wants a dome job because it’s easy. That’s where you go to the Pro Bowl.”
The punting race is similarly unimpressive and too close to call.
Bartholomew, a second-year player who saw action in only two games with the Dolphins last season before tearing the ACL in his kicking leg, said the competition does not necessarily bring out the best in kickers and punters.
“It’s an odd situation because it’s almost like you’re applying a football mentality to a position that’s all timing and skill,” he said. “Bringing another quarterback in can sometimes spur a quarterback to step up, be a little more vocal, but we’re not in a leadership position. We’re not in a position that if we start exhibiting those qualities, it’s going to help what we do. It doesn’t, and it actually can deter.
“If we get too jacked up for the punt, it can be awful. Kickers aren’t really good handling that type of mind game a coach plays with a kid, bringing in a veteran.”
Sauerbrun’s downfall had its origin off the field in disagreements over coaching strategy with Armstrong, and followed him onto the field. Armstrong wanted directional punting, and Sauerbrun, who saw himself as a scapegoat, usually wanted to demonstrate his strong kicking leg, which often resulted in him outkicking the coverage.
“We had somebody who was consistently inconsistent,” special teams leader Ty Hallock said of Sauerbrun. “Every one of us as players fight to be as consistent as we can be, and most of us are willing to do what it takes in order to maintain that. It certainly was a frustration … “
“If [our kicking game] is even average,” said Armstrong, “we’re probably first in the NFL [in overall coverage] as opposed to being fourth.”
The waiving last training camp of special teams warriors Jim Schwantz, Lemanski Hall and Andre Collins in favor of younger, more versatile players, ended up paying off for the Bears, who were pleased with the production of Jerry Azumah, Warrick Holdman and Khari Samuel. Those three, along with with veterans Hallock, Frankie Smith and Keith Burns, helped the Bears finish first in the NFL in kickoff coverage, eighth in punt return coverage and send returner Glyn Milburn to the Pro Bowl.
“With the bad kicking that we had, to come out the way we did was good, ” said Smith, “but it’s going to be hard to fill the gap in the kicking game because it’s so iffy right now.”
Smith said the volume of kickers in camp is not conducive to productive special teams’ practices. “You don’t have a tempo, you don’t have the right guys in the right places, you get inconsistent kicks, so it’s going to be hard to get used to,” he said.
There is certainly plenty of room for second-guessing. Hatley admitted last year that he had wanted to draft Martin Gramatica, who went on to make 27 of 32 attempts for the Buccaneers. Cary Blanchard came through Halas Hall when Chris Boniol started struggling, but the Bears elected to stick with Boniol and Blanchard went on to convert 18 of 21 field goals for the New York Giants. The Bears, meanwhile, eventually replaced Boniol, who replaced Jaeger, who bumped Brian Gowins, with Holmes.
Punters were occasionally auditioned, but the Bears stuck with Sauerbrun, who never got on track. “They definitely want more consistency,” Bartholomew said. “They want a more `judgable’ ball. Him having a huge leg really didn’t matter.”
The Bears compensated for the inconsistent kicking with big plays on special teams–six fumble recoveries and four blocked field goals, including the memorable game-clincher by Bryan Robinson at Green Bay.
Milburn also broke the Bears’ five-year Pro Bowl drought, though he sees room for improvement after going without a touchdown following a ’98 season in which he returned two kickoffs and one punt for touchdowns.
“Part of it is just trusting my speed,” Milburn said. “I have a tendency to want to cut too many times in the open field instead of just running. Another aspect may be just trusting my blockers up front more.”
Milburn is expected to keep both his punt and kick return jobs. But Jauron has been trying out everyone from Bobby Engram and Eddie Kennison, to rookies Frank Murphy and the undrafted Ahmad Merritt, to R.W. McQuarters, who was acquired this summer in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers, for whom he was the primary return man.
But the primary concern remains the kicking game.
“Like all positions, you’d like to be able to say, `That’s settled, we can really count on that,'” Jauron said. “And when you can’t, you’re always looking and you’re always holding your breath.”
