Robbie Gould grew up in Lock Haven, Pa., and will be kicking in front of an estimated 50 family members and friends Sunday at Heinz Field.
Gould won’t have mixed feelings about kicking against his home-state Steelers because he didn’t grow up a fan.
“I’m a Patriots fan because my brother liked the Dolphins and I wanted a team that could [beat his],” Gould said. “I didn’t like any of the Pennsylvania teams. I guess I wanted to be different.”
This comment is telling. Gould’s different in ways that reach beyond being a rookie kicker from Penn State for a possible playoff team.
His competitive nature sometimes leads to contact, as his solid hit on the Lions’ Eddie Drummond proved earlier this season. And the 6-foot-1-inch, 181-pounder doesn’t exist on an island, as so many kickers do.
“Robbie’s one of the guys,” coach Lovie Smith said. “A lot of times kickers aren’t. He has earned his respect a few different ways. A kicker goes higher on the totem pole once he makes a tackle like that. And that one day, players saw the same thing I did. So they know about his leg.”
“That one day” to which Smith refers is Oct. 7, when the Bears brought five kickers in for an open tryout because Doug Brien had a bad back and an inaccurate leg. Among the group were high-profile veterans Martin Gramatica, whom Smith had coached in Tampa Bay, and Steve Christie.
“We had big veterans, but all I know is I went out there, saw him kick and said, `Hey, who is that guy?'” Smith recalled. “It was as simple as that. After that session was over, it was obvious what we should do.”
After a 2-for-4 start with misses from 47 and 48 yards, Gould has made 13 of his last 16 field-goal attempts, with one of his misses the comical, windblown 39-yarder against San Francisco.
His consistent depth on kickoffs has helped the Bears’ coverage team to improve from the 28th-ranked unit at their off week to fourth overall.
These statistics, as well as his makeup, are why Gould’s confidence is soaring as quickly as his ticket requests for Sunday.
“Soldier Field isn’t an easy place to kick, so you have to really mature quickly,” Gould said. “Each week, I’m more and more confident in my ability to make kicks.
“I knew I had the leg strength to be here. It’s just a matter of being consistent. You work each week to try to trim it down to where you’re not missing any.”
Gould spent training camp with New England and his “idol,” veteran kicker Adam Vinatieri, with whom he still talks weekly. Gould has credited Vinatieri and Patriots special teams coach Brad Seely with helping him transition from a three-step to a two-step kicker.
Gould also has credited holder Brad Maynard and long snapper Pat Mannelly for helping him acclimate to the league. Mannelly downplays his influence, pointing to an anecdote from Gould’s missed 43-yarder Sunday.
“I had told him how Jeff Jaeger used to say he would make his next eight kicks whenever he missed,” Mannelly said. “So we got to the sideline after his miss and he said, `I’m going to start a streak of eight.’ He’s mentally mature.”
Which is why the Bears, even with a low-scoring offense, never hesitated putting a rookie at a position of such great import.
“The organization and the veterans trust us to do our jobs,” Gould said. “We have a lot of great players in this locker room. I don’t want to let them down.”
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kcjohnson@tribune.com
