NEWSLETTER
Confidence is king, and new Bears kicker Eddy Piñeiro appears to have a ton of it.
When Piñeiro was kicking at Florida, The Gainsville Sun’s Robbie Andreu noted that the Florida kicker had the nerve to ask for jersey No. 15.
For those who are unaware of that number’s significance, it belongs to Tim Tebow – a Heisman trophy winning, championship-leading, quarterbacking legend in Gatornation, and one of the best players in college football history. One could easily make a case that number should be officially retired. And if there wasn’t room to retire said number, there is definitely a case to be made that it should be unofficially retired and not worn again. So for a kicker – of all players – to have the gumption to ask for the number tells us a lot about Piñeiro’s self-confidence.
It wasn’t that long ago when that Piñeiro was a virtual unknown. Hell, Piñeiro wasn’t even really on our radar when news broke that the Bears acquired a new member for the kicking carnival via a trade with the Raiders. But we’ve since learned about his strong and accurate leg, and confidence, to boot. Awesome!
Bears GM Ryan Pace can harp on the importance of leg strength when it comes to his team’s kicker search – successfully navigating through the teeth of the unforgiving Chicago winds will go a long way toward cementing a spot on the team and in the hearts of Bears fans. But beyond that, the Bears’ next kicker needs to have the mental and intestinal fortitude to make it through a season with a fan-base that has great expectations for its team and set a high bar for whomever is kicking the field goals and extra-points.
So while Piñeiro hasn’t lined up to kick for the Bears yet, having the mental fortitude to ask for Tim Freakin’ Tebow’s number suggests he is ready to confront all challenges. And we’re ready to watch it all go down.
