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I've been trying to take a step back from the Pace/Nagy press conference and consider what I saw. But I'm kinda confused.

First, you have Cody Parkey getting undressed by a clearly pissed Matt Nagy for his Today Show appearance. He described it as a "me" and not a "we" thing.

I didn't see the show and can't find it on youtube. But what I've heard is that he came off as polite, thoughtful and religious. His most notable quote from the show was, "football is what I do, not who I am." While I agree that it probably wasn't the best choice to do that show, they clearly asked him to appear and it's easy to imagine why he might like to show the world that he's a human being who lives by his faith. And while we fans probably didn't like that statement very well, that sentence arguably applies to every NFL player, even they wouldn't all admit it.

I guess it's not so clear why that was such a horrific "me" thing that it deserved a clear public calling out, but Akiem Hicks going on Peter King's show the week before wasn't. Or perhaps Nagy was never asked about that, so he didn't negatively comment on it?

Then some minutes later in the same press conference, when a Kareem Hunt was brought up, Nagy went out of his way to point out that he had contacted Hunt and was concerned about the person. Yet there was neither a mention, nor a negative feeling expressed about the fact that he had completely lied to his team about his much publicized hotel incident that got him cut from the Chiefs, which one would think would generate a rather emotional response in his former coach. It's a quite interesting reaction, considering it would've been perfectly appropriate for Bears brass to respond to Hunt questions by saying, "not interested" or "no comment."

Are the response differences more related to performance than to the crime?

And was the Kareem Hunt response a method of measuring public reaction to the idea of bringing him in?

Mikefive wrote:I've been trying to take a step back from the Pace/Nagy press conference and consider what I saw. But I'm kinda confused.

First, you have Cody Parkey getting undressed by a clearly pissed Matt Nagy for his Today Show appearance. He described it as a "me" and not a "we" thing.

I didn't see the show and can't find it on youtube. But what I've heard is that he came off as polite, thoughtful and religious. His most notable quote from the show was, "football is what I do, not who I am." While I agree that it probably wasn't the best choice to do that show, they clearly asked him to appear and it's easy to imagine why he might like to show the world that he's a human being who lives by his faith. And while we fans probably didn't like that statement very well, that sentence arguably applies to every NFL player, even they wouldn't all admit it.

I guess it's not so clear why that was such a horrific "me" thing that it deserved a clear public calling out, but Akiem Hicks going on Peter King's show the week before wasn't. Or perhaps Nagy was never asked about that, so he didn't negatively comment on it?

Then some minutes later in the same press conference, when a Kareem Hunt was brought up, Nagy went out of his way to point out that he had contacted Hunt and was concerned about the person. Yet there was neither a mention, nor a negative feeling expressed about the fact that he had completely lied to his team about his much publicized hotel incident that got him cut from the Chiefs, which one would think would generate a rather emotional response in his former coach. It's a quite interesting reaction, considering it would've been perfectly appropriate for Bears brass to respond to Hunt questions by saying, "not interested" or "no comment."

Are the response differences more related to performance than to the crime?

And was the Kareem Hunt response a method of measuring public reaction to the idea of bringing him in?

Parkey had been pissing off Nagy all year. With his missed kicks, with his unwillingness to practice at Soldier Field, etc. I think that first and foremost Nagy is a football coach. He had been stressing this whole, "we win as a team, and we lose as a team" ALL YEAR LONG, and then Parkey, after fucking the Bears out of their playoff game, went on National TV and said, "this is just what I do." All the while, the players who had been slogging it out in the trenches all year, playing hurt, going through a rigorous NFL season were left sitting with their dicks in their hands. It was bullshit. I'd be pissed too.

Regarding Kareem Hunt. That was a weather balloon. I think that they expected the question to be asked. Nagy was honest. Said he talked to him about his life and how he was doing, and nothing about football. Pace backed it up with, we're nowhere near the step of engaging Kareem Hunt yet. I would be really surprised if they went out and got him.

Hunt fills a huge need for our offense... he'll do it cheap and it won't cost us a draft pick (which is huge considering we have a 3, 4, 5, and 7. I don't know if we get Philly's 7th for Deiondre Hall).

I think Nagy and the franchise could very easily save face and say they don't condone what Hunt did but they do believe in giving a young man a second chance. Nagy could say that he believes in Hunt but that it's up to the young player to make the most of this opportunity he is being given.

If the kid is stupid enough to mess up then the Bears can cut bait and Nagy can flat out say that he gave the kid a chance to turn his career and life around and the kid failed and now is likely out of the league for good.

SOME team is going to give Kareem Hunt a shot, why not us? He fits a glaring need, has experience in the system, and most importantly has had SUCCESS in the system. Howard's contract is up after the 2019-2020 season, I'd absolutely do it.

Roethlisberger has two rape accusations but nobody dares talk about it; he crashed his motorcycle as well and almost ruined his career. Tyreek Hill admitted guilt to choking his girlfriend, etc.

The key to the media spin here will be not saying that the Bears and Nagy KNOW Hunt has turned his life around, it's that they want to GIVE HIM A CHANCE to do so. That hedge is huge because if he fails, you can save face by saying you tried to give a kid a second chance. "But the video is horrendous" is what the media will say, Nagy and the Bears can say they agree, and they don't approve of his behavior but they want to give him a second chance to turn his life around. The proverbial ball is now in his court and what he does with this opportunity is up to him.

Could you imagine this offense with a running game and dynamic threat in Kareem Hunt? The kid is 23 freaking years old right now... if you ask me I'll argue he's the final piece to this team being a Super Bowl contender...

As far as I'm concerned Parkey already screwed the pooch when he whined about making 87% of his kicks this year which made him the third worst PK in the NFL despite being one of the highest paid. IMHO he's gone. It's only a matter of when.

As it stands I'm opposed to signing Hunt. That may change if the circumstances surrounding his behavior are somewhat different than what's been reported but even then I doubt the McCaskey's will bless this after the Ray McDonald fiasco.

I think they will bring in competition for Parkey, but they will still try to salvage the contract.

I think Nagy will say ok, here is the competition and if you miss, if you are worse, if you fuck up you are gone. This will be in an attempt to put as much pressure as possible on Parkey to see if he is salvageable or if he is screwed between the ears. Best case is he settles in and becomes solid like he has been at times in the past. Worst case they have capable competition to replace him and eat the contract.

I see the argument that how could you ever trust him but kickers are just weird. Pretty much the mass majority wanted Robbie gone after two subpar seasons, then he waits half a season for someone to get hurt, kicks well and doesn't look back. This was after two statistically bad years mind you.

As far as Hunt goes I think they were just leaving the door open but I kind of doubt they bring him in just due to the press shitstorm and it really isn't a position of need for the team. Now if they were to say, trade Howard I would look for them to bring in Hunt and draft another back.

I’d welcome Kareem Hunt to the team, but not at the expense of Jordan. If he were to take Benny’s spot at #3, I’d be all for it. He’ll probably be suspeded once he signs with somebody, so probably won’t be battling for first team reps anyway.

Like everything else it also boils down to winning. Some coachs, GMs etc put up better window dressing than others, but winning is the bottom line. Parkey directly didnt help us win. Hunt would help us win. Its the bottom line and therefor they will make the necessary excuses.

Umbali wrote:Like everything else it also boils down to winning. Some coachs, GMs etc put up better window dressing than others, but winning is the bottom line. Parkey directly didnt help us win. Hunt would help us win. Its the bottom line and therefor they will make the necessary excuses.

Agreed.

Nagy is definitely being philosophically inconsistent here, but "Parkey directly didnt help us win. Hunt would help us win." is exactly correct.

Don't really want to divert the topic, because it's a good discussion to have and I'd like to hear other views on my original post.

But I was thinking about what signing Hunt would look like. He is probably considered a guy with 2 years in the league. So if I'm signing him (and assuming there isn't competition that gives him a longer option), it looks like it would be one year at probably a fairly nominal amount for an all pro, maybe $2M with no bonus which encourages him to stay clean in order to continue getting paychecks. And then if he makes it thru the year, he's a RFA, which you can re-sign for another year at less than $3M with a 1st and 3rd round tender (old rules?). After that or during that season, you go for a longer term deal if he has lived up to his end of it.

Help me out if my assumptions aren't right with the new CBA.

Not sure how it would be structured but for me I would do it as heavy on incentives with club options and clauses regarding behavior

Parkey:
Before the weird "me 1st" PR stunt, & that's exactly what it was..
I would've said that the kid has a proven history of being a successful professional kicker, he had a slump year... like MLB pitchers or batters & would do well with an offseason reset with a bit of camp competition.

There was still a decent chance of team backing him up & him proving himself.. like K. Fuller or wabs favorite = C. Leno!

I don't care about how polite or thoughtful the kid came off on a staged daytime talkshow interview.
& his religious affiliation has even LESS to do with anything football related.

Im betting that most football fans don't like the "living by my faith " slogan because.. it doesn't mean anything.
Or more precisely... it can LITERALLY mean everything.

There's no war on faith & every religion has their ideal of faith.

* * *
That nonsense out of the way..
The real problem with Parkeys interview is exactly what coach Nagy said when he publicly "undressed" the kicker with what.. 9 words?

It was a ME thing, not a we thing".

The culture change that Pace & Nagy have brought is Team 1st.
Obseesed with Chicago Bears 1st teamwork.

Nagy & the teammates had Parkeys back through every missed FG.. Every chipshot extra point.

Hell... even after the offense moved the ball (last 2 min game winning drive) down field to win the game, I believe something some of you criticized Mitch for not showing yet, to set up Parkey to do his job & steal the win...
Parkey & the ST's as a whole failed to do their jobs... Nagy & teammates.. to a man, was Team 1st.

Only 5 days after the teams Super Bowl dreams were crushed.. Cody Parkey is putting himself out there, trying to create some kind of... personal success/survivor story.
It IS an insult to the Team.

It's NOT about Parkey, its about the team.
Parkeys comments should've been kept similiar than that of his team & teammates.
He was being selfish so soon after the loss to make it all about himself.

So maybe we should all be doing our part of not over sensationalizing his personal demeanor, religious preference or Coach Nagys simple "we before me" mantra.

* * *

Hunt... yeah, the 2 questions were asked in the same 45 min presser.

The response differences are different, logically because.. They're Different situations.

The only people looking for a connection are the ones with ulterior motives.

My observations regarding Hunt:
Nagy and Pace want him, but need to be able to trust him, so Hunt will need to provide proof that he's addressed his past behavior (ie, counselling, seeking forgiveness, being contrite about his role in past behavior).
In general, Alcohol and drugs do not excuse horrible behavior, but they do tend to go hand in hand with making stupidly poor choices. If a person were to commit to staying clean, a second chance is easy to grant, and Hunt doesn't strike me as a Josh Gordon situation.

FWIW, the kid has sought help for his anger and alcohol issues. So that's a plus if he genuinely means it and it's not some PR play.

Another way to put this Kareem Hunt potential move in light... how does he stack up to RBs in this draft class and free agency?

He likely will be suspended for 6 games or so and come with baggage, but for us he'll be cheap, a perfect fit, AND has history/success with this coach.

FA:
TJ Yeldon
Alex Collins
Ameer Abdullah
Tevin Coleman
Ty Montgomery
Jay Ajayi
Spencer Ware


Draft:
Justice Hill (small)
Bryce Love (injured)
Elijah Holyfield (weed/paraphernalia arrest)

I trust Nagy since he knows Hunt better than I ever will. As a coach, I just don't know how you can trust a guy who lied to his team. That's what got him cut, not the actual altercation. I'm sure Nagy will ask Reid how he feels about the situation and come up with the right decision. Hunt is a kid and deserves a second chance, I just don't know if Chicago is the best place for that. I have no doubt he would be welcomed with open arms by the team and the organization. Our culture is exactly what a kid in his situation needs. Solid locker room leaders who can guide him when he needs some direction. My concern is that he hasn't learned his lesson yet and how much impact this could have in the locker room.

G08 wrote:He likely will be suspended for 6 games or so

He's already served 5 of those game suspensions, right? So maybe he'd miss a week or two?

Ok, from someone who has worked with criminals and peeps who have made bad decisions. Counseling, be it mental health and/or drug and alcohol, rarely works the first time. Many go thru the motions to show others they are "trying" to get better. They jump thru the hoops, say all the right things and attempt to tell themselves they have changed. It doesn't last and those peeps fall back to the dark side, whatever it is.

We can all feel good about Hunt attempting to fix/cure himself, but I for one, due to experience don't put much stock into it. Peeps want to believe because of his talent, what he could do for a team, slow your roll, it is a marathon not a sprint. It takes time to change yourself. He has some problems and it probably didn't help that he became rich over night. I don't worry about the guy. I look for guys in the draft or FA that have no baggage.

Pagan wrote:Only 5 days after the teams Super Bowl dreams were crushed.. Cody Parkey is putting himself out there, trying to create some kind of... personal success/survivor story.
It IS an insult to the Team.

It's NOT about Parkey, its about the team.
Parkeys comments should've been kept similiar than that of his team & teammates.
He was being selfish so soon after the loss to make it all about himself.

How is that different than Akiem Hicks doing the individual outside interview with Peter King the week before?

Pagan wrote:Hunt... yeah, the 2 questions were asked in the same 45 min presser.

The response differences are different, logically because.. They're Different situations.

The only people looking for a connection are the ones with ulterior motives.

That's one heck of a softball answer. Of course, any two situations are different. Parkey went on an outside interview that he shouldn't have done. Nagy's response... Anger. Hunt assaulted a woman and lied to his team about it. Nagy's response... Caring for the liar/assaulter.

What ulterior motive do I have? Please explain to me the moral consistancy of these two responses.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2 ... 659091d8ab" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

An interview interviewing and interviewer about another interview. The singularity has been achieved.

I think end of the day this is clearly sending the beginning of a we don't think Parkey can help us win moving forward but Kareem Hunt could message. I agree the Today interview probably isn't much different than the Peter King interview. I think it will be played as different by management as Parkey was more about Parkey as the face of the team loss, while Hicks is about his success as part of the team. Not saying I agree or have seen the Hicks interview.

I can see being mad about the interview more based on the history with Marshall and such. That said I also commend how he's handled himself because as one Chicago media member said he didn't win the game, he just didn't lose it. I think it's more correct in that he was not the only one who lost it.

I think it's also easier for people to vilify Parkey due to recency bias and harder to say A-Rob should've got two feet in bounds, the D shouldn't have kept a TD drive alive twice on penalties, etc. It's easier to point to the scrawny dude who doesn't hit or get hit and fault him than the guys that do. Just like I think it's easier for people to blame Bartman because he looked like a nerd, even though others reached for and may have touched the ball, Gonzalez who was there for his D muffed a routine DP ball, Prior lost all mental focus, etc.

Bears Whiskey Nut wrote: Regarding Kareem Hunt. That was a weather balloon. I think that they expected the question to be asked. Nagy was honest. Said he talked to him about his life and how he was doing, and nothing about football. Pace backed it up with, we're nowhere near the step of engaging Kareem Hunt yet. I would be really surprised if they went out and got him.

I've done a complete 180* on the kid after dissecting the original video and listening to the girl who said she was assaulted.

Go sign Hunt tomorrow.

Pagan wrote:Parkey:
Before the weird "me 1st" PR stunt, & that's exactly what it was..
I would've said that the kid has a proven history of being a successful professional kicker, he had a slump year... like MLB pitchers or batters & would do well with an offseason reset with a bit of camp competition.

PR stunt aside I've posted on this already. He's not that successful. He's mostly inconsistent.

As a rookie he made the Pro Bowl then was injured badly and missed most of his second season. If he was all that and a bag of chips why did Philly let him go before his third season when he'd been a top PK?

Cleveland signed him where he was 20/25/80% and three of his five misses also hit an upright. So this accuracy issue of his began then. If Cleveland thought it was only a slump why did they release him?

Miami picks him up and kicking down south again he has a career year yet Miami allows him to leave.....why?

Desperate for some consistency we sign him for $9 mil guaranteed and once again kicking up north he's even worse than he was with Cleveland yet somehow can't seem to grasp that or cure his inaccuracy.

And remember the guy also missed 3 FGs in August so cold weather wasn't his only issue either.

He's like a golfer with a flaw in his swing he can't seem to correct and from what he said during that TV spot it's of far less of a concern to him than it should be now that he's collecting $9 mil and set up for the rest of his life. I'm not at all opposed to his professing his faith but IMHO God and his faith are not gonna cure his inaccuracy.

I listened to the pace and Nagy interview twice yesterday. Personally I think it’s all a media generated story and got zero inclination that either of them had any serious consideration yet.

southdakbearfan wrote:I listened to the pace and Nagy interview twice yesterday. Personally I think it’s all a media generated story and got zero inclination that either of them had any serious consideration yet.

I agree. David Haugh on the radio, that dipshit, goes "The Bears talked about Hunt without his name even being brought up! I mean sure... they were ASKED about it, but..."

At that point I turned the radio off. Morons, all of them.

I do think Nagy is more open than most coaches so when he was being honest and said he spoke to Hunt a week ago, some people took it as him recruiting. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't... (I hope he was )

G08 wrote:David Haugh on the radio, that dipshit, goes "The Bears talked about Hunt without his name even being brought up! I mean sure... they were ASKED about it, but..."

A coiple quick things...

Again.. the Parkey & Hunt situations are still different.

The Parkey & Hicks interviews?
Don't know.. never heard Hicks latest interview, so I never voiced an opinion on it.
Though.. I would wager a guess that the latest Hicks interview wasn't all sappy & about himself above his team/teammates.

To Parkeys defense= Being on 4 teams is NOT a good obvious missed sign that he sucked.

Robbie Gould has been on 5 teams, he seems pretty ok...

Pagan wrote: Robbie Gould has been on 5 teams, he seems pretty ok...

3. Bears, NYG, SF. Not that it changes your point.

Signed as an UDFA by Pats in 2005. So 4.

What’s the situation with Parkey? Is he still with the team? If yes, what are the plans for him? If he’ll be cut, any mention of replacements?