Cairo Santo Seeks Job Stability After Solidifying Bears Kicking
Bears coach Matt Nagy had to be having a "there but for the grace of God go I," moment this week when he sat down to look at Minnesota Vikings film.
So did Cairo Santos.
When Dan Bailey missed four kicks last week in a 26-14 Vikings loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, no one else in the league could sympathize better with Vikings coach Mike Zimmer than Nagy, Cody Parkey's victim in the 2018 playoffs.
"Some of these kickers, they go out and they might have a bad game for one day or one week and then next week all of a sudden they're getting kicker of the week," Nagy said. "So, you just have to understand that part of it."
No kicker could sympathize better with the kicker the Bears face Sunday in Minneapolis than Santos, who missed four field goals in a game last year for Tennessee and promptly got cut. Bailey was able to keep his job.
So Santos is trying to be humble at the moment after making 18 straight field goals and putting himself in the running to set a Bears all-time record for field goal accuracy. Santos is still eight short of Robbie Gould's club record 26 straight set from Dec. 25, 2005 through Nov. 19, 2006.
"Those are good things to handle," Santos said. "Obviously, having a hot streak you definitely have more confidence, you're looser about how you approach the day."
Santos is grateful for good snaps from Patrick Scales, good holds from Pat O'Donnell and of coure, the good kicks.
"I've been humbled so many times and I just try to keep that same mentality because it can snap any time," Santos said.
Santos is 21 for 23 and his .913 percentage would be a team record if he didn't try another kick. The record is held by Gould at .897 in 2008.
What a turnabout it has been for the Bears in terms of kicking.
"Well, I will say it has certainly been nice," Nagy said. "We're not talking about it a lot, which has been good and for a good reason, he's doing well. That's great.
"It's a huge part of momentum if you're not able to score a touchdown. To get three points certainly helps."
Nagy knows it can affect a coach's confidence going into a game when they have to make decisions on going for first downs or even simply attempting a field goal. He decided last year in Los Angeles against kicking two fairly simple kicks in the 45-plus range after Eddy Pinieiro missed from 47.
So it's possible the Bears could see some changes in the strategic thinking of Zimmer when they play, even if it is indoors.
"As an offense you go into some games just kind of knowing, 'OK, where's the confidence of the guy?" Nagy said. "And you want to make sure that they can go ahead and make that first kick. Is that a part of it? And then other times too sometimes you've gotta make that kick and you gotta be in that position.
"It can definitely affect you at some point."
Bears special teams coordinator Chris Tabor found something else Santos has done well.
"I think that his confidence," Tabor said. "I think he's kicking at a high level. I really like the way he's kicking off in regards to moving the football around and limiting some field space to cover there. So he's growing in that area. We have to continue it."
For the Bears, this success by Santos could lead to a decision in the future considering they have Piniero still on injured reserve. Santos doesn't have a contract for next year and when you've been cut for missing four in a game, an extension would be nice.
"It's been a goal of mine to have stability," Santos said. "Every year, I've always feel I have to keep proving myself, being a better kicker every year. It's been something I've been working towards.
"I've had some setbacks with injuries. Every time I get to be with a team, the ultimate goal is to keep playing my dream. So, continue to just do what I can."
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