Fresh off their 16-13 loss to the Chicago Bears last Thursday night, Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich told reporters that his decision to attempt a pretty improbable field goal at the end of the game received “mixed opinions” from the sideline. But special teams coordinator Chris Tabor wasn’t very mixed about it.
Tabor was asked about the call this afternoon.
“I think Coach made the right call,” he said. “I know we can talk about it at length. It’s the call, you made it, went out there and obviously we didn’t make it. Got a lot of confidence in Eddy [Piñeiro]. Seen him hit those kicks. Wind was at his back.”
The kick was a 59-yard try from Piñeiro, who came up well short. His miss allowed the Bears to take over and kneel the game out from the 1:40 mark of the fourth quarter.
Piñeiro is now 16 of 19 on his field goal tries this season, and has hit on three of five attempts from at least 50 yards out. Tabor later added that he and the team, regardless of what happened last week, remain confident in their kicker.
“He’s hittin’ the ball really well, and I like where he’s at,” he said of Piñeiro. “That’s what practice tells me. His ball flight, there’s a lot of things. So we got a lot of confidence in our guy.”
