Bears kicker Cairo Santos was very critical of the turf quality at Soldier Field
Bears K Cairo Santos enters the season as the Bears' most accurate kicker in franchise history according to the Bears' official site.
Santos is the teams' only kicker on the depth chart this preseason. He's converted 89.1 percent of his field-goal attempts (57 of 64) since joining the team. He's also converted 40 straight field goals, which is not only a team record but the third longest streak in NFL history
However, Santos was not pleased with the way the Bears handle the turf for their practice at Soldier Field on Tuesday.
After the weekend's Elton John concert at Soldier Field, the grass was left looking dead and riddled with holes. It looks like someone shut the water off for a few weeks.
Bears kicker Cairo Santos detailed the "sandy" field and holes that led to a challenging day of training camp for the veteran. It's something he's learned to "deal with" during his tenure with the Bears.
"I learned last year," Santos said. "There were spots yesterday that we noticed and we talked about with Trent[on] [Gill] because he's new. Look, if we have a field goal right here, we have to move it maybe off the hash. Or maybe on the field more, inside the hash more, just to get away from this hole."
Even his teammate defensive end Robert Quinn spoke about the field quality.
"That's just part of Soldier Field," Quinn said. "You realize what you're playing with. The grass and how it's not like turf where it's gonna stick. It's gonna give a little bit so you've just gotta realize the surface you're playing on and get adjusted. We practice on the grass anyway. You try to get adjusted as best as possible. If it don't work, try new cleats and, well, you'll figure it out."
Here is a report from Adam Hoge on the situation:
Cairo Santos saying he had to stop practicing on a high school field because it was much better than Soldier Field says it all. But the Chicago Park District hasn't cared in years...- Jacob Infante
