How Bears rookie holder Gill put Santos' mind at ease originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Special teams is often overlooked by football fans as rote plays that should be executed easily, every single time. But when it comes to kicking a field goal or a point-after try a lot goes into it. The long snapper, holder and kicker all have to be in-sync, like a well-oiled machine, for things to work. The Bears have rostered only one kicker, one holder and one long snapper this year, largely because they want that unit to get as many reps as possible together. With rookie Trenton Gill entering the mix, it’s even more important. By all accounts, however, the Bears’ special teams trio has gotten off to an impressive start.
“It’s exceeded my expectations when dealing with a new guy,” said Cairo Santos. “I’ve bounced around and had to do workouts with different holders and with different teams and getting adjusted, so as soon as Trent came in, I was able to just to watch him a little bit and see how he is with his hands. He’s very athletic, very comfortable when he’s holding. I knew having Scales, having him back after him being a free agent, was going to be huge for our operation. Somebody I trust. Somebody who I think is one of the best in the league.”
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
Everything starts with the snap, so obviously Scales is important to the operation. Richard Hightower said that for a successful kick, the laces of the ball should be somewhere between 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock by the time the ball reaches the holder. Scales is so dialed in, that he usually has the laces between 11 and 12 o’clock.
Then it’s up to the holder, Gill, to get the ball down where Santos likes it. When Gill first got to Bears rookie minicamp, he was impressed with how much Hightower knew about punting. Hightower also taught him a new holding technique.
“I was like, ‘Man, why haven’t I been doing this the whole time?’” Gill said back in May.
Local
Gill figured out that new technique quickly, because by the time the veterans came in for camp, Santos said there were no growing pains for Gill as a holder. Santos said it’s for a kicking operation to run as smoothly as it did, so quickly, with a rookie entering the mix.
“Just like really molding the ball the way I like with the lean and stuff, especially when dealing with the wind,” Santos said about Gill’s holding prowess. “There’s all kinds of ways that I like the ball to be pointed at and held, and it was just like a little next level that we kind of taught him, that it’s not just about catching and putting it down.
“On the way down to the ground, he’s already kind of molding the ball so I see less of a spinning ball if the laces aren’t perfect. When the ball’s on the ground is really when we get to see it, so if it’s spinning, it kind of distracts us a little bit. So it’s like that part, he’s already molding and doing the movement before he puts it down. That’s what really separates I think the great holders, and then he learned that really quick. And, yeah, we’ve been solid.”
Hightower reiterated Santos’ assessment and really drove home that if one thing goes wrong in the sequence, things can fall apart.
“You would be surprised, if those laces aren’t correct or if the ball’s tilted the wrong way, it’s got no chance to go through the goalposts. We’re talking about minute inches off. Those guys are working really well right now in sync. I’m happy where they are.”
Click here to follow the Under Center Podcast.
