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ROSEMONT http://www.broncosauthorizedshops.com/authentic-dre_mont-jones-jersey , Ill. (AP) — As the ball hit the upright and crossbar, Robbie Gould could imagine how Cody Parkey felt. The Chicago Bears‘ breakthrough season came to a crushing conclusion, particularly for their embattled kicker.“I’ve been there,” he said. “I’ve missed game-winning kicks, too.”Parkey’s miss off the left upright and crossbar in the closing seconds of a 16-15 wild-card loss to Philadelphia at home turned out to be his final attempt as a member of the Bears. A person familiar with the situation said Friday that the Bears have decided to release him. That figures to fuel more speculation about Gould returning to Chicago.He’s scheduled to become a free agent on March 13. The Bears need a kicker. And the million dollar — or multimillion dollar — question is whether they will bring back their career scoring leader.“The McCaskey family (owners) changed my family’s life,” said Gould, who watched from a suite at Soldier Field with his wife and three young sons as the Bears lost to the Eagles. “They gave us a lot of great opportunities in one of the greatest sports cities you’ll ever find. I’m thankful that they gave me that opportunity. I’ll be forever thankful. My kids will be raised Bears fans. This is home.”Gould spoke Friday at the Chicago Golf Show. He is promoting a software system called Eventlify that helps organizers manage all aspects of golf events.Gould converted more than 85 percent of his field goals and missed just four of his 383 extra points as a member of the Bears from 2005-15. He amassed 1,207 points before general manager Ryan Pace and former coach John Fox let him go just before the start of the 2016 season.In the three years since he has combined to make 82 of 85 field goals for the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers. Chicago kickers, by comparison, are 57 of 75 in that span.Parkey simply didn’t give the Bears the consistency they’ve been seeking since letting Gould go. Signed to a four-year contract last March, he made 23 of 30 field goals for the third-lowest conversion rate in the NFL. He was 42 of 45 on extra points. Six of his misses, counting the playoffs, hit uprights. And he didn’t endear himself to the team’s hierarchy by appearing on the “Today” show a few days after that playoff loss T.J. Hockenson Jersey , a move coach Matt Nagy referred to as “a ‘me’ thing.”Gould might command a rather high price, particularly if the 49ers place the franchise tag on him.“They have the opportunity to get a contract done with me,” he said. “Obviously, they have exclusive rights to talk to me until free agency opens. There’s no reason not to. … At this point, I’m just enjoying being around my kids and not really worried about the football contract.”Gould insisted he has no hard feelings toward the Bears for letting him go. He was shaky in the 2016 preseason after missing six field goals the previous year to match a career high he set as a rookie. But he has been just about automatic the past three years thanks to some adjustments in his footwork. At 36, he plans to play “until they tell me no.”Gould still lives in the Chicago area. His wife Lauren is from here. And in a few weeks, they plan to move into the house in the northwest suburbs built on property purchased just a few days before the Bears cut him.The Bears, meanwhile, went 12-4 to win the NFC North in Nagy’s first season after four straight last-place finishes. Gould called him the “perfect fit” for the organization. He mentioned the connection to Kansas City, where Nagy worked on Andy Reid’s staff, and longtime Bears special teams coordinator Dave Toub has served in the same role since 2013. And he said he also keeps in touch with current Chicago special teams coordinator Chris Tabor.“Once a Bear always a Bear,” he said. “I truly mean that. This is where I spent 11 years of my life playing for an awesome organization. I’ve developed a lot of great relationships throughout the city but also the organization, just like I’ve done in New York Zach Brown Jersey , just like I’ve done in San Francisco. Will it happen? I don’t know.” All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey wants to cover the No. 1 receiver each opponent has to offer. He welcomes the challenge. He even requests it.
In the AFC championship game at New England on Sunday, it’s a tight end. Rob Gronkowski is considered the NFL’s best at the position, a 6-foot-6, 265-pound behemoth and a daunting matchup for nearly every defender in the league.
Not for Ramsey, who might get a chance to test his skills against the fellow All-Pro.
”He hasn’t played a corner like me before,” Ramsey said Friday.
Ramsey has held his own and then some against a handful of the most dynamic receivers in the league: DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green, Antonio Brown, T.Y. Hilton, Keenan Allen, Larry Fitzgerald, Doug Baldwin, Marqise Goodwin and others.
The 6-foot-1 Kyler Murray Jersey , 208-pound Ramsey has the size, speed, athleticism, instincts and body control to stay with anyone. Gronkowski would create other issues, mainly because of his strength and agility.
Asked what advantage he would have against Gronk, Ramsey replied: ”Everything.”
The Jaguars certainly have faith in their trash-talking, second-year pro.
”If I had to bet on a corner to cover (Gronk), I’d put money on Jalen Ramsey for sure,” quarterback Blake Bortles said. ”I’ve been impressed with everything I’ve ever seen out of him. His physical tools and obviously his mental toughness and what he’s able to do throughout the game and kind of getting in guys’ heads and doing different things.
”I think it’ll be awesome, and I think it’s a great challenge for him, and I think it’ll be a cool experience to watch those guys go head to head if they get the opportunity to.”
It wouldn’t be the first time a cornerback has lined up across from Gronkowski. Teams often do it when he shifts wide in hopes of getting a favorable matchup against a linebacker or safety.
Jaguars defensive coordinator Todd Wash, as expected, offered few hints about what could be in store for Gronkowski Byron Murphy Jersey , who caught 69 passes for 1,084 yards and eight touchdowns in the regular season.
”We have to get the right guy on him in man situations and obviously know where he is at in zone coverage,” Wash said. ”Nobody around the league has stopped him, so we have to have a plan. We feel very confident with our plan and we have to go in there and execute it.”
Is Ramsey covering Gronk part of the plan?
”In a basketball game, I think we would,” Wash said. ”But Jalen is a corner and we’re going to run our system. I think the last thing you can do is to go into a game like this and you try and reinvent the wheel. … Jalen is a good corner and he plays against wide receivers.”
Gronk is as dangerous as any receiver in the league, and the Jaguars know it. So don’t count out seeing Ramsey across from him at some point.
”Jalen is a freak,” Jaguars veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis said. ”Tall, rangy, long arms and physical and can run. It’s tough for a tight end because a lot of us are long striders. When you get a guy disrupting stuff and punching you and messing up your stride, it can be tough.
”Even if you come off the line and try to do something early, he’s probably going to punch you in the mouth right back. He doesn’t shy away from anything. It’d be a matchup that would be interesting.”
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