Parkey's 2 missed kicks no cause for concern, Kelly says

The difference in the Eagles' kicking game between last summer and this one showed by the way Eagles coach Chip Kelly reacted to a poor performance.

Alex Henery's first field-goal attempt of the 2014 preseason sailed wide right from 47 yards away, and Kelly had little patience for his kicker. One week later, the team traded for a rookie named Cody Parkey.

Parkey won the job and made the Pro Bowl in his first season. But his 2015 preseason opener included a missed extra point from 33 yards away and a 34-yard field-goal try that hooked right.

Kelly's reaction?

"Let's not hit the panic button on Cody right now," said Kelly, who will not bring in competition for Parkey.

Henery's leash had little slack last August, but Parkey's rope could stretch with the distance of his kicks. That's what happens after a season in which Parkey connected on 32 of 36 field goals, including a team-record four kicks from 50-plus yards.

"He was [a Pro Bowl] kicker last year," Kelly said. "In his first exhibition game, he missed an extra point and a field goal. He's hit three from 40, too."

Parkey connected on two attempts of 40 yards and one from 48 yards, plus he made three other extra points in the Eagles' 36-10 win over the Colts on Sunday. So it was not all bad for him. But kicks within 40 yards should not sail wayward twice in a game.

"That should be very easily made by me," Parkey said. "It's all on me. I missed the kicks. But I think it just shows why we do preseason - to get some kicks under your belt, get some plays under your belt, feel natural, feel good going into the first game."

Parkey also missed three attempts from 42 yards during one drill last week. "He made a mistake in practice?" Kelly said sarcastically. "I mean, let's not go crazy now. He's a pretty good kicker."

Parkey's dependability last season was a major asset to the team. He missed two attempts in a Week 16 loss to Washington but was otherwise proficient.

"It's not easy, no," Parkey said Sunday of rebounding after a miss. "You miss a kick, you're like, 'What happened?' You think about it until your next kick. But I think the test of a true kicker is, you go out there and miss, can you go out there and make the next one? So obviously I had a couple ups and downs in the game. Finished on a good one."

Parkey's missed extra point captured attention because it was the Eagles' first game since the league moved the extra points to the 15-yard line, making them the equivalent of a 33-yard field goal. The rule was changed to add a degree of difficulty to the play, which had a 99.3 percent success rate last season.

In 17 preseason games this summer, there have been two misses on 56 attempts. That's a 96.4 percent conversion rate. When the extra point was moved back on an experimental basis for two weeks last summer, kickers converted 94.3 percent of their attempts.

"Doesn't affect me at all," Parkey said. "You've just got to hit a straight ball and you won't miss."

Two-point conversions will still go from the 2-yard line, but Kelly said in May that he would not change his post-touchdown strategy. Kelly said the Eagles have been 96 percent from the new extra-point distance since he became coach, so there's no added incentive in going for a two-point conversion.

The debate will get louder if Parkey misses an extra point again from the new distance. Although if that happens, the "panic button" might be closer. But this summer is not like last summer, and Kelly and Parkey are not concerned.

"I think everyone's human, everyone misses a kick here and there," Parkey said. "Obviously it's pretty embarrassing to go out there and miss two in the first game. . . . Just got to go out there next week and do better."

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