"For the first time in his tenure, the Bears don't have a kicker in camp to push Robbie Gould.

That doesn't mean the freshly minted former Pro Bowler isn't pushing himself. He has made 63 of 72 field goals (87.5 percent) the last two seasons, and while he's striving to maintain that level of excellence, he's also working to add distance to his kickoffs.

He had three touchbacks last season after recording 11 in 2006, but the Bears were still tops in the NFL in kickoff coverage at 19.3 yards per return. Gould's hang time always has been good -- at or just above four seconds -- and the Bears hope a change in mechanics will allow him to keep that while driving the ball farther.

Special-teams coordinator Dave Toub and assistant Chris Tabor worked with Gould this spring on lining up a little deeper and wider. So far, it has worked well.

''You are always looking to improve,'' said Gould, who cashed in with a $15.5 million contract extension in the offseason. ''You're kicking in Chicago. You're not going to have 27 touchbacks. It's just not going to happen.

''Would you like to see more? Absolutely. But at the same time, when you're kicking the ball over 4.0 [seconds] inside the 5 or deeper, and your guys are covering the ball inside the 20, that's just as good as a touchback.

''We changed up my approach, and we think it's going to help at least have more hang time and/or hit it a little deeper. I'm just trying to get more consistent with it.''

Toub stressed that the change is a function of always working to improve, not the sign of a problem.

''Robbie does a good job of hanging the ball up there,'' Toub said. ''We strive for perfection and think this is something we can get better at. He's got a strong leg, and I don't want anyone to think anything else.''

Gould, who would have been an unrestricted free agent after the season, called the financial windfall a blessing.

''It's pretty cool,'' he said. ''I can come here and kind of relax and just focus on kicking and not worry about someone breathing down my neck. I'm always competing to be the best and I'm always out there trying to do the best, but at the same time, the last three years I've been in here trying to battle for my job.

''This year I have no competition right now. Hopefully they bring somebody in and push him, and if not, I'm pushing myself and I want to be the best. I want to go out there and make every kick and do my job. That's what I'm supposed to do.''"