Ryan Poles had a good idea of the mess he inherited when he took over. There is a reason the new GM unloaded almost two-thirds of the Chicago Bears roster from last season. He didn’t consider it talented enough. Unfortunately, when there is that much roster overturn, it often leads to rough performances on the field. That is why the Bears have the worst passing offense in the NFL and a defense that can’t stop the run. People are blaming Poles for not doing enough to fix these problems. One person that isn’t is Michael Lombardi. He is pointing the finger at Ryan Pace.
Lombardi spent several years as an executive in the NFL, including a brief stint as GM for the Cleveland Browns. Bears fans should know him well. He’s been an outspoken critic of the organization for some time, especially Pace, whom he never had a high opinion of. That was especially true when it came to his quarterback evaluations.
- Signing Mike Glennon.
- Drafting Mitch Trubisky
- Trading for Nick Foles
- Signing Andy Dalton
- Drafting Justin Fields
It seemed to be one blunder after another from the former GM. Lombardi didn’t hold back during his GM Shuffle podcast, railing against Pace for still having a job in the NFL after burning the Bears to the ground on his way out.
My man @mlombardiNFL killed me. As God as my witness, I am broken in half.
Ryan Pace is back to hiding under his desk…just in Atlanta. 💀 pic.twitter.com/VHAmpxBzS6
— Joe Ostrowski (@JoeOstrowski) October 5, 2022
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Ryan Pace vowed to change the Bears’ culture.
In the end, he became the embodiment of it. The organization fell into a remarkably consistent identity over the past several decades. They built teams that could run the ball, play great defense, and couldn’t develop a successful passing game to save their lives. Pace came from an organization that had bucked that trend years ago. He made everybody think he could change the Bears’ fortunes. Instead, his legacy will be defined by changing nothing. Like his predecessors, he built a great defense, found good running backs, and constructed laughable passing attacks.
He took Trubisky over Patrick Mahomes. Now it looks like Fields may also end up a bust based on his recent play. Much of that is courtesy of Ryan Pace not knowing how to evaluate good offensive linemen, tight ends, or wide receivers. So yeah. What Lombardi says is painful, but there is no denying the truth to his words. The man responsible for this misery Bears fans keep experiencing is Pace.
