The Chicago Bears aren’t quite the worst offense in the NFL. That honor remains with the Jets. Still, they’re knocking on the door after another dismal performance in Tennessee. One that saw them managed just three points in the first three quarters before garbage time made it look a little better cosmetically. If anything it was just the latest indictment of GM Ryan Pace.
This unit has his fingerprints all over it. Ten of the 11 players who suited up as starters for the game were acquired by him at some point in the past few years. Not to mention he hired the head coach running it in Matt Nagy. A man who clearly looks overwhelmed by the job being asked of him. Yet everybody knows what this all comes back to.
The quarterbacks.
Pace said the right things when he declared it his mission to build this team around the QB position. To his credit, he made a number of big runs at it. Unfortunately, none of them have come to fruition. Mike Glennon was an expensive purchase in 2017 free agency. He lasted four games before getting benched.
Mitch Trubisky was the prized acquisition in the draft a month later. Things started out with promise but the young QB leveled off by the start of 2019. He steadily declined from there. Last but certainly not least is Nick Foles whom Pace traded a 4th round pick for this past March. He had a nice debut in Atlanta but hasn’t been able to stop the ship from sinking. His numbers are pedestrian and the tape is even worse.
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After watching this team for long enough, former defensive end Alex Brown has seen enough to know one thing. The Bears would be nuts to give Pace another opportunity to pick their next quarterback.
“What are we going to do? If you’re going to change it, so we’re going to rebuild it. That takes time. You’re not going to do it in one draft. It’s going to take time. Are you going to give (Pace) the time to do that, to change it? Do you want to do that? I mean he’s picked three quarterbacks now, Ryan Pace that is. He’s brought in three quarterbacks. Do you want him to bring in a fourth? Those are the questions that are happening right now, and a lot of those answers are, ‘No.’”
Ryan Pace can’t hide from his mistakes anymore
The cold reality is this business is built on winning. If you don’t do it enough? You don’t keep your job. Pace has one winning season in his tenure as Bears GM. Now after a 5-1 start, his roster has begun to crumble and show just how deep the cracks go. Cracks he created thanks to a series of misguided draft decisions. Yes, it centers around Trubisky, but what about the other misfires?
- Kevin White
- Hroniss Grasu
- Leonard Floyd
- Adam Shaheen
- Anthony Miller
All of those guys have underachieved or were outright busts. This forced Pace to spend heavily in free agency in order to cover them up. A recipe for long-term disaster. One that has begun to truly haunt them this season. They have no quarterback, no offensive line, no tight end, and one good wide receiver.
What makes anybody think this trend changes starting next year?
Ryan Pace isn’t the worst GM in the world. There have been plenty of bad ones in Bears history alone. The truth is though? He’s had long enough. This franchise gave him six years to get it right. Barring an unlikely turnaround in the final seven games, they need a fresh start with somebody new. Somebody who can build a great team. Not just a great defense.