Ryan Pace has his faults. Talk to plenty of Chicago Bears fans and they’d have no problem pointing them out. His reckless willingness to give away draft picks in expensive trades. Not always doing his due diligence on key players before drafting or signing them. Falling too much in love with potential rather than proven production. All valid criticisms. Yet the man has his good points too. One that can’t be argued by anybody?
He is an absolute maestro when it comes to disguising his intentions before a big move. When was the last time anybody successfully predicted what he would do? Not a single person saw his trade up in 2017 for Mitch Trubisky coming. Why? He made sure nobody knew. He publicly attended the pro day of Deshaun Watson and met with Patrick Mahomes. Yet little mention was made of Trubisky. It got to a point where everybody thought the Bears would take a defender like Solomon Thomas or Jamal Adams.
Then the jump from #3 to #2 and bam. Trubisky is the new quarterback.
Even the Bears’ own head coach John Fox had no idea it was going to happen until hours before. That is how obsessed Pace is with keeping secrets. The Khalil Mack trade the next year was another example. Most national pundits didn’t rate the Bears as a top landing spot. Then Pace swooped in and brought the superstar pass rusher to Chicago.
Even this past year wasn’t without shocks. Everybody thought Nick Foles was the obvious target for the Bears. Now in fairness, this is what ended up happening. However, he wasn’t their primary target. That was Teddy Bridgewater whom they pursued hard at the start of free agency. He ended up going to Carolina in the end, necessitating the Bears moving on to Foles.
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The point is? After years of learning that Pace never, ever shows his cards it’s surprising nobody has applied this lesson to the present.
Is Carson Wentz the endgame or the distraction for Ryan Pace?
The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback remains the center of attention as the NFL shifts to the offseason. With Matthew Stafford off the board, it’s felt the 28-year old will be the next major QB domino to fall. Everybody seems convinced that the Bears are the heavy favorite. They have the biggest offer on the table with the Indianapolis Colts a close second. Or at least that’s what the buzz has indicated.
Is this true? Everything about the Wentz situation seems difficult to understand. Yes, he has ties to the coaching staff with John DeFilippo and was somebody Pace liked back in 2016. Yet plenty of things about it seem off from Wentz’s poor play last year, his well-documented rift with former head coach Doug Pederson (a friend of Matt Nagy), and most importantly that massive contract. Is Ryan Pace ready to gamble what could be his future in Chicago on a guy who was benched for a rookie last season?
Maybe. Yet history shows this is a time to be skeptical.
It’s quite possible Pace is using the Wentz situation to cover up his real intentions. Just like he used Foles to pursue Bridgewater and just like he used Watson to pursue Trubisky. The obvious question is if it’s not Wentz, then who is it? There are other veteran options out there. Deshaun Watson is obvious. Derek Carr is also not out of the question. Yet here’s an interesting quote from Brad Biggs back in early November.
“Do the Bears give Pace another swing at the quarterback position? I don’t know. I do believe they need to be beating the bushes for their next young quarterback, and smart personnel people I know say if Pace is back in 2021, he sure as heck would do just that with the idea of buying himself more time on the job.”
Here’s a hypothetical. Is it possible Pace is using the veteran market as a cover for maybe an aggressive move for a quarterback in the draft? Thus far the Bears have been connected to several names like Wentz, Stafford, Carr, Watson, and Jameis Winston. Yet there hasn’t been a single whisper about anybody in the draft. Could the GM have designs on moving up for a top prospect with the hope that early success may convince ownership he has the franchise facing in the right direction?
Think what Justin Herbert did this past year. While it was too late to save head coach Anthony Lynn, his instant success preserved the job of GM Tom Telesco. Kyler Murray did the same for Steve Keim in Arizona. It’s quite possible Ryan Pace is having the same thought process right now and wants to make sure nobody knows it.
