I was reading a Lions sub, specifically a thread about "Expect 0-17 is possible this year" and it got me thinking. They are more or less expecting the team to suck and build towards the next year. Granted, they've been rebuilding since the 60s, but they have a plan to get a high draft pick, evaluate young players and build to the future. I mean they had solved the QB problem and still couldn't build around him even when they had Calvin Johnson! The Bears were similar I guess when John Fox was here, resulting in a top 3 pick in Mitch Trubisky, and when Pace was hired, the "cupboard was bare" from the Emery years. But then he's gone out and done all kinds of trades, be it draft day or just guys like Mack. Hell even this year, he traded not once but twice during draft day. He's signing guys with void years multiple years out. This to me says he thinks we are a playoff team on the cusp, and I guess technically they were a playoff team but if you thought they could make some noise, you weren't paying any attention at all. I guess what I'm worried about is, say Fields is the HOF QB we all hope he might be, he will still need a few years to get up to speed - at which point our Defense will have aged out along with plenty of other players. Where is our young talented core? Where are the build up of draft picks so we have a higher chance of hitting on these young players? It feels like a recipe for disaster, that even if Fields pans out, his supporting cast is going to let him down in a big way sooner than later. Pace has never taken the time to build for the future, it is all a win now notion, and it's gotten us 8-8 seasons outside of the initial Mack year. I didn't expect the Bears to be 0-17, but I did see this as a "growth" year for our young QB. What does Pace think is what I wonder. What do you guys think?
Yeah its pretty crazy to think the Lions had an all-time top10 WR and a talented #1 overall pick at QB and they couldn't build jack shit around them. Like you say, building since the 60s Pace has done all kinds of trades, at this point he's fucking addicted. One i still won't fault him for tho is the Mack trade. I maintain that trade did make sense. If you operate under the belief that Pace had, which was that Trubisky was gonna become anything remotely as successful as Kyler Murray is now, then solving the missing piece on Defense put this team firmly in the SB discussion. I mention Murray cos he is now in his 3rd season. Entering his third season the Bears believed Trubisky was about to take off. Fun fact: Trubisky had a higher QB rating in his second season than Kyler Murray did. So yeah, the plan had merit. But this was all back in the days when Pace actually had a plan. These days i really don't think there is any plan other than short term job preservation. Pace's airhole is barely above the water line and all he can do now is thrash about in the hope of keeping it there.
Yeah, any chance to rip on the lions is ok by me. No one does it better than Lions fans themselves too, that's why I was reading their sub in the first place. They are brutal. To Pace though, that's exactly my concern. Head above water and thrashing around is not a way to build a successful franchise. You are spot on, that they felt if Mitch panned out, then all these trades are worth it, because around now Mitch would be coming into his own with the defense hitting its stride etc. 2018 we were "rebuilding" while making a run. What were we doing the last two years? What are we this year? "Contender" doesn't seem to fit, we're just below that mediocre bar where we need to start investing in the future, as we did with Fields and Jenkins, but we emptied the future cupboard for it. If we're not going to make some noise in the playoffs this year, then when? I've got a bad feeling we are years away, and that blang might be right that the 3 games we won last year at the end and backdooring into the playoffs were enough to keep us in this limbo.
He can't possibly think this is a playoff team or even close. He is scratching and clawing to squeeze out every stinking win so he can somehow keep this illusion and scam going. He's not worried about tomorrow, because how else can you explain his recent trade for a fumbling PR with draft capital?
^This. The Fields pick bought him this year and next year at least. Pre-2018 I thought the Mack trade signaled he was ready to go for it all with that roster at the time. Unfortunately by mid-2019 it was obvious that the QB wasn't going to work out. Couple that with a declining defense and every move prior to the Fields pick was trying to bandaid over the holes the roster did have. The problem is, outside of Fields, the arrow is pointed way down for the roster. I can't even conceive how he will get us through the cap hell that will be 2022 without completely gutting depth and key starters. Fields may have less around him next year than he does this year, not to mention the defense. Will we even have enough money to franchise Roquan?
The league is a fickle one. I agree Pace tries to 'win now' because there have been other organizations with nice owners who say the right things and want their GM to be the most successful and sometimes you see guys get fired after 2 years. Now Georgie has never been that way as far as I know--Phil Emery being the closest--but reality is there are only 32 NFL GM spots. I think building the defense up first was a smart move during his "honeymoon" phase followed by John Fox being the idiot we know and saw. Then Mitch, Nagy and the rest, until now. I'll say this for Ryan Pace--I think he *can* build a modern, NFF 2021 and beyond offense that bears fruit, chunk plays, points, and everything else you'd want. He clearly knows when things aren't working and isn't afraid to pull the trigger. He emphatically/quickly said Mitch wont get his rookie 5th year option (same with Leonard Floyd). We all agreed because up until that point, you'd be insane/just wanting to waste a billionaire's money to keep them. But then it falls back to two top 10 picks failing and needing to go. I wish he put as much effort into the OLine as he has done with his fucking trade boner. Shedding light on something causes the cockroaches to scatter, and especially at the end of 2019--the OLine started to have a target on its back, enter Bobby Massie getting cut. Bingo. The bears feel the heat, that's for damned sure. Matt Nagy goes weekly from saying "Andy Dalton is our starter when he's healthy" emphatically to "Justin Fields is the starter for the remainder of the season" like he's red-assed adolescent and just got an asswhooping from his dad/mom after acting up in public for everyone to see. He didn't see the light after 1 day, there's no fucking way given his body of work since getting her in 2018. Ryan Pace and maybe sweaty Teddy stepped in. And I gotta tell you, 'self-preservation' gets a LOT easier if and when Justin Fields looks good/great/growing and Matt Nagy hinders everything with his stupidity, because that's how you join a select club of GMs who get 3 HC picks.
I still wonder about this, especially as the trade deadline looms. Right now is the time to see if there is some team that's "on the cusp" that might take say an Allen Robinson. "Fearing for your job" means "win now" which means they will not trade anyone. For the good of this franchise, they should start building to the future, because it's clear they are not making noise this season. So build around Fields, get some picks back. I like A. Rob, but the chances of him being here next year are slim, and he honestly looks like he's dogging it. The best time to trade him was before the season, the second best time is right now. His value isn't going to go up from here and he is not worth what they reportedly offered him.
I thought exactly the same thing last year re trades. May as well get some picks back, but i really don't think it will happen. Because of the optics as much as anything. They're trying to sell ownership that the team is close and in the hunt. Multiple jobs hang on that lie. Trading away players says you've given up on the season. Its all bullshit but thats why they won't imo. Would they be able to get more for ARob now than they could thru a compensatory pick?
Making the playoffs saved their jobs. There's no way they trade away pieces now when A ) Pace is doing everything he can to sell cap space tomorrow for a little space today B ) they could back into a wild card spot with a bad record, and earn themselves another argument to keep their jobs. These are the consequences of keeping people in their positions when it's clear they're not suited for them. The desperation cripples the team now and in the future. All we can hope for is a clean sweep at the end of this year, and a young QB who hasn't been ruined, yet.
Boom! They know the ship is sinking, so instead of bettering their future as a football team and obtaining supplies to fix the damage and pissing off the masses of asses of Bears fans with a white flag sale, which thereby affect Virginia's ability to continue sliding those nickels into her little change purse. They figured it's time to dress in drag and try to get the last seat on the last lifeboat of the Titanic and masquerade as a contending NFL team.
This joker at CBS thinks we could get a 2nd and a 5th. 2021 NFL trade deadline: Allen Robinson, Nick Foles among big names in 10 deals that should happen this season Compensatory picks always confuse me, especially since FA pickups affect it (and lets be real, Pace isn't going to stop picking up FAs if A.Rob walks) but seems like it'd be a 3rd or so? Last year, Fuller is a piece that 100% had value. Instead we let him walk for the cap and he sucked balls in Denver, and has zero value to anyone. Again, this is why my ultimate question is where does Pace think this team is. I think you guys are right that he thinks this team can backdoor into playoffs and thus keep his job. But that's not getting us to the promised land.
