Kolek planning to go pro
Let Pace and Nagy build a roster together - in the scheme Nagy envisions.
Appreciate this, too, and I think I've finally got it through my thick skull: If Trubisky doesn't pan out, he will have been Pace's mess but not Nagy's. Correct?I'm guessing Nagy's reputation also will have been stained some because he will not have been able to "coach up" Trubinsky well enough.
You want to give Pace a second crack at a rebuild after he effed up his first? You're far more forgiving than most NFL owners would be.
The old rule of thumb is that a GM gets to hire two coaches before he starts to take the heat himself. I'm sure there have been plenty of exceptions to that -- GMs who were canned more quickly, and GMs who were allowed to run through 3-4 coaches before getting the ax themselves.I haven't lived in Chicago for 9+ years now, and I no longer follow the Bears very closely, so I appreciate the info and opinions that others are sharing here. My son still lives there, and he is a huge Bears fan, so I get to hear his angst-filled take on things fairly often.
But everybody knows he really didn't hire John Fox. The Bears hired former Giants GM to run their search that ended up with Pace. Fox had just been fired by the Broncos and Acorsi, who knew him from all his years in New York, recommended him as coach. How much Pace wanted to go along with that is a bit up for debate.
He didn't eff up the first. Hell, if they had aforementioned Alex Smith (the Redskins, uninjured version) this would be a damn good team. They whiffed on a QB, and thats damning, but they didn't mess up a rebuild.
Yeah, poor ownership 101. Hire a GM, but cut his legs off right away by not trusting him with the coaching hire. The Bears got what they deserved with John Fox. While Pace has had some nice acquisitions on the defensive-side, his skill player choices leave much to be desired. Kevin White, Mitch, Adam Sheehan, all complete busts. Anthony Miller is trending that way as well. He's another guy that Pace traded-up for and gave up decent draft capital to get.
Well, I'd day whiffing on a QB at #2 overall is pretty strong evidence of an effed up rebuild. There's not anything more important to the success or failure of a franchise than landing the right quarterback.But let's delve further.In 2015, he had a top 10 pick and chose Kevin White, who had 25 catches in the ensuing four years and is now out of the league.In 2016, he gave up a fourth-round pick to move up two spots and select Leonard Floyd at #9 overall, a pass-rush specialist who's produced an underwhelming 17.5 sacks and one forced fumble in 3.5 seasons.In 2017 ... Not just Trubisky, but he burned a second-round pick on Adam Shaheen.2018 ... something's amiss with Roquan Smith, who after a promising rookie season has regressed badly. Second-round picks James Daniels (mediocre) and Anthony Miller (bad) leave a lot to be desired so far.2019 and 2020 ... no first-round pick.To his credit, Pace struck gold landing Eddie Jackson in the fourth round and has added other solid players like Cohen, Amos and Howard on day three as well. And he's had some success in free agency, with Hicks and Robinson (but some misses also, i.e. Mike Glennon, Pernell McPhee, Dion Sims, Markus Wheaton).But ultimately, barring a significant reversal of form this year - hard to imagine given recent performances and the upcoming schedule - Pace's first five years are going to end with one playoff appearance, zero playoff wins, instability at the most important position on the field, and little draft capital or cap space in the near future to improve the situation.You're good with that?
Kevin White was projected as a top 5 pick when the Bears drafted him. He suffered an injury in his first training camp and never found a way to be truly healthy. Thats a crapty break, no pun intended, but it doesn't mean it was the wrong pick, its unfair 20/20 hindsight.
The bigger issue for Mitch is his development and if the weak supporting cast Pace has put forward is causing the regression or is it Mitch...and I think the easy answer is yes the cast around Mitch is very limited. And that is where Pace and Nagy are to blame. The question for this season is if Mitch and Nagy can find a way to grow their way out of this predicament?
Re: "bad picks"Are they bad if they don't produce in the NFL? Or bad if taken way earlier than the consensus had them?Was Greg oden a bad pick? Insert other underachieving, yet appropriately ranked and selected pick here.
Oden was a risk/reward pick. The Blazers knew he had bad knees and felt that with proper treatment/surgery, he would be OK. It ended up not working out. Embiid falls into this category, too. So far, his situation has been A-OK, even though the Sixers didn't have his services for a long while after that draft.Sam Bowie was a bad pick. Not only were there injury concerns, but lots and lots of talent evaluators were quite certain that Jordan would be the far superior pro. They obviously didn't know that Jordan would be the best player ever, but there was little doubt he'd be a star. The same could not be said of Bowie. But the Blazers already had Drexler and they felt they had to get a big man.
I am not a Mitch fan, but it is a bit early for me to call him a “total bust”. Pace went out a got a bunch of retreads at the WR/TE positions and did not improve the offensive line. He gave up Howard for a low draft choice whereas he could have got a 2/3 rounder right now if he waited and didn’t sign Davis. Howard would have been a big piece this season for the Bears and that would have allowed Monty to ease in. The bigger issue for Mitch is his development and if the weak supporting cast Pace has put forward is causing the regression or is it Mitch...and I think the easy answer is yes the cast around Mitch is very limited. And that is where Pace and Nagy are to blame. The question for this season is if Mitch and Nagy can find a way to grow their way out of this predicament? Pace has been fleeced on most of his trades/moves on offense. There is no hope there this season from him. Nagy has shown to be in way over his head as a head coach, and gets too cute or gives up the game plan too early. Mitch was way overblown in the draft but can he be a dependable starter? While I am leaning toward guilty, I still have a reasonable doubt.
Bobby Knight was a friend of the Blazers GM at the time and was telling him they'd be nuts not to draft Jordan. When that GM told Knight that they already had a guard in Drexler, Knight apparently said they could play them at the same time. (Knight knew Jordan well from coaching him in the 1984 olympics.)I honestly think the Blazers were the only team that didn't have Jordan number one or two in that draft. (Behind Hakeem)
These Vikings jerseys are hideous.
Yeah they are. And the white with maroon-ish pants look really good for the Skins.
Bears season ticket holder here, weighing in.Trubisky sure as heck does not look like the answer this year. Tends to look more like Cade or Sexy Rexy -- good college quarterback who lacked whatever it takes to succeed in the NFL. Trubisky has the rest of the season to turn it around. His future and that of "offensive genius" Matt Nagy depend on it.I'm not optimistic! Big problem the Bears have is finding a replacement. No first round draft choice this year. They have a defense that is built to win NOW and have strong needs on the offensive line. So quarterback help is likely until at least 2021, unless they trade for someone like Mariota, Newton or somehow find a way to pry Bridgewater from New Orleans (good luck).Last time the Bears traded for what they thought was a Number 1 quarterback, we ended up with Kordell Stewart.