Asleep at the Wheel

Addressing reporters yesterday, Bears’ GM Ryan Pace claimed, “Our heads are not in the sand” as if an 8-8 record would be considered OK; reality suggests otherwise.  Team chairman George McCaskey, with reality suggesting otherwise, claimed “I’m not a patient person.  That’s where it’s really helpful to have Ryan.  He talks about not getting too high or too low, trying to keep an even keel.  That’s important for me to remember because I react like a fan.  That’s no way to run a football team.”

Yo, George:  That’s exactly the way to run a football team.  Your GM has been at it for five years, and his teams have accumulated a won-loss record of 34-46; that comes out to a .425 winning percentage, folks.  Those numbers don’t indicate patience.  They show organizational incompetence from ownership on down.

In a line of gibber that would make Rick Hahn’s blush, Pace said that with a lot of young quarterbacks, development is “never going to be a straight line, it’s never going to be linear.”  The guess is that he’s referring to Drew Brees, someone Pace saw a lot of when he worked in the Saints’ front office.  If so, the Bears’ GM got it wrong, again.

At age 25 (that being Trubisky’s age this year), Brees threw for 27 touchdown passes vs. 17 for Trubisky, who did manage more interceptions, 10 vs. 7.  The next year, 2006, Brees “slipped” to 24/15 td’s to picks, and got traded to the Saints.  The Bears were too happy with Rex Grossman to be bothered.

The Chargers trading away a 26-year old Drew Brees rates right up there with bonehead deals that sent Babe Ruth and Lou Brock to greener pastures (isn’t that right, Cub fans?).  Let me ask Pace: Do you think Mitch Trubisky is the next Drew Brees?  Really?

Ryan Pace went through eight tight ends this season.  What does that tell you?  After the news conference, Pace fired the tight ends’ coach.  Pace put together an atrocious offensive line, one that included Charles Leno Jr. and his twelve penalties.  After the news conference, Pace fired the offensive line coach.  Pace hired head coach Matt Nagy, who doesn’t like to run the ball and is afraid to throw the ball over the middle.  The Bears ranked 29^th out of 32 teams this season in points scored.  After the news conference, Pace fired the offensive coordinator.

Who fires Ryan Pace?