Chicago Bears: Should fans embrace Ryan Pace or grab the pitchforks?
By Nathan Burns
Ryan Pace and the Chicago Bears fire John Fox to start the Matt Nagy era
2018 – A sense of false hope
Going into the 2018 Season, the Chicago Bears were not being taken very seriously. The defense was above average but still not elite. Ryan Pace had just drafted Georgia linebacker ‘Roquan Smith’ – with the eighth pick in the draft. Smith has been one of Pace’s best picks since landing the General Manager job.
We hadn’t had the final playmaker that we had needed. That was until about two weeks before the first game when it was announced the Bears had acquired Oakland Superstar Khalil Mack.
Our already loaded defense became unstoppable. On paper and on the field. There was no hiding from this defense. They ended up leading the NFL only allowing 17.7 (league-best) per game. Khalil Mack was as good as advertised and Pace finally put an all-around team together.
The Bears ended up winning the NFC North with a record of 12 wins and 4 losses. It earned us the spot to play the Eagles in the Wild Card game.
That game just about ripped my heart out. Mitch has an unbelievable final drive and puts us in a place to win. Cody Parkey attempted the game-winning field goal, and then the double doink was born. Yes, the two words that make every bear fan cringe.
Best/ Worst draft picks – Ryan Pace
Draft Steals Draft Busts
Eddie Jackson( R4- #112) Kevin White (R1- #7)
Tarik Cohen( R4- #119) Adam Shaheen (R2- #45)
Adrian Amos( R5 -#142) Leonard Floyd (R1- #8)
Jordan Howard(R5 – #150) Mitchell Trubisky (R1- #2)
Bilal Nichols(R5- #145)