Chicago Bears: Revisiting the four moves necessary to start winning again

The Chicago Bears must move on from Ryan Pace

I think it’s known that I am higher on Ryan Pace than most analysts and fans alike. Pace has done some great things turning this team around, but unfortunately, he also has made some very horrific mistakes.

No, I’m not talking about Mitch Trubisky. Yes, drafting Trubisky was a mistake in hindsight. Moving up one spot and sending off assets was a mistake, but let’s also not pretend that the Bears missed out on much of anything unless they would have stuck with their picks altogether and drafted Alvin Kamar with their third-round pick (traded to New Orleans from San Francisco).

Imagine had they stayed at third overall and took either Mitch Trubisky at three or landed Deshaun Watson instead. Then you have one of those quarterbacks along with Alvin Kamara. That would have been an amazing draft, but still highly unlikely to go as planned.

The big mistake by Ryan Pace and why he should be let go is his lack of focus on improving the entire offensive line. Pace drafted players to build the line from the inside out similarly to what New Orleans did around that time. Remember, Pace came from the Saints and has shown that he is trying to replicate everything here in Chicago rather than build his own path. Just like Matt Nagy is trying to replicate the Kansas City Chiefs. The problem is, all of the personnel is different and it just is not working.

Not addressing the offensive tackle spots appropriately was Pace’s biggest mistake in my opinion and his other successes (there are more than most want to admit) mean very little because of this flaw. It’s easier to overcome a lack of talent at positions like tight end or wide receiver, but when you cannot win in the trenches you will struggle on a weekly basis. This is why Justin Fields has been sacked 22 times already this season. Addressing the tackle spots in the 2021 NFL Draft was too little too late when neither is able to play.

This alone is why Ryan Pace must go. We don’t even need to debate his other moves in any of the drafts he’s been a part of or any of his free agency signings. You cannot go six years without addressing your left and right tackle positions properly.