Anybody who knows anything about baseball knows that one of the most elusive achievements in the sport is called the "cycle." It's an instance where a batter is able to collect a single, double, triple, and home run in the course of a single game. It's a difficult achievement. Players have accomplished it just 324 times dating back to 1876. So what does this have to do with Ryan Pace?
The NFL has its own version of a cycle too. Most fans don't know about it. That makes sense because the circumstances for it happening are rare. In the case of a GM, it's as follows:
- Hit the first round pick
- Have a successful free agency period
- Make a fruitful trade
- Hire a good head coach
Most GMs only get one shot at doing that. A good example is
John Schneider in 2010. He hired Pete Carroll, drafted
Russell Okung, signed
Chris Clemons in free agency and traded for
Marshawn Lynch. Those moves became the foundation of the championship team that came three years later. Now 10 games into 2018, one can feel safe in saying it.
Pace just did it too.
Single: Drafted Roquan Smith
Every general manager in the NFL is expected to be good at drafting players. Almost all of them come from scouting backgrounds. Examining college players is what they've been doing for years. Pace is no different. He became a scout in 2002 and rose up the ranks until the Bears hired him out of New Orleans in 2015. Being able to hit on a 1st round pick should be the easiest job in the book.
Yet the early years didn't seem to prove that.
Kevin White has proven to be a colossal disappointment. He missed all but five games his first three years. Now he's healthy but not good enough in the eyes of the new coaching staff, having been a scratch for three games in a row.
Leonard Floyd is okay but he's far from the elite pass rusher they thought they were getting. Mitch Trubisky is improving rapidly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avLD6pJOSmQ
The Bears needed to make sure they didn't screw up their #8 overall pick this year if they wanted to get this thing rolling. To his credit, Pace kept it simple. He took the best player on the board. No fancy maneuvers. No projects. Roquan Smith was a ready-made stud out of Georgia who had the potential to be a terror in Vic Fangio's defense.
Fast forward through a prolonged contract holdout and lots of missed practices, the kid is coming into his own. He already has 70 tackles and three sacks through 10 games.
Double: Secured a productive free agent class
On the surface, free agency sounds so easy. Take a lot of money and go shopping for players. The bigger the name, the bigger the successful signing, right? Nope. It doesn't work that way. Simply shelling out a ton of cash for big-name players don't always work. The Bears know this better than anybody. It's about finding the right players.
Pace did not do that in 2017.
Mike Glennon?
Markus Wheaton?
Dion Sims?
Quintin Demps? It was easily one of the worst free agent classes in Bears history. One might call that a strikeout on three pitches. The next time he stepped to the plate he couldn't afford to do that again. This time he went in with a clear plan: upgrade the offensive skill positions.
[video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Allen-Robinson-Highlights-vs.-Lions.mp4"][/video]
They all had to have specific strengths too. They needed to have some speed, be good route runners, and have reliable hands. Each of his choices, while not always considered the biggest fish in the pond, have proven quality.
Allen Robinson has 457 yards and four touchdowns.
Taylor Gabriel has 478 yards and two touchdowns.
Trey Burton has 420 yards and five touchdowns.
Throw in
Cody Parkey who just hit the most clutch kick in recent Bears memory? That has the feel of a double. Good work.
Triple: Hired Matt Nagy
It may not be the flashiest hit, but it's definitely the hardest one to get. This describes hiring a head coach perfectly. Like a triple, it takes a certain degree of timing and luck. Chicago needed to make their head coaching position available, which was the easy part. The hard part was for the guy they wanted to emerge at the right time. Matt Nagy began his ascent midway through 2017. Nobody really knew his name before that point.
Not only did this help make Pace aware of him. The fact that Kansas City lost their first round playoff game enabled the Bears to interview him sooner rather than later. Had they been forced to wait as the Chiefs advanced, it's quite possible they may have been pressured to find somebody else. Instead, Nagy came free. He and Pace clicked immediately and after just one interview Chicago hired their man.
Nagy has been a whirlwind of change since. He overhauled the offense into something respectable. He managed to convince Vic Fangio to return as defensive coordinator, one of the biggest wins of the offseason. Most importantly he has the entire team buying into his message. The Bears were 5-11 last year. They're 7-3 now and in full control of the NFC North.
Home run: Traded for Khalil Mack
Chicks dig the long ball as they say. A home run is instant offense. It gets the crowd on its feet the moment it happens and it changes the entire complexion of a game. That's exactly what Pace did when he shook the NFL world by calmly trading two 1st round picks to the Oakland Raiders to secure 27-year old All-Pro pass rusher Khalil Mack.
Rarely does the acquisition of one player swing the entire fortunes of a franchise. Almost never does it do so for an entire division. Mack's arrival changed everything for the Bears. Their defense went from pretty good to elite overnight from the moment he stepped on the field. In eight games he has eight sacks and five forced fumbles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fmfkBGCZtc&t=
Keep in mind he played two of those games on a bad ankle and missed another two because of it. Think about this. How often does a former Defensive Player of the Year who has zero baggage become available in his prime? Almost never. Pace, to his credit, recognized the opportunity and was willing to take a swing for the fences.
He offered more than any other team and got his guy. Now he's been rewarded with the first of what should be many great years to come. It could be...it might be...it is. Way out of here.
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