With NFL free agency off to a roaring start, it is officially hot take season. But there are takes, and then there are "taeks". And THEN there is just straight bullshit.
And regarding Chicago Bears' GM Ryan Pace, Twitter's been ablaze with bullshit this week. Some examples:
Here's my question: Where the hell is any of this coming from? We remember how big of a steaming mess the Bears were back in 2015 when Ryan Pace took over, right? Phil Emery and Marc Trestman were fired after a 5-11 campaign that was even worse than the final record. Aaron Kromer had thrown Jay Cutler under the bus to the national media. The defense couldn't stop a nosebleed, and the locker room was a circus. Pace took over that aging, expense roster and began purging it for the sake of his rebuild. Three seasons into his rebuild, the Bears proved that they had some talent and plenty of heart, but poor coaching. John Fox showed he was nothing more than a motivator and he was fired after three seasons that produced optimism yet 6-10, 3-13, and 5-11 records, nonetheless. Enter Matt Nagy and his wonderful coaching staff. Nagy, along with some additional pieces to the roster puzzle, produced a 12-4 record for the 2019 Bears. Chicago finished 5-1 in the division and won the NFC North for the first time since 2010. And the Bears are set up with a relatively strong window to compete for the next few years. This is why these Twitter takes are so confounding. Let's do a deep dive, shall we?
Chad Forbes
Let's start with Chad Forbes. What the hell does he mean that Ryan Pace has had a "career resurrection" as the Bears' GM? This response from Benjamin Allbright rebuttals it into the Sun:And then, Forbes says, "deep down, even Nagy knows he's incompetent" and proceeds to use the Buster Skrine signing over Bryce Callahan as an example. Never mind the fact that Callahan, while an excellent player when healthy, had trouble, well, staying healthy throughout his Bears' career. You'd think Pace and the Bears would know his medical history better than Chad Forbes. And here's Nagy's take on Skrine before the Bears' game against the New York Jets in October: "He’s one of the better nickels in this league, if not the best. I mean, he’s good. He’s a good nickel in there." So yeah, I'm sure Nagy thinks Pace is incompetent for signing a player that Nagy liked on a cheaper deal than what Callahan got. Makes sense. He then says the Bears "have a great team & no QB". First of all, who does he think built that "great" team? Santa Claus? That great team was built by ... wait for it ... none other than Ryan Pace! And say what you want about Mitch Trubisky, the truth is we still don't know what he is but he has shown plenty of promise, enough to be excited about Year 3. Also, the Mark Sanchez comparison? TOTAL nonsense.
So yeah, Forbes' take was bad.







