It's no secret that the 2017 off-season could be the most critical the Chicago Bears have seen in a long time. Everything feels like it's at a crossroads. On the one hand they're a young team with a swelling base of talent. On the other they are a franchise that just finished 3-13, the second-worst record in its history.
People want to know what the team brass plan to do about that. So far all they've been given in return are promises that a little more patience will pay off. This fan base has been patient for a long time though. Seven years since a playoff appearance? Eleven years since a Super Bowl appearance? A whopping 32 years since a championship? They're tired of waiting.
Something has to change, and maybe they're starting to figure out what that is. Word is growing stronger that the Bears could be on the cusp of making one of their biggest landmark decisions in recent memory. One that could shakeup the entire foundation of what has been and will be for this organization.
Matt Miller is widely respected as one of the top NFL draft experts and analysts in the field. He's done some great work for Bleacher Report, served as a coach and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. So it's safe to say he's got some decent connections in the football world. That's why when he released his weekly Scouting Notebook regarding top college prospects and what he's hearing in draft circles, he dropped a big bomb for Bears fans.
"Four months away from the draft, a lot can change, but rival scouts I spoke to feel the Chicago Bears are looking hard at quarterbacks. "Every quarterback on the list, the Bears went to see multiple games this year. They're doing their homework."Indeed there have been several reports over the past couple months. Bears scouts and even GM Ryan Pace himself were spotted at multiple games that featured top QB prospects. https://twitter.com/AaronLemingNFL/status/818691300547407872 Pace himself didn't mince words in regard to the importance of getting the quarterback position right moving forward. He called it a "critical, critical" for himself as GM moving forward. Thus far he has avoided the quarterback question for two years. His most notable addition to the roster was veteran Brian Hoyer, who was to serve as team backup. Not a single draft pick has been spent on one. Yet. If ever it looked like that was about to change, it's this year. Chicago holds the #3 pick in the 2017 draft. This marks the highest selection they've held since 1972. The last time they used a top five pick on a quarterback, they ended up with Jim McMahon. He is both the last one they've drafted to make a Pro Bowl and last one they drafted to win a championship. There may end up being more talented players available when the Bears go on the clock. That doesn't change the fact they haven't had this good a chance to get a quarterback in 12 years. For those who don't recall, the Bears sat idly by in 2005 at the #4 pick as Aaron Rodgers slipped past them all the way to the Packers. They've been paying for it ever since. [video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Cant-Miss-Play-Aaron-Rodgers-throws-60-yard-bomb-to-Jordy-Nelson-NFL-Videos.mp4"][/video] How much will they regret it if the same thing happens again this time around? Seems Pace and his crew are doing everything possible to make sure it doesn't.
