Ryan Pace made it clear last month. He's not giving up on Mitch Trubisky. While he did admit the team might look at reshuffling the quarterback depth chart, the plan remains for the 25-year old to be the starter next season. This despite an ugly regression last year. The Chicago Bears now face the prospect of failing to post a winning record for the fifth time in six seasons under Pace's watch. A lot of this due to his mismanagement of that position.
Adam Jahns of The Athletic, one of the most plugged-in Bears insiders on the beat, indicated that Pace's words aren't just bluster. He still believes in Trubisky and doesn't want to move on from him.
"1. Does Pace want to move on from Trubisky?
Well, no.
There is truth in what he said last month. From the beginning, the Bears thought Trubisky — who remains respected by his teammates — would take time. And if given it, he had the right work ethic, personal confidence and physical gifts to develop into the quarterback that the franchise has desperately yearned for since Sid Luckman."
While such loyalty is admirable, it is also foolhardy.
For everybody who loves to reference Drew Brees and Peyton Manning as late bloomers in their NFL career, the reality is those guys are the exceptions. Not the rule. Most QBs who fail to truly get going by their third years almost never end up doing so. GMs who still gave them the benefit of the doubt weren't around long enough to realize their mistakes.
Ryan Pace is walking down a dangerous path
In 2002, Charley Casserly became the GM of the expansion Houston Texans. His first-ever pick was certainly a bold one, taking Fresno State quarterback David Carr #1 overall. In his first three years, the QB threw 34 touchdowns to 42 interceptions. He barely completed 56% of his passes. Going into 2005, Casserly had to decide if he should make a change. He did not, bypassing opportunities to both sign Kurt Warner in free agency and drafting Aaron Rodgers. The Texans went 2-14 and he was fired after the season ended.
In 2009, Mike Tannenbaum made a bold move trading up to #5 overall to make Mark Sanchez the top pick for the New York Jets. The initial results were promising. Aided by a great defense and a power running game, he got the team to back-to-back AFC championships. However, after a strong start to 2011, a miserable finish including seven interceptions in the final three games cost them a playoff opportunity at 8-8.
Tannenbaum had to make a tough call.
Stick with a guy who clearly had limits despite his deep playoff runs or bring in some competition. You can guess when happened. The Jets didn't acquire a single quarterback of note, passing on opportunities to draft names like Russell Wilson, Nick Foles, and Kirk Cousins. Not to mention never being a serious player in the Peyton Manning sweepstakes. Tannenbaum was fired after the Jets careened to a 6-10 finish.
Those are just two examples among quite a few others. The mixture of the QB not playing well and the lack of winning seasons is inescapable for Ryan Pace. As much as he wants to believe Trubisky can still be the guy, the grace period is over. If he gambles 2020 on this belief, the odds heavily favor his heart being broken and his job being lost.
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