The Chicago Bears QB rumors are pretty much the only thing fans are interested in at this point. That's perfectly understandable. In this modern NFL, there are two different kinds of teams. Those that have good quarterbacks and those that don't. This franchise has tried for decades to get into the former category, but with little to no success.
GM Ryan Pace is the latest man to take up this monumental task. For the past two years he's been carefully biding his time, sticking with known quantities like Jay Cutler and Brian Hoyer to hold things down while he rebuilt the rest of the roster. Now with a solid offensive line, Pro Bowl running back and decent receivers the timing feels right for a change.
What nobody can figure out is who the Bears might actually be focused on. Sure they likely have a short list of options they'd be comfortable with, but who is the name that stands above the rest? There are plenty of media sources that have put in claims stating it's one guy or another. Perhaps the best way though is to focus on who they aren't talking about.
Mahomes checks every single one of those boxes except for the winning part, and that's not really his fault. Texas Tech hasn't had great teams during his time there, especially on defense. He did however shine in the biggest matchups. His lone bowl game in the Texas Bowl, he lit up LSU for 27 points and four touchdown passes. Not to mention the ridiculous record-breaking evening he had against Oklahoma as illustrated above.
There is a long way to go before the Bears have to make their big decision at quarterback. So many things can happen along way. Even so, just don't forget to keep one eye on Patrick Mahomes. "The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" as the saying goes.
RUMORS AND RYAN PACE
The thing to remember about Pace is that he is a man who loves to operate in total secrecy. That is probably why he and head coach John Fox were drawn to each other in the first place. Not only do they share philosophies of defense and toughness, but also that key military doctrine of maintaining the element of surprise. The less the media and fans know about your intentions, the less other teams will. This goes especially for the off-season. Throughout the entire process of 2016, it was nearly impossible to gauge who the Bears were going to target. Nobody saw them going after Jerrell Freeman or Akiem Hicks in free agency until after the market went active last March. Then there is the draft. Leonard Floyd was barely a blip on the radar. Not until right before the action got started did word filter out Chicago liked him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSi4WFh7EYM Up until that point it was names like Vernon Hargreaves, Sheldon Rankins and Jack Conklin who were dominating discussions. The point being? All the quarterback names being mentioned in connection to the Bears should be thrown out the window. Names like Mitch Trubisky and Jimmy Garoppolo and Deshone Kizer.First it's important to note that these rumors are coming so early in the process. Then there's the sources themselves. None of which hold any sort of deep ties to the Bears organization. Finally it's the simple matter of likelihood. For example, the odds on landing Garoppolo are long both because New England might keep him and also because Cleveland can make a better offer anyway.
SQUARE BLOCKS IN ROUND HOLES
Pace himself has said that experience matters a lot to him when evaluating a quarterback. So Trubisky becomes questionable given he's only started 13 games in college. As for Kizer, well he displays many of the same traits the Bears have already seen for the past eight years from Jay Cutler. NFL.com draft expert Lance Zierlein said so."Can be too reliant upon arm strength over mechanics. Wants open throwing window rather than operating with early anticipation. Can improve in leading receivers and throwing stationary targets open. Too hesitant. Gets caught in pump fake vortex at times. Quick to drop his eyes and halt progressions when pocket warms up. Inconsistent decision-maker. Showed dreadful lapses in judgement that lead to interceptions. Too willing to make off-balanced heaves."So if history says these early rumor targets are nothing more than smokescreens, who really is "the guy" for Pace, Fox and this team?
IT'S PAT
This is going to sound crazy, but here it goes. Follow the name that nobody is talking about. Who is the one quarterback that has not seen a single credible rumor attached to the Chicago Bears since the draft process began back in January? Not Garoppolo. Not Trubisky or Kizer either. No Deshaun Watson, whom the Bears scouted closely at Clemson. Not even Nathan Peterman, their supposed favorite from the Senior Bowl. Ask this question. Why are there no rumors surrounding Patrick Mahomes? Of the top four quarterbacks in this NFL draft class, he is the only one yet to have his name mentioned in any sort of connection to the Bears. Not to sound like a raving conspiracy theorist, but isn't that a little odd? Especially since Mahomes is rising up boards fast. He's the third-ranked quarterback on NFL.com and WalterFootball.com. Kyle Posey, a former columnist for SB Nation and Bleacher Report, believes he is the best quarterback in the draft and explained his reasoning."His vision is uncanny. His arm is unbelievable. His accuracy is unorthodox. If you can hone in his decision making, you’re looking at a future star. Being able to create and extend is a skill. He’s not confined to a specific offense. That matters. Don’t criticize him for the offense he played in. Applaud him for how he excelled and elevated the offense. At worst, you get a high variance QB that will go on streaks just long enough to give him a pass (Eli Manning). At best, you get a QB that can control the entire field with his vision, manipulate defenses with pump fakes, his legs, and consistently keep your offense ahead of schedule, ultimately leading to a lot of points (Ben Roethlisberger)."
THE 10TH MAN
Why is it so necessary that this unusual lack of connection be pointed out? A good way to put it is like this. In the award-winning novel World War Z by Max Brooks, there is a passage that describes an Israeli doctrine in regards to uncovering hidden threats to their country. It's called the 10th Man Rule."Whenever 9 people looking at the same information come to the same conclusion, it's the 10th's duty to disagree and actively look for evidence to the contrary."Everybody is so busy talking about Trubisky, Garoppolo, Watson and Kizer that they haven't bothered to ask the searching question. Why no buzz about the Bears at least looking into Mahomes? Could it be perhaps that they just don't like him, or the more likely scenario that they really like him and don't want anybody to know how much?
ABSENCE OF EVIDENCE...
It's so vital this be made known to people because the intrigue goes beyond just the silence. There is also the fact that the silence comes in spite of the Bears having significant connections close to Mahomes. Some may not realize this, but back in 2004 Ryan Pace was a scout for the New Orleans Saints. That year they added a young quarterback to their depth chart by the name of Kliff Kingsbury. He spent a little over one season there. Fast forward a decade and he is now the head coach at Texas Tech. In other words Pace has a personal connection to the man who developed Mahomes into the star he is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMehEccAT68 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzzxSPkmWxo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-auEC5D_yo Yet still nothing. Then there is the fact that Mahomes compares favorably to the two quarterbacks the Bears were connected with in the two previous drafts. That being Marcus Mariota and Carson Wentz. Sports Mockery wrote a piece about what Pace looks for in a quarterback based on traits those two shared.
Mahomes checks every single one of those boxes except for the winning part, and that's not really his fault. Texas Tech hasn't had great teams during his time there, especially on defense. He did however shine in the biggest matchups. His lone bowl game in the Texas Bowl, he lit up LSU for 27 points and four touchdown passes. Not to mention the ridiculous record-breaking evening he had against Oklahoma as illustrated above.
There is a long way to go before the Bears have to make their big decision at quarterback. So many things can happen along way. Even so, just don't forget to keep one eye on Patrick Mahomes. "The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" as the saying goes.
