Ryan Pace: How Ya Like Him Now?

[Atkins&Rebel]

This is a what have you done for me lately league...so
Going forward:
1) he has to find blue chip, NFL ready players in the first round. No more "high ceiling" gambles. So start scouting that sophmore class hard!

2) he needs to find viable replacements for for guys we won't be able to afford to keep. This is where those mid round draft picks are so crucial to hit on the right guys (what he's generally able to do, but needs to keep doing).

3) he needs to become an effective salesman, and sell where the Bears are going hard to guys he wants to keep. Might be able to keep a few guys we thought would become too expensive if they accept home town discounts.

[Rakshir]

I don't agree that his drafts have been amazing yet. I don't consider White, Floyd, Shaheen or Bullard to be significant contributors. He has hit on lower picks quite well but on two top 10 picks, AS OF NOW, have been misses. While we'll never know with White since his issues have been due to injury. He was considered a rough talent that needed polishing, not a come in and play day one player. Floyd was sold as our Mack before we had Mack, considering his accomplishments. He's not an elite pass rusher. Shaheen is another project that hasn't seen the field much. Overall he seems to be putting together quite the team, I just hate him using high picks on guys that need a year or two of seasoning.

[WagonForce]

Great comments (on both Pace's wins and his misses).

I'll add this, Pace has assembled a team that is a hell of a lot of fun to watch. For that alone he has my confidence.

[Hamster Wheel]

I wasn't sold on Pace till this year. This year he finally got it. The Bears should be built on an elite Defense first and worry about the offense second.
I believe this because 1. we have one of the best QB's in the league to compete against in our division and 2. Our home field is outdoors, in winter and natural turf, which degrades as the season wears on.
Pace did 2 things right. He kept Fangio on, and he did what was needed to get the D a nuclear weapon and in doing so, instantly bought this team to a play off caliber level.
If Mack gets hurt, I will not fault Pace for trying.

[docc]

I think what makes Pace valuable..he has a vision of what he wants and executes toward that team. It seemed the Bears have been patching the life raft previously..no real vision or team building concept.
Seems we have passed from that to a modern..rebuild..with last year being well behind us..

No GM will be 100% on draft day..injuries change things drastically..but we seem to have depth and strong starters..

Interesting season ahead..

[Sugashane]

There are a few bad moves but there isn't a GM alive that hasn't busted on a few choices. White was just bad luck, no one could have predicted the injuries. I hated letting Jeffery walk without any compensation, and a few other small things. But all in all he has done a great job.

I believe Fox was more pushed on him than him choosing the lame duck, so that makes me feel infinitely better.

He could still crash, Angelo had a hell of a start for a while before crashing like a MF'er. But the team looks poised to dominate.

[IotaNet]

...I hated letting Jeffery walk without any compensation ...

I sincerely believe that Jeffrey didn't want to be here. I was a HUGE Jeffrey fan and I loved what he brought BUT, I never thought he was consistently healthy enough to be a #1 receiver. He contributed tremendously in Philly but he's been hurt yet again.

As for the rest, this post sums it up quite nicely:

Let's see....

He came into a shit show, and made the right call to do a total gut and rebuild of the roster.
He was handcuffed with Fox, I suspect against his own wishes
He's drafted very well overall, including bigtime gems found in later rounds
He didn't reach or get impatient during free agency the prior 3 years while rebuilding, all deals were small with no cap hits to get out of them if they didn't work out
When he got to hire his own coach, he chose Nagy which looks like a home run
In that process, he managed to retain Vic Fangio as DC - a major coupe
He pulled off the Khalil Mack deal
We are now in year 4 of our rebuild, and we have a young, ascending team loaded with talent that's going to compete for a playoff spot this year.

I was listening to the MNF broadcast last night where they were talking about Brady/Belichick, Brees/Payton, Rogers/McCarthy and the longevity of those duos. I feel like we might be on the front of that with Trubisky/Nagy and Pace gets all the credit for that.

When I evaluate his overall body of work, I give Pace top marks.

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

...I hated letting Jeffery walk without any compensation ...

I sincerely believe that Jeffrey didn't want to be here. I was a HUGE Jeffrey fan and I loved what he brought BUT, I never thought he was consistently healthy enough to be a #1 receiver. He contributed tremendously in Philly but he's been hurt yet again.

As for the rest, this post sums it up quite nicely:

Let's see....

He came into a shit show, and made the right call to do a total gut and rebuild of the roster.
He was handcuffed with Fox, I suspect against his own wishes
He's drafted very well overall, including bigtime gems found in later rounds
He didn't reach or get impatient during free agency the prior 3 years while rebuilding, all deals were small with no cap hits to get out of them if they didn't work out
When he got to hire his own coach, he chose Nagy which looks like a home run
In that process, he managed to retain Vic Fangio as DC - a major coupe
He pulled off the Khalil Mack deal
We are now in year 4 of our rebuild, and we have a young, ascending team loaded with talent that's going to compete for a playoff spot this year.

I was listening to the MNF broadcast last night where they were talking about Brady/Belichick, Brees/Payton, Rogers/McCarthy and the longevity of those duos. I feel like we might be on the front of that with Trubisky/Nagy and Pace gets all the credit for that.

When I evaluate his overall body of work, I give Pace top marks.

This is a point I have made ad nauseum. Success in the NFL comes from consistency at the GM/HC/QB positions. If you have talent and staying power with all three of those positions, you have a puncher's chance of maintaining long-term success.

[G08]

I haven't liked some of his moves... Kevin White #7 overall, trading up to draft Leonard Floyd, but the rest I have enjoyed. I will say this about Ryan Pace: when he feels strongly about a player/coach, he will do whatever it takes to go get him.

Trubisky
Mack
Keeping Fangio

And, really, I love what he's done for the culture of this franchise as well. I love seeing Urlacher back in good graces, Peanut on the sidelines during games, their media department is improving and giving fans greater access to the team, and he's renovated Halas Hall to have us at the top in terms of facility technology.

I'm fucking happy he's our GM. Hopefully this stays the course for the next 30+ years.

[Mikefive]

Here's the Pace grade in a nutshell. If he hit on most of his #1s, he'd be an A+. Which of his #1s--all top 10 picks--are quality NFL starters?

White... No.
Floyd... Jury still out.
Trubisky… Not yet.
Smith... Too early to tell.

Had he nailed a couple of these, he'd be the Mayor of Chicago.

[wab]

Here's the Pace grade in a nutshell. If he hit on most of his #1s, he'd be an A+. Which of his #1s--all top 10 picks--are quality NFL starters?

White... No.
Floyd... Jury still out.
Trubisky… Not yet.
Smith... Too early to tell.

Had he nailed a couple of these, he'd be the Mayor of Chicago.

So nothing outside of those 4 top 10 picks factors into his overall grade at all?

[IotaNet]

... really, I love what he's done for the culture of this franchise as well. I love seeing Urlacher back in good graces, Peanut on the sidelines during games, their media department is improving and giving fans greater access to the team, and he's renovated Halas Hall to have us at the top in terms of facility technology ...

This is as important as any personnel moves he might have made. Its huge.

[Boris13c]

the Bears have changed from "well let's see how they f up now" to a team that is actually fun to watch AND provides a definite shining light of hope on what the future will bring

and for that, I thank Ryan Pace and the moves he made to get them here

[EricTighe]

Good points for and against.

I am on record of not liking his draft or some of the guys we let go. By the way, we did try to win fast remember we signed a bunch of FA's to win right away. Just didn't work out. Mack fell into our laps but Pace(Thank God) mortgaged our future in some eyes for him. Balls move man, balls move. Easy decision for me but for him if it doesn't work he is unemployed. (Think he wasn't sweating a few bullets on that one)

BUT

We are 3-1 and getting better.

Pace for President if you ask me right now.

[IotaNet]

... mortgaged our future in some eyes for him. Balls move man, balls move. Easy decision for me but for him if it doesn't work he is unemployed. (Think he wasn't sweating a few bullets on that one) ...

Not even close. The move is actually a no-brainer when you think about it and an easy call. If I'm thinking about it correctly, the way this works out is ....

* We gave up our 2019 first and sixth for Khalil Mack (Easy call)
* We swapped our 2020 first rounder for their 2020 2nd rounder. (If we continue to be good and they continue to suck, that might only be a 10 position drop)
* We swapped our 2020 third for their 2020 5th

That is HARDLY mortgaging our future, especially for a potential DPOY and defensive stud in his prime. This is an easy deal that any GM with brains would love to have pulled off.

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

... mortgaged our future in some eyes for him. Balls move man, balls move. Easy decision for me but for him if it doesn't work he is unemployed. (Think he wasn't sweating a few bullets on that one) ...

Not even close. The move is actually a no-brainer when you think about it and an easy call. If I'm thinking about it correctly, the way this works out is ....

* We gave up our 2019 first and sixth for Khalil Mack (Easy call)
* We swapped our 2020 first rounder for their 2020 2nd rounder. (If we continue to be good and they continue to suck, that might only be a 10 position drop)
* We swapped our 2020 third for their 2020 5th

That is HARDLY mortgaging our future, especially for a potential DPOY and defensive stud in his prime. This is an easy deal that any GM with brains would love to have pulled off.

This ^^^ ALL. DAY. LONG.

Here is how it breaks out, making the assumption that the Bears win 10 games in 2019 (26th pick), and the Raiders finish with the 10th draft pick in 2020. Both of which are realistic;

2019 1st Round Pick = Khalil Mack. Instead of an unproven rookie OLB, we get the best pass rusher in the game.
2020 1st Round vs. 2020 2nd Round = 290 points in draft value
2020 3rd Round vs. 2020 5th Round = 102.5 points in draft value

If you add those two up, its less than what it cost to move from the 3rd to 2nd pick to draft Trubisky. The Bears gave up less than 400 draft value points to trade for the #1 OLB in the game, and the current leader for DPOY. I will take that every day of the week.

[Mikefive]

Here's the Pace grade in a nutshell. If he hit on most of his #1s, he'd be an A+. Which of his #1s--all top 10 picks--are quality NFL starters?

White... No.
Floyd... Jury still out.
Trubisky… Not yet.
Smith... Too early to tell.

Had he nailed a couple of these, he'd be the Mayor of Chicago.

So nothing outside of those 4 top 10 picks factors into his overall grade at all?

Clearly if he whiffed on every pick in rounds 2-7 for the last 4 years, he wouldn't get an A+ grade, would he? Give me a little credit.

[The Marshall Plan]

... mortgaged our future in some eyes for him. Balls move man, balls move. Easy decision for me but for him if it doesn't work he is unemployed. (Think he wasn't sweating a few bullets on that one) ...

Not even close. The move is actually a no-brainer when you think about it and an easy call. If I'm thinking about it correctly, the way this works out is ....

* We gave up our 2019 first and sixth for Khalil Mack (Easy call)
* We swapped our 2020 first rounder for their 2020 2nd rounder. (If we continue to be good and they continue to suck, that might only be a 10 position drop)
* We swapped our 2020 third for their 2020 5th

That is HARDLY mortgaging our future, especially for a potential DPOY and defensive stud in his prime. This is an easy deal that any GM with brains would love to have pulled off.

This ^^^ ALL. DAY. LONG.

Here is how it breaks out, making the assumption that the Bears win 10 games in 2019 (26th pick), and the Raiders finish with the 10th draft pick in 2020. Both of which are realistic;

2019 1st Round Pick = Khalil Mack. Instead of an unproven rookie OLB, we get the best pass rusher in the game.
2020 1st Round vs. 2020 2nd Round = 290 points in draft value
2020 3rd Round vs. 2020 5th Round = 102.5 points in draft value

If you add those two up, its less than what it cost to move from the 3rd to 2nd pick to draft Trubisky. The Bears gave up less than 400 draft value points to trade for the #1 OLB in the game, and the current leader for DPOY. I will take that every day of the week.

You also have to account for the cap space that Mack ties up v the net change in those picks.

I'm not saying that would change my mind about the whole thing, but that contract is a whopper. No argument about Mack's value thus far, but you have to factor in the contract.

[Pagan]

Yep... Still Really like our young GM.

Pace came in with a mid & long term plan. I believe that he's executed his plan almost flawlessly.

People who choose to focus too much on the 1st round pick "misses", contract #'s & draft capital tend to be either devils advocate convos or fans with confirmation bias.

Yes.. The above listed are factors, of course...
It smacked of nitpicking then & I doubt anyone is still brave enough to stick to such arguments.

Sometimes we just need 1 person to vent our blame on. On the other hand though... It's times like these, that we need to give praise where it's due.

Pace has rebuilt & has turned this franchise around.
No~Brainerd.

Grade= A

[Mikefive]

... mortgaged our future in some eyes for him. Balls move man, balls move. Easy decision for me but for him if it doesn't work he is unemployed. (Think he wasn't sweating a few bullets on that one) ...

Not even close. The move is actually a no-brainer when you think about it and an easy call. If I'm thinking about it correctly, the way this works out is ....

* We gave up our 2019 first and sixth for Khalil Mack (Easy call)
* We swapped our 2020 first rounder for their 2020 2nd rounder. (If we continue to be good and they continue to suck, that might only be a 10 position drop)
* We swapped our 2020 third for their 2020 5th

That is HARDLY mortgaging our future, especially for a potential DPOY and defensive stud in his prime. This is an easy deal that any GM with brains would love to have pulled off.

This ^^^ ALL. DAY. LONG.

Here is how it breaks out, making the assumption that the Bears win 10 games in 2019 (26th pick), and the Raiders finish with the 10th draft pick in 2020. Both of which are realistic;

2019 1st Round Pick = Khalil Mack. Instead of an unproven rookie OLB, we get the best pass rusher in the game.
2020 1st Round vs. 2020 2nd Round = 290 points in draft value
2020 3rd Round vs. 2020 5th Round = 102.5 points in draft value

If you add those two up, its less than what it cost to move from the 3rd to 2nd pick to draft Trubisky. The Bears gave up less than 400 draft value points to trade for the #1 OLB in the game, and the current leader for DPOY. I will take that every day of the week.

You also have to account for the cap space that Mack ties up v the net change in those picks.

I'm not saying that would change my mind about the whole thing, but that contract is a whopper. No argument about Mack's value thus far, but you have to factor in the contract.

Excellent point. Anyone who thinks adding the largest contract ever for a ONE defensive player doesn't impact what you can do going forward is foolish. Think about what Green Bay would be if they had Mack? And yet, there are good reasons why they didn't offer more in trade, significant cap consequences among them.

I also agree that I'd still do it.

[IotaNet]

... Anyone who thinks adding the largest contract ever for a ONE defensive player doesn't impact what you can do going forward is foolish.
<snip>
I also agree that I'd still do it.

I chalk that up to "the cost of doing business." Anytime you have a top player at their position on your team, you are going to have to tie up significant money in them.

Extra kudos to Pace for:
1) Building a solid team and doing sensible deals in the process. (Leads directly to the next point ...)
2) Having the cap room in the first place (Deals like this are one of the reasons you hoard cap room)
3) Making the Mack move now while Biscuit is on his rookie deal.

That we were able to do the Mack deal at all is proof that Pace has been doing the right things all along.

[EricTighe]

I have said it for years. One guy makes a difference.

Just to be clear I am not the one that was worried about mortgaging the future for a proven commodity. Hell I would have made the call to the Rams to see what it would have taken to get Donald as well. I love the draft but those two studs are STUDS. Screw the draft if you can get guys like these. Sometimes you need to roll the dice and worry about tomorrow another day. Exactly what the Rams have done this year going for broke now.

We now have a Superbowl caliper Defense so let us see how far we can go.

We still talk about the 85 Bears maybve it is time to go for it when you have the chance. Yawl relize it has been 34 years.

[Mikefive]

I have said it for years. One guy makes a difference.

Just to be clear I am not the one that was worried about mortgaging the future for a proven commodity. Hell I would have made the call to the Rams to see what it would have taken to get Donald as well. I love the draft but those two studs are STUDS. Screw the draft if you can get guys like these. Sometimes you need to roll the dice and worry about tomorrow another day. Exactly what the Rams have done this year going for broke now.

We now have a Superbowl caliper Defense so let us see how far we can go.

We still talk about the 85 Bears maybve it is time to go for it when you have the chance. Yawl relize it has been 34 years.

I'd love to see a set of those Super Bowl calipers.

[wab]

Think about what Green Bay would be if they had Mack? And yet, there are good reasons why they didn't offer more in trade, significant cap consequences among them.

One of the main reasons the Bears landed Mack over some of the other reported teams is because the Raiders thought the Bears would have higher picks in each round...as opposed to say the Packers or Rams.

[Mikefive]

Think about what Green Bay would be if they had Mack? And yet, there are good reasons why they didn't offer more in trade, significant cap consequences among them.

One of the main reasons the Bears landed Mack over some of the other reported teams is because the Raiders thought the Bears would have higher picks in each round...as opposed to say the Packers or Rams.

True. But the Packers could've still offered more. Like offering the 2 #1s straight up without expecting the #2 back, perhaps.

[docc]

Also..
What is the rising Cap limits during the Mack contract ?
As cap rises..Mack becomes less of a % of the total,,

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

Think about what Green Bay would be if they had Mack? And yet, there are good reasons why they didn't offer more in trade, significant cap consequences among them.

One of the main reasons the Bears landed Mack over some of the other reported teams is because the Raiders thought the Bears would have higher picks in each round...as opposed to say the Packers or Rams.

True. But the Packers could've still offered more. Like offering the 2 #1s straight up without expecting the #2 back, perhaps.

To WAB's point. Suppose we had offered two straight #1's. The Raiders would have STILL taken the Bears offer. Why? Because the Raiders were projecting, with a rookie QB and a new coach, that those picks would land in the top 15 in both 2019, and 2020. Whereas they were betting that with Aaron Rodgers, the two Packers #1 picks would have both been in the bottom 20 of the draft. Pace was able to get the 2nd round pick, because of this perception on the part of the Raiders. NO WAY would they have done the deal, if they thought they would be getting a 20th+ pick in 2019 and a upper 20's pick in 2020, effectively trading up about 10-12 spots. The better the Bears do this year and next, the more this deal looks like a disaster for Gruden.

[G08]

Honestly, we're okay for 2019 IMO. Currently we are $16.7M under the cap.

If we wanted to cut Dion Sims, Sam Acho, and Bradley Sowell, that number moves up to $26.3M.

[The Marshall Plan]

Honestly, we're okay for 2019 IMO. Currently we are $16.7M under the cap.

If we wanted to cut Dion Sims, Sam Acho, and Bradley Sowell, that number moves up to $26.3M.

They should look at extending Biscuit now and front load what you can into that $26.3M so that we can have both Mack and Biscuit under big contracts without taking up all of our cap.

Not having first round picks the next two years is going to help also.

[G08]

Might be too early to extend Biscuit, but I'm curious to see what happens at RB and the WR position. I'm thinking Pace feels/hopes Robinson/Gabriel/Miller are the future. Wims can work his way up slowly and maybe take Robinson's job in a few years.

Howard comes out of contract after the 2019 season and if his price is high I just don't know how we can afford to keep him.