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Some Imagined Pace Thoughts


dll2000

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Can you imagine? Look at things from Pace point of view without benefit of hindsight.  

Doing this off cuff from memory so I may get some things wrong. Is from point of view of Pace.

Just got hired, can't pick my coach. Who cares right? This is my big break at my dream position. Harder than becoming a US Senator, though not as lucrative.  

My first draft.  Too low in draft to remake team without a crazy bold move up to top two. Not in cards in my first year with a new staff and adviser to Bears org. still hanging out.  Oh well.  There is time. They promised me time. 

Two consensus playmaking WRs that could be available. We need an explosive playmaker.   It's that or pass rusher.  

So it's 1) Cooper and then 2) White.  If we want a pass rusher it's Beasley.   Beasley lacks power and relies on speed alone. Doesn't have tall frame to add weight and power. So Cooper or White whoever falls.  Both are big, fast and have great hands. Tought to go wrong with either. 

Okay it's year two and old guys Fox and Fangio are no longer being meek and deferential.   We have to get off field on 3rd down they say!  We need a pass rusher and we need one now!  (I actually heard this recounted somewhere by Pace, this part was a real conversation).

Well, we are drafting 11 so Bosa and Buckner are not happening. Who is next? Floyd from Georgia is consensus next best rusher.  Kind of a project, but huge upside. We have a shot at him.  Has all physical tools to be a good rushing OLB if we put weight and strength on him. He's tall, we can do that.  Okay Floyd is our guy. He is falling to us just like we hoped.  Crap. Sources say Giants are going to grab him. If we want him we have to trade up.  Do we do it? Room - what do think? Room - "yeah we have to! 3rd down!"  Remember org. waited on Donald and we got jumped. Good point self.  Okay let's go!  We got Floyd. 

It's 2017 and my 3rd year. Time to do what I want to do. To be bold.  Time to get our QB.  We got number 3 pick. We can do this. Forget about White that could happen to anyone.  Time to move forward. 

Trubisky or Watson?  ... ... Hmmm.  Watson another run around QB with an okay arm on a great team? How much is him and how much is team? Probably a good chance he will bust or get hurt.  Not into him.  Mahomes, another Leach guy. Not falling for that trap.  They never work in pros.  I'll be out of a job in 3 years with everyone saying I told you so and citing precedent.   I really like Trubisky's potential.  Guy is accurate and smart and love what he says. Okay, some real risk that he hasn't played much, but be bold. Trubisky is our guy. Let's go get him. 

Cleveland is taking Garrett number 1, but what is SF going to do? Do they want a QB? Let me call Lynch.  Lynch said he is fielding trade offers for 2nd pick. From who? Hmmm... I am pretty sure Browns want Trubisky and they have 10k draft picks to work with.  Who else? I don't know, but I can't be sure it isn't some one trading up for MT. We better make the trade. Dang it, going to catch hell for this.  We got him! Yay. No price is too high for your QB.

Okay it's 2018 and I got my QB, time to get my coach.  Finally!  Really like this Nagy guy. Reid loves him, he loves MT. Let's go!  Loving it. 

Back to first round of draft again. Alright no more projects in first round. Let's take best defender in college football in Roquan Smith, yeah he is an ILB, but I can't handle another first round bust. He has no red flags, what could go wrong with this one?  Nothing that's what. 

Man Floyd still kind of sucks as a rusher,, but he could still be good right? I hope so.  That one hurts. We really, really need a pass rusher. Where can you find a pass rusher? Hold it Oakland can't resign Mack. Ha! I might be able to find one after all. And the best one?!? Could we do this? Be bold, let's go! 

Yes! It's 2019 and everything is in place! We just need a better RB for the cherry on top of this beautiful Sunday.  Easy peasy lemon squeeze baby. I don't need no stinking first round pick. My team is loaded. 

2020 just started and crap.

What the heck just happened in 2019? 

Well we need to ...We just need ... Well crap. We need a lot of stuff all of a sudden.  

(In mirror) Keep chugging Pace. You can do this. 

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I think his moves for the most part were the best he could reasonably do without revisionist hindsight. The regression on the OL and QB, and the injury woes of Burton weren't things he could expect. 

He will have to keep playing his game of chess though to stay competitive and move forward. To me this will be his make or break year. 

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29 minutes ago, beardown3231 said:

Are these your thoughts or is this copy & pasted from somewhere?

LOL.  Where would I cut and paste that from? 

Its not even that great. It’s called being bored on News Years Day being an old guy trying to find something to do on a cold day.  Also struggling to type on a mobile device.  

 

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19 minutes ago, dll2000 said:

LOL.  Where would I cut and paste that from? 

Its not even that great. It’s called being bored on News Years Day being an old guy trying to find something to do on a cold day.  Also struggling to type on a mobile device.  

 

I'm not accusing you of it. I'm asking because it's 1) really well done, like the punctuation and spelling is perfect, 2) the writing/font is bigger which happens on here if something is copy and pasted at times and 3) despite not reading it, Dan Pompei wrote something recently about "being" Ryan Pace and what he's thinking & this sounds like it could be it.

Well done.

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3 hours ago, beardown3231 said:

I'm not accusing you of it. I'm asking because it's 1) really well done, like the punctuation and spelling is perfect, 2) the writing/font is bigger which happens on here if something is copy and pasted at times and 3) despite not reading it, Dan Pompei wrote something recently about "being" Ryan Pace and what he's thinking & this sounds like it could be it.

Well done.

Thanks you!

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Speaking of Pace and first round picks which is what most of above was about.

Smith just had Pec surgery which is pretty serious.  This after a first season hold out and "personal issues" in second season.  I was being sarcastic above mouthing Pace saying nothing could go wrong with Smith who was one of cleanest prospects in that draft.

So to recap:

White:  Injury bust

Floyd: Bust

MT:  Pretty close to busting

Smith: Flashes of greatness but facing some bust symptoms

Pace best first round picks were 2 for Khalil Mack.  But Mack faded quite a bit in 2019 too.  Ugh.

There is certainly some luck factor involved, but man, it still hurts.  Floyd, MT and Mack cost extra picks too.  


 

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2nd rounders have been a bit better:

Goldman good, but started slow.  

Whitehair mostly good aside from much of 2019

Shaheen is a bust.  

Daniels pretty good in 2018 and horrible in 2019

Miller  dangerously close to injury bust at this point.  

 

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I think Pace results have been some good and looking to turn a bit sour of late, but generally speaking the moves have made logical sense at time they were made.

And a lot of 'experts' agreed with the moves or the prospect at least.  I know a lot hammered the MT trade up, but MT as a prospect was not widely hated.  He was generally 1 or 2 on most boards.  Many had Watson number one and most everyone had Mahomes number 3.  

White was pretty much everyone's number 2 WR in that draft AND a consensus first round prospect.

Most scouts thought Floyd was a high ceiling prospect and everyone had him in first round.

R. Smith was showered with national praise.

 

 

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I think I have to remind myself that he basically stripped this team down to the studs and re-built it "from the ground up". I haven't had an issue giving him time, and his results on defense have been outstanding in my football world. Has it been perfect? No... I didn't like the Floyd pick back then and I still don't like it now. I am sincerely hoping that he will rescind the preposterous $13M option that was picked up for Floyd's 2020 season. At the end of the day, though, it's hard to discount the amount of talent he has acquired on that side of the ball.

Offensively, a bit of a different story. Our OL needs work (not sure how much Castillo can do with the 'talent' we have there). I'm of the opinion our line is better suited for zone-blocking rather than man, but we'll see how Daniels comes back in 2020. I love Robinson at WR but that's about it... Miller is still a bit of a dunce to me, inconsistent hands, and Wims is nothing really special. I want to see an upgrade there, particularly in the speed department. I've been beating the drum for Phillip Dorsett, shouldn't cost a lot and he can fly.

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^ Forgot to mention TEs... Shaheen is a hack and I do not want him on this roster in 2020. Pace will have to spend $$$ in free agency (Henry? Hooper?) and then draft another one high. Can't run this offense properly without an upper-echelon talent at the TE position.

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1 hour ago, G08 said:

^ Forgot to mention TEs... Shaheen is a hack and I do not want him on this roster in 2020. Pace will have to spend $$$ in free agency (Henry? Hooper?) and then draft another one high. Can't run this offense properly without an upper-echelon talent at the TE position.

https://bearswire.usatoday.com/2017/05/03/todd-mcshay-says-adam-shaheen-is-bears-best-pick-from-2017-nfl-draft/

Also a reminder, a lot of scouts were into the Shaheen pick at the time of the pick.

Elway was on tape at combine as being super into him.

 

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5 minutes ago, dll2000 said:

https://bearswire.usatoday.com/2017/05/03/todd-mcshay-says-adam-shaheen-is-bears-best-pick-from-2017-nfl-draft/

Also a reminder, a lot of scouts were into the Shaheen pick at the time of the pick.

Elway was on tape at combine as being super into him.

 

I remember Daniel Jeremiah was a big fan of his as well -- it is what it is -- but I think it's safe to say that the kid has been a bust thus far. I never cared for his stiffness or inability to stay on his feet once he caught the ball.

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2 minutes ago, G08 said:

I remember Daniel Jeremiah was a big fan of his as well -- it is what it is -- but I think it's safe to say that the kid has been a bust thus far. I never cared for his stiffness or inability to stay on his feet once he caught the ball.

Yes.  Point is Pace isn't really outside mainstream on a lot of his thinking even with busts.  He was taking highly rated prospects.  

From 2008 to 2013 Bears were always making "surprise" 1st round picks that mostly sucked or didn't fit the scheme.  Long was best of them, but probably could have been had later.  

 

 

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