Building through the Draft

[modo]

The method that built the 85 Bears is very different than the current NFL...

That comparison is irrelevant.

The best way to have a competitive team is to have a kick ass QB. That is almost exclusively done thru the draft, but there are some exceptions in trades and FA.

The rest of your team can vary, but most of the time you need a healthy crop of producing draft players with a garnish of free agents.

The Bears best players are free agents from other teams. That being said, if Fields works out, it gets a lot better for Pace and the Bears.

 

[Black Rainbow]

Finally, we might have a good QB, but it's not the end-all-be-all. Too many good QBs never won one. The "Tom Brady Era" has got ppl overstating the importance of QBs. It is a big piece, but there's a lot of other things such as a good HC, which we don't have.

I always think how Aaron Rodgers only has one SB as an example of you need more than just a great QB. Drew Brees too.

 

[Bearly]

So Mack and Fields are mistakes since we wasted (extra) 1st round picks on them? Pace could do better on a few fronts but really, comparing one of the best teams ever in a non FA period where players have to stay around for moderate pay is silly. The 85 team had some great drafting but n todays' NFL, nobody could keep all those players for an extended period.

 

[Black Rainbow]

So Mack and Fields are mistakes since we wasted (extra) 1st round picks on them? Pace could do better on a few fronts but really, comparing one of the best teams ever in a non FA period where players have to stay around for moderate pay is silly. The 85 team had some great drafting but n todays' NFL, nobody could keep all those players for an extended period.

It's a valid point. From '79 to 84 or 85 the drafting was good. It's only 5 or 6 years.

 

[JoJoBoxer]

Don’t Caaaaarrrreee. If they were that great they resurrect

They were thinking about resurrecting for the 30th anniversary of the Super Bowl, but figured that they would be resurrected at an age after their playing careers.

So they decided to be reborn.

Unfortunately, that makes them 6 year old, so they too would get pushed around by the current NFL.

Currently, the 6 year old Walter Payton is trying to learn a new running style because of the new NFL rules.

 

[Bearly]

It's a valid point. From '79 to 84 or 85 the drafting was good. It's only 5 or 6 years.

He listed 10 players, not 5.

 

[Bust]

The Bears best players are free agents from other teams. That being said, if Fields works out, it gets a lot better for Pace and the Bears.

Nothing wrong with that cause the bear scouts saw something in them and paid low value as well since they were castoffs. Akiem Hicks was a huge win for Pace as he didn't work out with either Sean Peyton or Billy B., both respected coaches, hall of fame bound.

Pace also paid under value for Robinson <cause other teams shied away from his knee injury>. Winner winner chicken dinner!

 

[Black Rainbow]

He listed 10 players, not 5.

Because they had two 1st round picks in '79 and '83. That's 4 in two draft classes.

 

[Anytime23]

He isn't terrible. Like Windy said, Pace is 2 out of 4 in first rounders which is league average for first rounders. He is probably pretty close to 50% in later rounds which is way above league average.

Probably the better thing that can be said about Pace is that drafting is probably the least bad thing he does.

"drafting is probably the least bad thing he does." What a ringing endorsement

I think you're being very generous giving him 2 of 4. But my standard is higher than most here.

Also, where did all of these Ryan Pace defenders come from? Cant recall much push back on my Pace bashing(outside of 2 posters) prior to Justin Fields. Feels like a lot of you are trying to get ahead of the "i told you so" game because Justin Fields could be a legitimate franchise altering QB.

 

[Anytime23]

The Bears best players are free agents from other teams.

That's what i've been saying for a couple years now. FAs + Mack + Kyle Fuller being drafted by a different GM. That has been the foundation of this team during the Nagy era.

 

[ThatGuyRyan]

This Draft “looks” like a good one. Salt looks like sugar too.. the trade(s) he’s made have been franchise altering, for the worse. So until grades come back in on JF1 and TJ, pace can ride a dick to Arlington

edit: I’m not gonna slam him for either pick, but there were more pure LT on the board we could have drafted, without trading away so much, to draft a project LT in TJ. Especially cutting Leno days later. In either case though he FINALLY addressed the position

 

[JoJoBoxer]

"drafting is probably the least bad thing he does." What a ringing endorsement

I think you're being very generous giving him 2 of 4. But my standard is higher than most here.

Also, where did all of these Ryan Pace defenders come from? Cant recall much push back on my Pace bashing(outside of 2 posters) prior to Justin Fields. Feels like a lot of you are trying to get ahead of the "i told you so" game because Justin Fields could be a legitimate franchise altering QB.

My words tell you that I am not a Pace apologist.

As in Nagy threads, I believe that 2021 is a hot seat year for Pace.

Well, Pace has hit a home run in 2021 during the draft. The Justin Fields pick certainly pulled him away from the flames and the rest of the 2021 draft was also very good, arguably one of the best draft classes in the NFL. He has also had some success in the draft before so he shows that he is good at parts of what he was to be good at.

His free agency and contract signings are his weaker points. Can he show an improvement in these aspects in a difficult year?

As for Nagy, he now needs to take that big step that Pace took during the draft. Pace showed something really good in 2021 related to his job. Nagy now needs to do the same thing.

Pace had the "good offseason or bust" sign and he came through.

Nagy now has his "top 15 offense or bust" sign. Will he pull it off?

 

[Canth]

Pace actually built a hell of a roster in 2018 - with the obvious exception of qb and kicker. But he did what you are supposed to do when you have a starting qb on a rookie contract and that is to not be afraid to pay for guys that you think will push you over the top - ie, Mack.

The best commodity in the NFL right now is a franchise caliber qb on a rookie deal. Fields gives them that reset that will allow them to continue to pay for guys they otherwise could not afford and/or allows them to handle some of the bad contracts (Quinn) without completely dismantling the entire team. Next offseason will still require a partial rebuild of the defense but they will have room to maneuver.

As far as the draft goes, I think Pace is actually decent at the draft. I just wish he would stop trading up so often so he had more picks to work with. You need those younger, cheaper players to balance the roster from a cap perspective. And then when you find a gem, you can be in really good shape. I know I said it before, but Pace is going to have to change his draft trade-up philosophy once Fields gets his first market deal. The price of qb's is insane and it's only going to get worse.

 

[dabears70]

How often do 1st rounders become perennial franchise players? Overall, it’s hardly debatable that pace is above average drafter. He’s missed on some top 10 picks, he hasn’t had a full deck of them, but overall, out of all the negatives you can point to regarding pace, drafting is not one of them

53% of 1st round picks sign 2nd contracts in the NFL.

 

[dabears70]

Also, this is correct.

Doesn’t matter where a player was drafted… are they good or not.

Pace has made 4 1st round picks. 2 have sucked, 1 is good and on another team, and 1 is a super star. Even that isn’t a bad record at all.

1 has sucked and 1 couldn't get on the field because he couldn't stay healthy. There's a difference....just sayin...

 

[Black Rainbow]

Pace actually built a hell of a roster in 2018...

Imagine that roster with Mahomes.

?

 

[dabears70]

Best buddies @Anytime23 and @halftime were bored not having anything to cry about so will take over this thread.

 

[Aquineas]

1985 Bears was a dynasty in the making. And no salary cap to deal with? lol. what chokers they were, no thanks!

D were also allowed free reign? No helmet shot penalties/fines/suspensions. They could not take advantage of all those pieces falling into place and became just your typical one and done team.

A couple of nuances are perhaps worth noting here:

• The Bears didn't win additional Super Bowls largely because of offensive limitations (Mr. Glass QB, predictable play-calling, antiquated scheme)
• Limitations in the defensive backfield. Mike Richardson got exposed as a CB when Leslie Frazier (who was an excellent one-on-one cover man) suffered essentially a career-ending injury on a kickoff return in the Super Bowl
• The other elite NFC teams (Washington, San Francisco in particular) started figuring out a way to attack the weaknesses in the 46 with quick passes

 

[PrideisBears]

Best buddies @Anytime23 and @halftime were bored not having anything to cry about so will take over this thread.

Don’t think they’re buddies

 

[Aquineas]

The actual 85 Bears defense wouldn’t be allowed to play in this kiddie nfl. They actually got to hit and tackle in that era. The teams of today wouldn’t stand a chance in that era.

Mostly true, but pass-interference has gotten worse than it used to be. Update, here's the original video since the Youtube link in the original post no longer works. Check out what John Madden commented on at about 47:45 mark.