It is true. Who is it that makes the rules for how long a rebuild should take anyway? Fans? Writers? I would have to think that it depends on what you start with and how you're going about doing the rebuild. Some teams do their rebuild spending big money in free agency and i would think those are the rebuilds that go a little quicker compared to the teams that are doing their rebuild primarily through the draft. I just don't see how ANYONE can put a time limit on a rebuild, especially people who have absolutely nothing to do with that team besides being a fan or writing about that team.
Three years into the rebuild and the majority of people connected to the Bears (fans, beat reporters, media) believe we are a long way from being competitive with a roster full of holes. All this in the context of decades of futility, poor ownership decisions, bad hires and draft wastelands.
You exist outside of this consensus, and it is an overwhelming consensus and not just a few nut job meatballs that you can dismiss on an internet forum. You and Teddy have faith that Pace is building this the right way (through the draft, as if there is any other way lol). I give you credit at least for realising that Pace needs to hit in free agency in the off season. I have nothing against people taking a contrarian view, each to their own. But Teddy in particular repeatedly picks the most ludicrous Pace Hater comment he can find and attacks that rather than the more thoughtful criticisms.
I was listening yesterday to a guy who I respect enormously, Louis Riddick, telling me we are light years behind the Giants in terms of the appeal to a HC. This is a team that has been an unmitigated disaster this year but has a legitimately talented young roster, with actual superstars (OBJ, Collins) as opposed to nice pieces (Floyd, Howard). He evaluates Pace’s record as patchy and thinks he is seen as at best neutral and at worst a sitting duck GM with limited job security. This tallies with my own evaluation.
I feel that you both look at the Bears roster in isolation rather than comparing it to the league. I like Floyd, Howard, Cohen, Shaheen, Trevathan, Hicks (love me some Hicks). I can see the potential in Trubisky, Jackson and a couple of others. But as a roster, this is currently a bottom 6 roster in terms of talent. There are no superstars. Howard and Floyd are probably the closest we have. Even the Browns have Garrett. The Jets have Williams and Adams. The Giants have OBJ and Collins. The Colts have Luck and Hooker. The Texans have Watson and Hopkins. The 49ers are the only other superstar-less team I can think of and we just lost to them at home.
We have no elite talent, three or four very good players (Howard, Hicks, Trevathan, Floyd) and some young players with potential. Can you see the difference?