I think losing has jaded too many fans and given them a pessimistic outlook on things. Glad you guys aren't Brown of Lions fans...you'd be jumping off of the closest building...
The Bears are a lot farther along in this rebuild than most realize.
That’s certainly playing a part but this attrition of faith is entirely understandable given the last decade of futility. You could make the case that it’s actually a more rational reaction than blind faith in a GM.
Believe it or not, I actually like some of what Pace has done but, as I’ve repeatdely said, he is learning large chunks of his job in situ. In some areas he’s developing nicely (OK, one area: drafting). In others he hasn’t shown that he’s a competent GM yet (blind spots at WR, K; market evaluation; pro scouting). I do think he can get there but he has an incredible amount of work to do this offseason and he’ll have to do it all by himself as Ted Phillips and the McCaskeys have nothing positive to contribute.
What I have been trying to point out to you guys is that the roster is not as good as you think it is. By comparing it to a roster in the Cardinals that is below average but still significantly better than ours, I’m hoping to provide a bit of objectivity to this topic. You may disagree with my evaluations but they are thought through and in line with a majority of analysts across the league. This doesn’t mean they are 100% accurate of course but I don’t think they are far off.
It doesn’t mean I don’t like the look of some of our young players. I believe with really top notch coaching, they could be good to very good NFL players. I just have zero faith that...
- we will pick the right coach
- Pace will do what needs to be done in free agency
- the players will be able to shake off the systemic failure this organisation has become
- even with a marked improvement, that we will be able to catch up the other teams in our division
These are considered positions that are based on previous experience of watching the moves that the Bears have made in my lifetime (30 plus years of fandom) and the early returns on Pace’s tenure as GM.
I hope more than you can believe that Pace manages to address the four points above. If we go into OTAs with significant additions in free agency (not Snyderball but a targeted influx of playmaking talent), a draft class that looks like it will provide an immediate impact and a coaching set up that I believe can bring success, then I will be more positive about the direction we’re headed in. But after three seasons of putrid football, I need to see it.