At a Snail’s Pace

“Ryan Pace is terrible …”
Why did he even get an extension? His free agent misses are ridiculous and after McCaskey’s comments (Pace made the decision to fire John Fox) why didn’t he make a change mid-season?
A lot of those comments are valid arguments starters against our young, stylish, “Just for Men” box model of a general manager in Ryan Pace.

Sorry, they just don’t belong to me.

Simply put, I believe in Pace and his process. As a matter of fact, I’m actually disappointed his extension wasn’t longer than it was. *cue dramatic movie trailer music*



Pace has built this team exactly the way he said he would – through the draft. Somewhere along the way (and trust me I understand why), Chicago Bears fans have forgotten the truth that, quite frankly, should earn Pace more time than he currently has.
One could argue that Ryan Pace has gotten better every year with drafting. In 2015, his first draft, Pace and company only found two quality starters for years to come in Eddie Goldman and Adrian Amos. The following year yielded four more including Cody Whitehair, Jordan Howard, Nick Kwiatkoski, and Leonard Floyd. His last attempt gave us Mitch Trubisky, Adam Shaheen, Tarik Cohen and Eddie Jackson.
If you’re taking score, that’s one No. 2 Pro Football Focus graded player, five rookies who currently hold a franchise record for something, two all-rookie team members, one pro-bowler, a franchise quarterback and a partridge in a pear tree.
Pace is doing exactly what he believes will give the Bears “sustainable success for years to come”. He’s cooking this meal in a Crock-Pot … not the microwave.

Now I’m a southern boy, so when Mama made roast beef on Sundays, she’d cook, season, and marinate the meat the day before. Then she’d put it in the Crock-Pot early in the morning before we went to church. By the time we got back, the Crock-Pot made that roast beef and gravy fall on some white rice perfectly. It would also stay hot for a long time. It’s the best, most tender, succulent, premium piece of southern cuisine you’ve ever seen!
While free agency gets results quickly like a microwave, the food cools off quickly. The draft is like a Crock-Pot roast beef; It takes longer to cook, but stays hot enough to burn your mouth for a long time.
If sustainable success is what the Bears want, then get ready, it’s coming but it’s going to require a little waiting.
To do it the right way, it’s got to cook low and slow.
Microwave teams look like the Giants. They go 11-5 and to the playoffs one year after spending a ton of money in free agency. Then they follow it up by going 3-13 the next year, fire their head coach and general manager mid-season, bench a future Hall of Famer, and teammates fight and players skip meetings intentionally.
Sounds like a microwaved bowl of Marc Trestman-o’s to me – and a recipe for disaster.
On the other hand, the Pittsburgh Steelers draft well and they are continuously one of the best teams in the NFL.
That’s mama’s Sunday roast beef right there!!
Good on Pace to take the right approach. Let him build through the draft and have more club-controlled contracts of our key players. Good on Pace to hire a coach from a coaching tree with six other active head coaches, three of which are in the playoffs this season not including Andy Reid himself.

He. Just. Needs. Time.

I would’ve given him a four-year extension and given whoever he hired as coach a six-year deal. Good rebuilds take time. Impatience gets you the Cleveland Browns. Pace has got the Crock-Pot on and soon, on Sundays, my mama isn’t going to be the only one making a great product. I will say, eating her cooking while watching the Bears win won’t be a bad combination at all.
It’s going to happen. Low and slow baby. Low and Slow.