Things are moving slow with this
pandemic situation, Ryan Pace is still trying to fill the gaps on the team with
FA players while Matt Nagy is already starting his virtual camp sessions, this
season is going to be a mess if there is even a season to consider this year,
with stupid people not helping the cause and idiotic government personnel in
charge in many places of the world doing even worst damage, there is no way to
know when this is going to get stabilized. But I will keep going with my life
thinking there is a shot of a 2020 NFL season just for kicks and some sanity.
The biggest move
Pace made this offseason was trading the 2020 4th round compensatory pick for
Nick Foles, I wouldn't had a problem with this move if it wasn't for the
massive contract attached. This deal to me means that Foles is the
starter or should be, you don't pay a QB 15 million a year just to sit on the
bench even when the team says it will be a competition, Mitch Trubisky is
almost certain to be on a spot to fail, he would become Foles backup to then be
let go on 2021 when his contract is done and will be labeled as a bust 1st
round pick making him Pace's third 1st round bust he has drafted with the
Bears, even with the mid round gems he has found thru his 4 years as a GM, this
will badly taint his reputation as a good personnel evaluator. Trubisky should
get his last shot as the starter but it's really hard to envision this scenario
with how much money they are investing in Foles and how little they would lose
by letting go of Trubisky if Foles works out, Pace and Matt Nagy would get
another year to find the Bears future franchise QB. Getting really ahead of
myself, what if Foles struggles early? When do you decide to take him out for
Trubisky? in the case Foles starts and he is taken out because of production
for Trubisky, Pace will place his job on Nagy's hands to save both his asses
while trying to make Trubisky play his heart out. Fun right? Well with how this
draft ended up being, specially the first two picks, this Foles/Trubisky thing
can be viewed maybe in the same way. Pace drafted TE Kole Kmet with his first
2nd round pick while the board was falling with other better prospects on other
positions available that Pace could have picked due to value, instead he
drafted his 10th TE on the roster, then with his next 2nd rounder 10 picks
after Kmet he drafted a stud DB in Jaylon Johnson. So, does it matter if he
chose a better pick after a not so good one in regards of value as a prospect?
Other things come into consideration but the main thing is that if Trubisky
starts and Foles sits at the beginning of the year, I could view it as just
salary total for the QB position not regarding who is owner of which contract,
problem is if Trubisky thrives in 2020 then how do you keep the guy? do you go
all out with Trubisky and franchise tag him while showing Foles the door? do
you retain both for insurance while paying them top dollar? or do you let
Trubisky go and try to get a good compensatory pick in return, draft a top QB
in 2021 while retaining Foles? Does Pace sleep at all?
In other lesser
stressful news, Pace went on a mission to get speed for the offense by drafting
5th rounder Darnell Mooney and by signing FAs Ted Ginn Jr. and Trevor Davis.
Mooney seems to play hard even with a really slim frame, he will need to keep
that flame alive to get a shot against the veterans, right now I believe it's
Ginn's spot to lose while Davis can contribute more on ST's. Ginn doesn't make
the slot position solid, he’s a former speedster that relies on his knowledge
of route running more than his physique, Davis and Mooney are question marks
for now so even if Pace found some talent, it's still a wait and see scenario.
The EDGE position
got some help in the 5th round as well, going up for Trevis Gipson who shows
good shedding and burst to get to the QB, can bend somewhat but helps that he
shows a good motor to finish the play. Can be a good rotational guy behind
veterans Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn.
The other 5th
rounder that Pace went up to get was DB Kindle Vildor, a hard nose corner who
doesn't shy away from contact with really good agility, his size doesn't help
him against big receivers, but he will go all out no matter what. He is bound
to play on the inside of the secondary be it at nickel or safety, but he will
be a good addition to special teams. The addition of Tashaun Gipson clearly
will make him the starting choice at SS, others that can compete for this spot
other than Deon Bush and Vildor could be Stephen Denmark and newcomer Jordan
Lucas.
Seventh rounders
T Arlington Hambright and G Lachavious Simmons will fight to climb the depth
chart to get a chance to play or probably more likely to make the PS. This is a
statement from Nagy, not drafting top talented prospects Olinemen to plug Kyle
Long's spot and get real competition for at least Bobby Massie says to me that
he is convinced that what happened last year was a fluke, that the 2018 OL is
the reality of this unit and can get back to being as they were. I don't buy
it, at least at the RT position, Massie is getting old and was never a dominant
player, he won't get better and can easily regress, to not have talent behind
him is a dangerous game, I just hope Alex Bars is a diamond in the rough and
can be that guy, there's still the signing of Jason Spriggs to look at and see
if he can get coached to be the player the Packers thought they were getting.
Germain Ifedi is still believable to hold the RG spot but again who is behind
him pushing him to be better? Pace could have gone OL at the draft and gotten
Matt Peart or Netane Mutti who where my favorite late picks for this draft that
could have pushed the competition.
Getting back to
the two top picks of the Bears draft in Kmet and Johnson. Johnson looks to be a
player that is very similar to how Kyle Fuller plays corner, he is tough with
good size and plays with instincts to know when to attack the ball, he doesn't
show recovery speed so if his instincts fail him he is going to get in trouble.
Saying that we would have two Fullers on the field doesn't sound bad, but who
would cover the speedster? every team is searching for their Tyreek Hill in
regards of deep threat receivers, I'm not all that sure that they can cover
speed that well without help from the safety. Now Kmet is another statement
form Nagy, one that makes me believe that he is not a good coach, by drafting
Kmet as a priority with their first available pick this says to me that Nagy is
unable to coach if he does not have the "right" TE corps, he is
unable to mold his offense depending on what he has on his roster and I find
that limiting his ability to coach a team and that is what would bother me on
the Kmet pick, I understand that there is scheme involved but how much talent
do you need to have on one position to make it work? do you really need a
carbon copy of a player for Nagy’s offense to function properly? No pick is a
sure thing but going blindly for one guy not even considering the other options
available is shortsighted for the future.
There’s still some
depth missing at RB and ILB that Pace can try and fill at FA but if nothing
else changes from here to the start of the season, the roster is solid at
defense and questionable at best at offense of course, OL and QB will tell the tale
of the 2020 Chicago Bears season, if there is one.
