Schadenfreude: Bears Fans Are All Too Familiar with Ryan Pace and the Falcons' Plan

Under Ryan Pace, the Bears drafted two quarterbacks within the top-12 of the NFL Draft: Mitchell Trubisky (second overall in 2017) and Justin Fields (11th overall in 2021). Both quarterbacks were drafted in a year when the Bears had signed a veteran to be the starting quarterback only a month before the draft and guaranteed that veteran the starting role (Mike Glennon in 2017 and Andy Dalton in 2021). Glennon was infamously present at the 2017 draft party just to watch as the team who had hitched its star to Glennon's wagon turned around and drafted the franchise's future less than two months after inking him to a three-year, $45 million deal.

Pace's process has been flawed for some time. He seems to be a student of the "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" school. Who can forget the laughably inane kicking competition following the Double Doink against Philadelphia in 2018? Pace and Nagy brought in nine kickers that offseason, which was topped the following offseason when they re-opened the circus by trotting out 10 tight ends during the 2020 offseason.

It's indicative of a rudderless ship; however, Pace has managed to avoid capsize as he steered his way onto Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot's staff following his termination from the Bears.

In Atlanta, Pace must be whispering into Fontenot's ear, not too dissimilar to how Grima Wormtongue whispered into King Theoden's. After all, the Falcons are simply copying the blueprint Pace has failed twice at implementing in Chicago.

In film, there's the concept of heightening. For instance, a bad guy can be bad, but if our heroes defeat him, we'll need a better bad guy next time. Ultron almost destroyed the world, but Thanos wants to kill half the universe. Pace is simply heightening the plan that failed in 2017 and 2021, and trying to ensure it'll work next time by playing with marble chess pieces instead of wooden ones.

Unfortunately, it's not the tools but the craftsman.

Ryan Pace Is at it Again.. in Atlanta

The Falcons signed Kirk Cousins to an enormous four-year, $180 million deal with $100 million guaranteed earlier this offseason. The longtime Viking and Commander was moving south and taking his talents to Mercedes Benz Stadium. It finally seemed like the Falcons had a signal-caller who could take advantage of the plethora of offensive weapons the team had drafted in the past five years. Surely, going into the 2024 NFL Draft, the Falcons would be eyeing possible fixes for their relatively porous defense or another offensive weapon for Cousins to take advantage of.

Well, you all know where it goes from here. Ryan Pace and Terry Fontenot opted to draft Michael Penix Jr., the oft-injured 24-year-old rookie out of Washington, in hopes that by sitting him a few years behind Cousins, he'll be ready to light the league on fire in his year-27 season. Maybe the third time's a charm for Pace's plan?

As Falcons fans continue to come to terms with their fandom, Bears fans sit several hundred miles away, watching the same story unfold in A-town that was so common in Chicago. Sure, it might work this time for Pace, but the process has been a mess regarding the most critical position in sports.

Process requires patience, and the Bears finally have a general manager willing to stack moves over several years versus attempting to speedrun a Super Bowl berth. What I mean by that is simply this: in football, there are a few avenues by which teams try to develop a rookie quarterback. The Green Bay Packers have become the poster child for sitting a player a few years behind an established vet, and it's clear that Pace gets his inspiration from this model. The key difference, however, is that in Green Bay this development happens organically with many key coaches maintaining continuity for decades. Tom Clements, save for a two-year stint with the Cardinals, has been the quarterback coach in Green Bay since the Bush Administration.

You can give me yolks, sugar, and cream. That doesn't mean my creme brulee is going to hold a candle to Guy Savoy's.

Bears Are Better Off

Selecting Caleb Williams first overall was undoubtedly the culmination of Ryan Poles' two-year plan that required essentially tanking in 2022 and stockpiling draft picks heading into 2024. Even before the Carolina Panthers turned into the league's basement dwellers, the Bears knew they'd enter the 2024 NFL Draft with two first-round picks they could leverage if they needed to move around to select one of the quarterbacks in this QB-heavy class. Was luck involved? Absolutely, but the path at least had begun to tread early on in Chicago such that fans didn't need to employ Ms. Cleo to read the tea leaves before them.

Even Poles' drafting of Tory Taylor, which some deemed controversial considering the value of the pick, was an excellent process. Trenton Gill struggled last year, and though he somewhat returned to form at the end of the season, it was clear that punter, at best, was a position where competition was needed. Instead of inviting the Brady Bunch to training camp, Ryan Poles used a fourth-round pick on a punter who many claim could be the best punting prospect in the last 30 years. In one fell swoop, punter became a position of relative strength for the Bears, and the team didn't need to circle the wagons with another inane competition.

Poles rebuilt an offensive roster to support a rookie quarterback in Chicago. Mitchell Trubisky's best target was Kendall Wright, and Justin Fields' best was rookie fifth-round pick Darnell Mooney. Williams has his choice between legit No. 1 wide receiver DJ Moore, the ageless and arguably most QB-friendly receiver in the league in Keenan Allen, or Rome Odunze, a receiver who some thought was arguably the best receiver in this year's draft class.

Any other regime would've held onto Fields after his trade market plummeted further than Boeing stock, creating an unnecessary quarterback competition and, ostensibly, a significant distraction. Poles cut his losses, and this week, Eberflus outright named Williams the starter a few hours ahead of the rookie minicamp.

No more games, no more dog and pony shows. Pure decision-making that finally follows the path of logic. It's a breath of fresh air in the Windy City.