Fuck you Rozner. Fuck you. How many are times are you going to write the same column? MCGOWANNNNNNNNNNNN
updated: 1/7/2017 7:42 PM
Rozner: Pace of Bears rebuild painfully slow
Two years is an eternity in the parity-stricken NFL.
That's enough time to completely turn over a roster and build a competitive team.
But Bears GM Ryan Pace is still talking about the 2014 Bears.
"I think when we came here, I think you realized, 'Hey, there's no quick overnight fix,' " Pace said when he met the media last week, seeing his shadow for the first time in months. "There's a lot of heavy lifting that's going to take place."
After first saying when hired that they could make great strides, and suggesting after 2015 that the Bears were close after a 6-win season, Pace and John Fox after a 3-win season are now subtly reminding everyone that they inherited a bad team.
Like a politician eight years into a term still blaming the previous administration, Pace can no longer use this as an excuse.
You've had two years. This is your team. Your players. You own it.
Save the "quick fix" nonsense.
But at least Pace has finally figured out, after losing games in the final minutes of halves and games, that he needs difference-makers.
"I honestly think we need to add more playmakers to our secondary. We need to add more ball skills to our secondary," Pace said. "That's on me and we'll do that."
That is on Pace and he should have done it already.
While drafting a luxury in Kevin White with his very first selection, and a project in Leonard Floyd with his second No. 1 pick, Pace ignored what was painfully obvious to just about anyone watching.
Yes, the Bears need playmakers in the secondary. They need playmakers at virtually every level of the defense and offense.
Floyd may turn out to be one of those guys, someone who can change a game with a single play, but as it stands now, how many players do the Bears have who can stop an opposing offense on the defining drive of the game? How many players do they have on offense who can give the Bears the lead in the final minute of a game?
The answer is not a good one.
They need a pair of safeties. They need a pair of corners. They need someone in the middle of the defensive line that wreaks havoc -- and can stay on the field -- and someone who consistently gets to the quarterback and disrupts everything the opposition offense tries to do.
On offense, they're still short a pair of tackles. Sure, they need a quarterback, but if you can't keep him off his back, it doesn't much matter.
Alshon Jeffery doesn't seem to want to be here and this regime is hardly in love with him, so the Bears are still looking for a pair of receivers who can change a game in a single play.
Tight end Zach Miller had great chemistry with Jay Cutler, but it appears Cutler's Bears career is coming to an end and Miller has had terrible luck with injuries.
So, yes, there is a lot of work to be done and the Bears haven't made much progress in the last two years.
But they speak out of both sides of their mouth when saying there is "heavy lifting" to be done, while also claiming great progress with young players who had to play because of injuries.
We know this because the Bears have told us over and over again about the injuries they suffered and all the try-hard youngsters who played so well for them.
The result was a 3-13 record, tying for the most defeats in the 96-year history of the franchise (1-13 in 1969), and the first 3-win Bears season since the NFL went to a 16-game season 38 years ago.
If you're desperate for good news, the Bears get to coach at the Senior Bowl, which is a huge advantage for a team searching for players.
The Bears also have a very high draft pick and lots of cap space, and if they can bring in four or five players who can instantly make a difference, they could improve by four or five victories next year.
Whether that's enough to help Pace and Fox keep their jobs a year from now remains to be seen.
brozner@dailyherald.com
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
