Here’s some numbers fer ya head:
Rush Yards Yds/Att TD Rec Rec Yds TD
Player A 443 4.4 5 9 68 1
Player B 366 3.7 3 15 97 0
Player A is one of only three NFL RBs with 3,000+ rushing yards (3,370) since 2016, joining Ezekiel Elliott (4,048) and Todd Gurley (3,441). Howard and Gurley are the only NFL RBs with 9+ rushing TDs in each of the last two seasons.
Ryan Pace thought Player B was the better player and traded Player A for a 6th round draft pick. Moreover, Pace moved up in the draft to select Player B to replace Player A. The cost of doing so was the 87th pick, the 162nd pick, and a 2020 4th round pick.
So, to recap; in its entirety, the swap of Player A for Player B cost the Bears:
- Player A
- 2020 6th Round Pick
- 2020 4th Round Pick
- 2019 3rd Round Pick
- 2019 87th Pick
- 2019 162nd Pick
Player A = Jordan Howard.
Player B = David Montgomery.
Now, don’t get me wrong, David Montgomery is doing a nice job for the Bears as a lead back with a shitty offensive line. He has a very bright future, but the fact is, SO FAR this season, he simply hasn’t been as good as the Eagles Jordan Howard.
But, this really isn’t about Howard or Montgomery. This botched trade (thus far) lies at the feet, yet again, of Ryan Pace. At this point, you have to ask yourself if this job too big for the Bears GM? I think it is. With Pace as the architect, the Bears have a record of 29-34. Over this period, they have had the 2nd, 7th, 8th, 9th, 39th (2), 45th, 51st, 56th, 71st, 72nd, and 73rd picks in the draft. These picks have produced:
- Mitch Trubisky – Ouch.
- Kevin White – LOL. Out of football.
- Roquan Smith – Struggling with something more than just football.
- Leonard Floyd – Soft. Can’t put up real numbers playing opposite K.Mack.
- Eddie Goldman – Great rookie year, not much since.
- James Daniels – Potential.
- Adam Shaheen – Beat it.
- Anthony Miller – Well, we’re waiting.
- Cody Whitehair – Solid starter on a the worst O-Line in football.
- Hroniss Grasu – Bozo. Out of football.
- Jonathan Bullard – Nah. Three career sacks
- David Montgomery – Bell cow of this crew.
As you can clearly see, Pace’s early round selections have produced very little. I am far more impressed with his free agents signings; which means that someone else drafted and cultivated a player, then Pace was there to hijack him – which makes sense as Pace’s main responsibilities in New Orleans were scouting (and changing Mr. Bensen’s diaper and staying the fuck outta Mickey Loomis’ way). It’s also not that difficult to walk into an organization ran by Loomis and Sean Payton and Drew Brees and succeed. See, the Saints are widely known as having the most well-ran organization in football. The Saints have stayed competitive for a long time even when they are always drafting late in the first round.
Which brings us back to the Bears. Most likely, the Bears will not have a pick near the top of the draft in 2020, which is a good thing, as most of Pace’s limited draft successes have come towards the back end of the draft. At no time should the GM should be allowed to draft a QB, WR, TE, or D-Lineman. This is due only to his incompetency in doing so in every previous year. Pace will not be fired, and the team isn’t going to bring in an experienced talent evaluator who has had success in the draft, so what we will continue to see is the same draft results we have since 2015.
Sweet.
