NOT A WORD FROM MR. HIDE
After that horror show by his offensive line, Pace nowhere to be seen
Ryan Pace should have called a news conference immediately after the Bears’ loss to the Browns. The Bears’ general manager should have apologized for putting together an offensive line that couldn’t have blocked an offensive tweeter Sunday, let alone a Browns pass rusher. He should have apologized to rookie quarterback Justin Fields, who was lucky to get out of Cleveland with his life after his first NFL start. He should have apologized to coach Matt Nagy, who was taking a public bashing for his play-calling against the Browns, never mind that Vince Lombardi couldn’t have succeeded with this O-line.
Pace should have resigned on the spot, but of all the things that weren’t going to happen — a Bears victory, a good Fields game, a Pace news conference — that was the unlikeliest thing of all. You don’t quit a cushy Bears job. You wait until ownership fires you two or three years too late.
The Browns sacked Fields nine times, tied for the second-most sacks allowed in Bears history. Myles Garrett sacked him 4½ times, which means that Garrett can tell you what deodorant Fields wears and at least the first five numbers of Fields’ Social Security number.
It wasn’t all bad. Fellow Bears quarterbacks Andy Dalton and Nick Foles did have some wise words for Fields.
“They were just telling me there’s going to be days like this and, of course, games like this,’’ Fields said.
Days and games, plural. With this drafty, threadbare offensive line, it was a perfect, if unintended, observation.
I’m not sure what Fields could have learned on an afternoon like this. How to get your head kicked in? What the sky looks like when you’re on your back?
What happened wasn’t Fields’ fault, though, remember, his many legions of supporters did say that the kid’s athleticism would help hide the offensive line’s deficiencies. Those of us who argued that playing behind this line wouldn’t be good for Fields’ development or his brain cells were dismissed as misguided or soft. The best thing that came out of this game was also the luckiest thing: Somehow, Fields walked off the field under his own power.
How good a quarterback is Fields? Who knows?