The Ryan Pace Mike Glennon crush is looking more and more real by the day. Some people will shoot the idea down. If that were the case, then why did the Bears give him a three-year contract where most of the guaranteed money is gone after the first year? The answer to that is easy. It’s smart business. Chicago locks up their starter for a decent span of time but are protected against the possibility he fails.
That doesn’t change the fact that Pace is starting to look like a man ready to drink the Glennon Kool-Aid. Fans have clung to the belief that this is just a bridge strategy. Glennon is meant to hold the starting position down for this year while the team looks for their long-term answer in the draft. Maybe it’s Mitchell Trubisky, or Deshaun Watson or DeShone Kizer. Impossible to know for sure.
Yet it’s hard to simply gloss over the glowing comments Pace has made regarding Glennon. Many of them unprompted. It’s starting to look like he geuninely believes the Bears have an answer at quarterback. Not just a placeholder.
Ryan Pace Mike Glennon connection
During the annual NFL owners meetings down in Arizona, Pace fielded questions for the first time since the scouting combine. There were many regarding the state of the roster and the teams’ plans for several new free agents. Naturally though the conversation was dominated by the quarterback talk. The young GM once again had an opportunity to backtrack his conviction on Glennon.
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Once again he refused. According to Adam Hoge of WGN Radio, the moves the team has made are designed to help Glennon have the best chance to succeed. Now and potentially in the future. This includes the recent signing of veteran Mark Sanchez.
Mark Sanchez is just a backup and his primary job will be to help develop Mike Glennon.
Addressing the Sanchez signing for the first time, the first thing Pace did was reiterate that Glennon is the Bears’ starting quarterback. Pace sees Sanchez as “a really good, solid No. 2 quarterback.”
Reasoning
Pace wouldn’t back down from his praise of Glennon either. His admiration for the 27-year old goes all the way back to the 2013 draft. Pace was a big fan of his coming out of North Carolina State. In fact he admitted that the Bears had talks with Tampa Bay about a potential trade two different times. Talks just never progressed to anything realistic. The fact the Buccaneers tried to retain Glennon for $8 million per year signals their own high opinion of him.
Pace insisted that given enough time people will see the exciting value he brings to the table.
“As you guys get to know him, you will sense this, he’s very intelligent. He studies a ton of tape. He’s a really hard worker and you can feel those things and he’s really good at processing the field and seeing information quickly.” Pace said. “We talk about the traits we value in a quarterback, whether it’s arm strength or release quickness or accuracy, but you guys all know the ability to process and go through your progressions quickly and identify coverages.
Some guys just think quicker than others and I think that he can process information quickly and make the right decisions with the football and sometimes that might mean the check down or throwing it away when necessary. That’s OK.”
True love?
Now it’s possible this enthusiasm could be just an elaborate smokescreen to steer people away from the idea that Pace is eyeing quarterbacks in the draft. Here’s why that might be misguided. First, the man may be secretive about certain intentions but he’s always been up front about his feelings towards players. See his comments about Jay Cutler and Alshon Jeffery for reminders. This is not false praise for Glennon. He really likes the guy.
Second, and perhaps more important is the history. Pace hasn’t drafted a quarterback yet in his short career as GM. Not one. There were plenty of opportunities to do so but each time he passed on it for other positions. This seeming indifference to the draft goes back to his days in New Orleans. During his entire time there as a scout and executive from 2002 to 2014, the team drafted three quarterbacks. All of them in the fifth round or later.
Their two starters were acquired via trade (Aaron Brooks) and free agency (Drew Brees). New Orleans made the playoffs six times and won a Super Bowl over that span. For better or worse, Pace grew up in a system that showed the draft is not the only avenue to finding an effective starting quarterback.
That indicates he’s not bluffing in this. He’s sticking to best player available. If that means sacrificing the chance to get a top quarterback, so be it.
