The 2019 NFL playoffs have been tough on Bears general manager Ryan Pace. Fans and the media have continuously criticized him for not drafting quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun Watson. Hindsight was used in Sunday’s NFC Championship game as Pace criticizers were upset with the team letting go running back Raheem Mostert. Mostert is the same reason why those criticizers need to stop living in hindsight with the Bears.
Mostert had a career day Sunday as he rushed for 220 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries against the Packers. During the regular season, he rushed for 772 yards and eight touchdowns splitting time with Tevin Coleman and Matt Brieda. Bears fans and media recalled that Mostert was on Chicago’s roster for a brief time in 2016.
Fans forget that he was on the roster because the team was down their top two running backs in Jeremy Langford and Ka’Deem Carey due to injuries. Mostert may have gotten a chance to prove himself had rookie running back Jordan Howard not been as impressive as he was. In games against the Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts, Howard rushed for 100 yards in each game and also caught a 21-yard touchdown pass. He would go on to break several Bear rookie running back records finishing with 1,313 rushing yards.
Before signing with the 49ers at the end of 2016, Mostert had been apart of six other teams dating back to the start of 2015. In 2015 alone, he was apart of the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins, and Cleveland Browns. Fans really can’t blame Pace for letting Mostert go while a fifth of the league also though little of the running back’s potential.
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It is similar to the group that is upset that the team didn’t draft 49ers tight end George Kittle in the fifth round of the 2017 Draft. Chicago drafted tight end, Adam Shaheen, in the second round believing that he would be the sleeper selection of the draft. The problem of being upset with Kittle is that the entire league passed on him for the first four rounds of the draft.
Pace deserves to be held accountable for his drafting of Mitchell Trubisky while not doing his due diligence with Mahomes or Watson. It is not fair to use hindsight in other situations, especially when it comes to Kittle and Mostert given how others passed on them. It is not smart for fans or media to live in hindsight for every player that has success that the Bears had a chance at.
