Ryan Pace's Biggest Mistake Can Cost Bears the Opener
Bears general manager Ryan Pace may have already lost the season opener for the team.
The Bears are at Detroit to face the Lions on Sept. 13. This won't be the Lions with David Blough or Jeff Driskel at quarterback like last season.
Instead, this will be Matthew Stafford returning to play at Ford Field.
Sure, the Bears have handled Stafford before but he didn't have a running game to balance out the offense then. The Lions have a better running attack than the Bears now. They have better backs, a better run-blocking offensive line and a greater commitment to balance the attack because they know they can do it.
Regardless of the running game, it's in defending the pass where the Bears have already lost this game thanks to Pace's biggest mistake of the offseason.
Pace has made a few other mistakes, like depending Joel Iyiegbuniwe, Devante Bond and Josh Woods for their inside linebacker depth and thinking they have the right guard position solved with Germain Ifedi. Neither of those are enough to get a team beat in a few plays.
Going with an inexperienced or ineffective cornerback against the Lions and their talented receivers in Detroit is enough to get them beat.
The Bears cut a perfectly effective cornerback in Prince Amukamara for cap purposes, and also in part because they didn't like his play last year. They've replaced a veteran, effective cornerback with either a rookie, Jaylon Johnson.
Johnson might not start the opener. He could. But the Bears' alternative is cornerback Kevin Toliver, whose inconsistency is his only consistency. They have brought in Artie Burns to compete, as well. Burns had a passer rating against of 143.2 and 158.3 the last two seasons in Pittsburgh.
This is how they're going to defend Kenny Golladay, now one of the best receivers in the NFL. Golladay has Pro Football Passer ratings of 79.9 and 81.0 the last two seasons. PFF has already projected he'll have the third-most passing yards in the NFL this season for fantasy purposes.
Golladay caught a 75-yard touchdown pass against Amukamara last year and now he'll face either someone much less experienced or far less effective than Amukamara.
The Bears have to hope their pass rush is all over Stafford from the start of that game thanks to the biggest mistake Pace has made this offseason, failing to bring in a more effective veteran cornerback replacement in case Johnson isn't ready to start from Day 1.
Few cornerbacks are well prepared for facing NFL passing games from the outset, so there's no reason to think Johnson will be prepared.
Even the Lions' Jeff Okudah, the best cornerback in this past draft, will get his NFL baptism.
It's a tough place for veterans to play, let alone rookies.
The Bears' secondary struggled until they brought in Amukamara in 2017 and he helped to solidify that group. They parted with him all too willingly and they'll be facing someone to start their season who knows how to take advantage of this situation.
They'll see plenty of others who can do the same. It's a situation that could play out several times until their rookie has grown up and is better able to stop it.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
