General manager Ryan Pace spoke with Jeff Joniak Sunday morning on the Bears pregame radio show on WBBM Newsradio 780 AM and 105.9 FM. The following is a transcript of Pace's comments.
On frustration as a result of the Bears' four-game losing streak:
"We're all frustrated. I think that's normal. But really you just go to a solution-based mindset. That's what we're all in. Matt [Nagy] said this before: You either compete or you complain, and I think everyone in our building is here to compete. We've got a good chance today at home to right the ship in front of our own fans and that's something we're looking forward to."
On what he's been surprised by this year:
"Every season takes on a different storyline. There's different types of adversity. We're hitting some more adversity. We're disappointed in the record. Obviously we have higher expectations. But this happens in sports. And the reality is we've got eight games left and we've got a great opportunity to right the ship. We acknowledge the record, but we're fortunate enough where we can control the outcome."
On what was going through his mind watching the offense struggle in the first half last Sunday against the Eagles:
"I just think there are so many self-inflicted mistakes on offense and you're putting yourself behind the sticks. You're on the road, you're playing a good defense and it's third-and-long. That's not a recipe for success. But with that said, I think we were fortunate that our defense hung in there in the first half and kind of kept us in the game, kind of a bend-but-don't-break style. It allowed us to regroup at halftime and really gave our offense a chance to get back in it, which we did. We've just got to finish."
On whether he saw some signs in the second half in Philadelphia of how Mitchell Trubisky played in 2018:
"I think you saw offensive production in the second half because we played more mistake-free football really and we didn't put ourselves in those disadvantage situations. It allowed us to be a little bit more balanced. I think really when that's happening, it opens up the pass game and things just get a lot easier on offense."
On whether Trubisky is mentally tough enough to deal with the volume of criticism he's been getting:
"I think this is all part of playing quarterback in the NFL. Every quarterback goes through this and it's just part of the experience. We're fortunate that we have a head coach that understands him more than anyone. [Nagy] played the position himself. There's growth that happens on the field. There's growth that happens off the field. Other young quarterbacks around the league are going through it, the same thing, and honestly we're proud of the way that Mitch is handling it."
On what gives him faith that Trubisky will play better in future:
"You see it within games right now. You saw it in Philly; it was really a tale of two halves. So he's fighting his way out of it within games. We all know that Mitch can play better. Mitch knows that. He's just in the process of navigating through this along with the rest of the offense. He has confidence in himself. His teammates have confidence in him. And we've just got to fight through this."
On whether last year's home game against the Lions was a platform game for Trubisky:
"I think there's something to it. These are the same players that we played with at that level last year. We're fortunate. We have eight games left to get this thing back on track. I know Matt and his staff are the right leaders. Matt became our head coach for moments like this. His leadership shines in moments like this. I think his attitude is infectious. It infects the whole team. I really appreciate the way Matt's handled these times. These tough times are when people really show themselves and I think Matt's doing a good job."
On what he needs to see during second half of season:
"It's wins. That's what we need to do. That's why we're here."
On whether that also includes growth:
"One hundred percent. We've got a lot of young players playing. I think we're the sixth youngest starting offense in the NFL and there's some growth that happens with that."
On whether self-inflicted mistakes are causing the team's regression:
"I think there's something to that. As an entire team, we're not playing to the best of our ability. We know that. There are a number of factors why. I think that's one of them, but I'm confident that we can clean this up."
On Lions receiver Kenny Golladay:
"First of all this is a really talented receiver group as a whole. Golladay is a very difficult player to defend. You look at his size, you look at his strength, he's physical at the catch point. So all these contested catch situations, he's winning all those battles. Seven touchdown catches I think is tied for the lead in the NFL. It's because of the physical traits that he has. Just a high level of play from Matthew Stafford combined with the style of player [Golladay] is makes him hard to defend."
