GM Ryan Poles knew the Chicago Bears were not built to win a championship. They had way too many glaring flaws on their roster when he took over, and several aging veterans compounded it. So, he decided to hit the reset button. It made logical sense. Poles wanted to build the team through the draft, make them bigger, more athletic, and meaner. That was especially true up front, where he felt the Bears were way too passive. Nobody could argue that. It’s why the team has invested nine draft picks over the past two years across both lines.
Unfortunately, the results haven’t quite been there. Braxton Jones was playing well to start this year at left tackle. Now he’s dealing with a neck injury that leaves his return uncertain. Darnell Wright looks like a keeper. The 10th overall pick has played well under difficult circumstances this season. The bigger problem is on the defensive side, where the Bears continue to lose too many battles at the line of scrimmage. They still can’t rush the passer with any consistency. Former Bear defensive end Corey Wootton wasn’t afraid to call Poles out for this failure on CHGO Bears After Dark.
Ryan Poles doesn’t have enough hits.
While nobody can dispute his process, the bottom line remains you need to find good players to build a winning team. Some of his draft picks have shown early promise, but none have flashed true star potential. It’s hard to win in the NFL with star players, especially up front. Nobody can fault the GM for not trying, but his efforts aren’t yielding results. Part of the problem could be the coaching staff. It’s apparent that head coach Matt Eberflus and his assistants are out of their depth. They’ve routinely been outcoached almost every week since taking over last year.
When coaching is a clear team weakness, it’s harder to assess players. Then again, great players find a way to excel regardless of the coaching. The Bears have only one great player, and that’s D.J. Moore. This is why Ryan Poles is getting lots of heat lately. Early results of his work aren’t favorable. It already looks like Eberflus will be fired after this season. People are debating whether the GM should join him. While that doesn’t appear likely, it doesn’t change the fact that Wootton has a point.
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Poles needs to do more if he wants to get this organization out of the mud.
Hard to win in the nfl WITHOUT stars…. Go back to school Lambert
I agree with Wootton, trenches need more love. Hard to get that done in basically one full offseason. Makes no sense to trade away Fields for chips and get Williams and still not have a solid OL.
Poles would rather have 7-8 average to below average players over 2-3 star players. That’s why good teams blow the Bears out everytime. Because they have several star players and the rest filled in with average players. Poles is quantity over quality all day, and it shows on Sundays.
Again, the knee jerk whipsaw reactions here are kinda sad. Articles proclaim that Wright is a future all-pro, then this article says none of Poles picks have “flashed true star potential”. Get consistent to be more believable.
I think TJ Edwards is starting to show his star potential. Brisker is average. Edmunds, like Walker, was an overpay. None of the free agent offensive linemen Poles and Cunningham have brought in, since they arrived, have amounted to much of anything. That, to me, is the biggest indictment against those two: former offensive linemen who can’t seem to get the offensive line right.