Matt Eberflus is gone. The spotlight of the Chicago Bears‘ dysfunction now rests on GM Ryan Poles. This shouldn’t be a surprise. He promised a winner when he took over in 2022. Instead, he’s offered nothing but the same stuff they’ve endured for the past decade. There hasn’t been a culture change. The offense is still bad. There is no sense of identity. Many wonder why Poles deserves a pass while Eberflus got the blame. With each passing week, it looks like the roster he’s built isn’t as impressive as many thought.
No position group has haunted the GM more than the offensive line. It was supposed to be his area of expertise as a former lineman himself. Instead, it has shown how alarmingly blind he is to the position. The group has allowed 58 sacks this season, on course for the most ever in a single season by the Bears. Worse still, his most prominent moves are proving to be disasters. Nate Davis was a complete crapshow after less than two seasons. Third round pick Kiran Amegadjie looks completely overmatched whenever he steps on the field.
Now Poles suffered another blow as Ryan Bates, his prized trade acquisition from Buffalo, went on Injured Reserve for the second time.
Ryan Poles can’t hide from this.
Bates was somebody he’d pined for going back three years when the Bears tried signing him as a restricted free agent. Instead, he traded a 4th round pick to Buffalo to get Bates, who barely logged 100 snaps this season before shoulder and head injuries ended his year. That is a bad look. Ryan Pace may have been more egregious with wasting draft resources, but that doesn’t excuse Poles. The Bears would’ve likely gotten more of a return from a veteran free agent rather than giving up a valuable pick. This is why the trade market can be dangerous.
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Ryan Poles should know that by now. Since taking over, he has traded for the following players:
- N’Keal Harry
- A.J. Klein
- Chase Claypool
- D.J. Moore
- Dan Feeney
- Montez Sweat
- Ryan Bates
- Keenan Allen
- Darrell Taylor
- Chris Williams
Of that list, only Moore and Sweat can be called successful acquisitions. The rest were disappointments to varying degrees. At some point, the Bears need to take stock of these misfires and ask the obvious question. Should we really trust this GM with the future of the franchise? Everybody makes mistakes, but Poles’ seem too frequent to ignore.
@jmscooby – why does that make sense to you but not Poles? Don’t the Bears love to preach “continuity” ? Except at QB 1 and WR 2, 3, RB 1, and TE 2… in the same offseason.
Add in a new OC who only worked with the 2nd TE before. Yeah. Looked at in this light, it’s not surprising we’re 32nd in offense – right behind the Panthers.
Caleb-new
Keenan-new
Rome-new
Swift-new
Everett-new
That’s a lot to expect of 5 new skill players, as well as a new OC, to develop immediate chemistry. Add in an inconsistent, at best, OL, and chaos ensues. We shot ourselves in the foot by not taking advantage of last draft’s OL class. The new HC has probably not even heard of Bill Murray.
Give him ONE more year to utilize the high draft picks HE accumulated along with anticipated top free agent signings and upcoming trades.
Poles took the 5th best qb at 1.01. The new gm needs to make the bears great again.
I wish he would stop penetrating my ozone layer with his penis rocket.