Poles strategy not what I expected

[Washington]

“They must believe in Braxton a lot,” Kreutz said. “Basically, that is what Poles is going to be judged by. Caleb Williams versus C.J. Stroud and the rest of the quarterbacks and then Olu Fashanu versus Odunze.

“How do you not take the left tackle? I still can’t figure that out. I like Odunze. He’s awesome. But I don’t know how you don’t take the left tackle with the problems they’ve had. Look at (Chargers coach) Jim Harbaugh; he went and took Alt. You’ve got a former quarterback who wants to win in the trenches and you’ve got two former O-linemen (Poles and assistant GM Ian Cunningham) who want to win with skill players. It’s interesting.”


Olin finds it interesting too.

I read that and I have to agree with Olin. But, Olin is a bit biased too. I really really wanted Alt to fall to 9 but I knew that would not happen. CW has lots of weapons but luckily he is mobile and can elude because he is going to have to do that a lot just like JF.

 

[Washington]

Yeah, Poles and Ast GM were OL, but I guess he didn't come away thinking OL/DL were the key to success.

Maybe cause he's a former OL, he thinks he can find great values? Braxton Jones in the 5th, Carter, Kramer in 6th.

Next to a balanced team, I think OC, DC, QB, OL and DL are greater leverage points. So, I know what you mean.

The way he totally nuked the team, showed he wasn't gonna start out as a tweaker.

On the negs... taking flyers on Lucas Patrick, Reiff, Leatherwood.

But OL is tricky... Whitehair, Davis, Jones ups/downs, Jenkins injuries, kinda freezes moves.

Wright and Davis are really Poles only higher-level injections. Bates and Coleman may be solid, but not high level.

If Nate Davis sucks again this year (& trend should be expectation), and Bates or draft pick isn't decent, that'll be a problem.

On DL, his only higher-level injections -- after ditching Mack, Goldman, Hicks, Nichols, Quinn, Mario Edwards, Blackson, Muhammed -- was Billings, Walker, Ngakoue, Sweat & draft Dexter and Pickens. Ngakoue, Sweat and Dexter are the only higher-level so to speak. Billings a great pickup.

Leaving Sweat as the only decent passrusher after being last in Sack Percentage is pretty striking. Considering $ spent on Owens and Ogbongbemiga, I think signing one of the best DE/Edge 1yr deal fast as possible would have been wiser. The $ was there, though tight; especially if he was leaning on picking one of top WRs at #9.

You forgot Jones on the DL and he played well for the Bears and has not been replaced.

 

[remydat]

So after three drafts and off-seasons now Poles hasn’t done what I expected. You have two former OL running the show so I expected the team to be built inside out. (Trenches) But the reality is the strongest parts of this team are the secondary/lb’s and the offensive weapons. The biggest questions are at DL and OL. And it’s not like the options weren’t there to improve the DL and OL. Choices were made and other positions prioritized.

This is not a complaint! Think the team looks dramatically better and the future is bright. But if you asked me when Poles was hired would we have 3 stud WRs over dominant line play I would have laughed at that. Anyone else a little surprised that this is where we are now?

(Again, not complaining in anyway and yes I realize some investments have been made in trenches. Just a little shocked at the amazing WR room still.)

Think this is fairly simple. Poles opted for who he considered better fits and more talented. He isn't fixated on drafting or signing guys for need.

I also think with the way IOL and DL salaries have sky rocketed that he opted not to overspend on them unless he say a really good fit like Sweat.

Finally Jones was better than Wright as a rookie and this past year so it always amuses me when people act like he must be replaced. He is going into his 3rd year and his first 2 years have been good not just for a 5th rounder but for any OL drafted period.

 

[TL1961]

People are really jumpy about any Poles criticism right now.

I basically said he built the team NOT like Emery did ignoring defense and sinking a lot into offense so he should be safe from a quick McCaskey exit. Some were all over that because of Wright, or Jones, or Sweat, or all this year's trades for offense.

That's fine, all good moves. But it still doesn't fit his trenches speech. After that speech I expected an impassible oline and dline that couldn't be stopped.

I guess we will have to settle for entertaining football for once.

 

[pdxbearsfan]

So after three drafts and off-seasons now Poles hasn’t done what I expected. You have two former OL running the show so I expected the team to be built inside out. (Trenches) But the reality is the strongest parts of this team are the secondary/lb’s and the offensive weapons. The biggest questions are at DL and OL. And it’s not like the options weren’t there to improve the DL and OL. Choices were made and other positions prioritized.

This is not a complaint! Think the team looks dramatically better and the future is bright. But if you asked me when Poles was hired would we have 3 stud WRs over dominant line play I would have laughed at that. Anyone else a little surprised that this is where we are now?

(Again, not complaining in anyway and yes I realize some investments have been made in trenches. Just a little shocked at the amazing WR room still.)

Didn't Poles laugh and say it's a new day? I think he realizes you need to score points in bunches.

 

[pdxbearsfan]

I like what he’s done so far. Last year he took oline and DLine. This year he made two no brainer picks. I think next year, he will focus on the trenches again and with 4 picks in the first two rounds, he should be able to bring in a lot of talent for the trenches. I have to admit, this guy seems like he’s a genius GM. This draft is shallow and he traded a bunch of picks from it. Next years draft looks deeper and he has a lot of picks in it. It seems like he has a multifaceted plan that will pay dividends as time goes on. That’s how you build a successful franchise. You don’t build a successful franchise by trading future assets for less value than if you would’ve hung onto them and used them yourself. That’s what fools like our last GM do. I don’t really care what the draft pick value sheet says. Patience pays off. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Poles is definitely looking like he knows what he is doing, I've been supportive from day 1.

 

[baredown]

My recollection is that since day 1, Poles has emphasized two things - [1] build through the draft; and [2] take the long term perspective. In the face of all the excitement with Caleb, Rome, and the upcoming season, Poles spent two of his precious picks on guys (Amegadjie & Butler) who don't project to help much at all this season. But they both are high ceiling guys who could pay big dividends down the road. So I think he's definitely sticking to the plan he originally laid out, despite all the pressure, here and elsewhere, to laser-focus on 2024.

Well done, sir; well done...

 

[Myk]

I read that and I have to agree with Olin. But, Olin is a bit biased too. I really really wanted Alt to fall to 9 but I knew that would not happen. CW has lots of weapons but luckily he is mobile and can elude because he is going to have to do that a lot just like JF.

You don't like the trades Poles has done on offense?
They seem to be upgrades to me.

My main fear of "just like JF" is the same oline coach.

 

[greg23]

Assuming poles is done this year the final numbers are in

26 total picks
6 OL picks
5 DL picks

You may not like the picks or when they were made, but he's invested 42% of his draft capital on the trenches......to say he's ignored the lines is false.

 

[Myk]

to say he's ignored the lines is false.

To say someone said he ignored them is false.

You also definitely have to consider where they were made and what contribution they ended up making when he came in singing the praises of the trenches.
How many of those 9 picks are still here or ever were here outside of camp or PS?