Some Love for Ryan Poles - Bear Fans Only

[TheEarlofRobin]

I agree with this but it's getting set up for BPA in the draft. That's always a relative term so within reason and some need.

A few thoughts....the Bears should have already been set up for BPA considering how many years into the rebuild they are and the fact that their QB is on a rookie contract. Regardless, IMO Poles should always be in "BPA" mode in the draft. They drafted Wright at OT instead of Jalen Carter, and here we are in 2025 and the OL was still in a state of disrepair.

It will be interesting to see if any of these offseason acquisitions will still be contributing to the Bears 3 years from now.

 

[mattb78]

Poles was inexperienced when hired. Probably needed another 5 to 10 years in higher executive roles before being hired. But it is what it is. He is learning on the job.

 

[mattb78]

You’re not wrong but at the same time he did tear it down to the studs in that time frame.

Agreed, but what a shit job of rebuild especially the OL. We have a GM whose specialty is OL and the guy is buying 40 million dollar IOL instead of drafting them in the 2nd or 3rd round?

This offseason was desperation over-spending for his last 3 offseason failures.

 

[Leon Sandcastle]

No question. I totally agree.

I think the Carolina trade was brilliant.

I still think the Sweat trade was an excellent move.

Davis was a terrible signing.

Before Dalman, his treatment of the center position was handled poorly.

The Claypool trade was unfortunate but I understood what he was trying to achieve.

His first two draft picks, Gordon and Brisker, are damn good football players.

All three of his first round picks are durable and I believe all three will be top tier NFL players.

I like Tory Taylor but he was a luxury pick.

Velus was a big miss.

Kiran needs to show he belongs this season as at least a capable back up.

I think Braxton was a pretty damn good pick.

I think Dexter is trending toward being a disruptive force on the defensive line.

Stevenson has talent but he has to mature. He’s an idiot right now.

Keeping JJ and Kmet were both good decisions.

Eberflus was an uninspiring, massive miss. I don’t believe for a second he would have been Poles’ choice if Polian and George had not given him three names to consider.

I think getting Johnson and Allen is the other end of the spectrum.

No question, this draft is critical. He has three premium picks and 4 in the top 75. He needs to grab 4 young contributors and hopefully at least two high impact players with those selections.

I love the way he preemptively attacked the IOL with trades and then came away with Dalman. That’s nice work.

There’s plenty more to discuss. The best teams have continuity in their front office and coaching staff. My hope is Poles and Johnson are extremely successful and are here a long time.

I’m not going to sit here and go through all GM’s moves but I’m willing to bet Poles is pretty close with them as far as picks hitting.
They all have misses. I think Claypool was his worst move but I understood it at the time. Atleast he didn’t double down on him, he realized it was a mistake and dumped him. A lot of GM’s wouldn’t have done that.
The W/L record is terrible but that is the laziest argument. He literally came in to a brutal situation and completely tore it down. That takes time. Could it have been done better? Yep.

 

[Leon Sandcastle]

Agreed, but what a shit job of rebuild especially the OL. We have a GM whose specialty is OL and the guy is buying 40 million dollar IOL instead of drafting them in the 2nd or 3rd round?

This offseason was desperation over-spending for his last 3 offseason failures.

Yep. The oline was terrible. It happens.
I couldn’t care less if it was desperation. He’s building it now. That’s what I care about.
I’ve had zero expectations the last couple/few seasons

 

[--CyBear--]

I’m not going to sit here and go through all GM’s moves but I’m willing to bet Poles is pretty close with them as far as picks hitting.
They all have misses. I think Claypool was his worst move but I understood it at the time. Atleast he didn’t double down on him, he realized it was a mistake and dumped him. A lot of GM’s wouldn’t have done that.
The W/L record is terrible but that is the laziest argument. He literally came in to a brutal situation and completely tore it down. That takes time. Could it have been done better? Yep.

Nate Davis is still a FA. I wonder if he's (not) played himself out of the league.

 

[playthrough2001]

Nate Davis is still a FA. I wonder if he's (not) played himself out of the league.

I know Mike Vrabel isn’t going to sign him!

 

[Leon Sandcastle]

Nate Davis is still a FA. I wonder if he's (not) played himself out of the league.

Another bad move. What’s your point? Misses happen. The only thing I want is for a GM that learns from his mistakes and doesn’t continue to do the same thing. I’m hopeful that happens

 

[BearClaw55]

No GM in Bears history has had such high draft capital and gotten so little out of it. He is 15-36 over 3 seasons. Anyone who thinks Poles is a good GM is an idiot.

I think Poles was saddled with a bad HC in Matt Eberflus. Choosing Eberflus is the mistake Poles made. HC makes a huge huge difference. John Lynch swung and missed on Trey Lance giving up 3 first round picks. That would set most franchises back 5 or more years. But, because SF has a very good HC with a vision in Kyle Shanahan they survived Lynch’s major miss (would have many more). If Eberflus would’ve been John Lnych’s first HC in SF. He probably would’ve already been fired by now. If Ben Johnson is a good HC, we will start seeing more ROI with Poles draft picks.

 

[playthrough2001]

@ILoveDick you need to jump in here. I know you’re not a Poles smoker even though you’re probably a pole smoker. Also, you need to serve your time (again) and burn off your name change.

Keep in mind, you’re free to keep your new moniker if you like it. It was curated by your buddies at CCS.

Although, I believe @TezMaKai had another name in mind. He’ll need to beat you on the next bet to get his wish.

Also, you’re not a Lions fan, so you’re good in my book.

Should Poles pick Warren or Loveland to team up with Cole, Rome, and Smythe?

LFG!

 

[playthrough2001]

@BaBaBlacksheep you usually have 100 posts by this time each day. Where are you?

There are no days off at CCS!

 

[cameronkrazie86]

I liked the additions of Thuney & Dalman, the rest are more wait and see (though I am quite intrigued by Jarrett). Still need to see Poles start drafting some star players because this team is totally lacking in that department since he took over. With all those high-level picks, would've thought he'd fluke into one or two by now. Until they start hitting on the homegrown talent (especially at the top level talent), it's going to be very tough to develop a sustainable winner. Hopefully Johnson is better at evaluating college prospects than Flus ever was, and we start seeing some upgrades this year.

 

[Zvbxrpl]

What can Poles do next to move the needle for you if you are or aren’t happy to this point?

Right now, stay with the trenches with 2/3 picks they have in the top 40. Another DL and an OT. Otherwise, I wanted Poles fired and even I can admit he’s made some moves. I feel confident besides the Panthers trade haul, he finally won a trade.

Are there any free agents you’d still like to sign?

Do you want him to stand pat and possibly get a comp pick if Jenkins signs a deal over 5 million?

Would you wait until FAs don’t count against the comp pick formula to add anything else?

I’d like to see him address the slot receiver position with Elijah Moore. Does Tyler Lockett move the needle for anyone?

FA I’d still like to sign? Depth at S. Vonn Bell played many years for Dennis Allen and is fine depth at this point. Maybe a late round pick/undrafted FA to push Elijah Hicks/be better than Simone Biles’ husband. The bar isn’t very high.

Even if Jenkins signs for over 5 mil elsewhere, they won’t get a comp pick. No need to bring him back. His back is fried, he’s got holes in his game, and bears fans are the only ones who don’t recognize he’s not going to be that highly sought after, despite huge need everywhere on the OL.

Slot id agree, but Tyler Lockett does nothing for me. Elijah Hocks, or if the cards fall and he’s still job hunting in a month, a callback to Keenan I’d be open to.

 

[playthrough2001]

I liked the additions of Thuney & Dalman, the rest are more wait and see (though I am quite intrigued by Jarrett). Still need to see Poles start drafting some star players because this team is totally lacking in that department since he took over. With all those high-level picks, would've thought he'd fluke into one or two by now. Until they start hitting on the homegrown talent (especially at the top level talent), it's going to be very tough to develop a sustainable winner. Hopefully Johnson is better at evaluating college prospects than Flus ever was, and we start seeing some upgrades this year.

I think Wright, Caleb, Rome, and Gordon are on the right trajectory. I’d include Brisker but we’re all probably concerned because of his concussion history.

However, all good points…

 

[BaBaBlacksheep]

@BaBaBlacksheep you usually have 100 posts by this time each day. Where are you?

There are no days off at CCS!

Spring break. Doing family stuff.

 

[playthrough2001]

Right now, stay with the trenches with 2/3 picks they have in the top 40. Another DL and an OT. Otherwise, I wanted Poles fired and even I can admit he’s made some moves. I feel confident besides the Panthers trade haul, he finally won a trade.


FA I’d still like to sign? Depth at S. Vonn Bell played many years for Dennis Allen and is fine depth at this point. Maybe a late round pick/undrafted FA to push Elijah Hicks/be better than Simone Biles’ husband. The bar isn’t very high.

Even if Jenkins signs for over 5 mil elsewhere, they won’t get a comp pick. No need to bring him back. His back is fried, he’s got holes in his game, and bears fans are the only ones who don’t recognize he’s not going to be that highly sought after, despite huge need everywhere on the OL.

Slot id agree, but Tyler Lockett does nothing for me. Elijah Hocks, or if the cards fall and he’s still job hunting in a month, a callback to Keenan I’d be open to.

I was wondering about Bell. I haven’t kept up with him lately but I liked him coming out of OSU. We definitely need some insurance at Safety. I was hoping for Holland or Moehrig but those numbers were a bit too much.

Moore for the slot is something I hope they get done. Allen would not bother me either. He and Caleb have a good relationship.

 

[playthrough2001]

Spring break. Doing family stuff.

No excuses!

 

[modo]

I’m not going to sit here and go through all GM’s moves but I’m willing to bet Poles is pretty close with them as far as picks hitting.
They all have misses. I think Claypool was his worst move but I understood it at the time. Atleast he didn’t double down on him, he realized it was a mistake and dumped him. A lot of GM’s wouldn’t have done that.
The W/L record is terrible but that is the laziest argument. He literally came in to a brutal situation and completely tore it down. That takes time. Could it have been done better? Yep.

The whole Claypool thing was a calculated risk. He realized Fields needed a good receiver to get better. This was a QB move more than a Claypool move....

It did not work out, but his strategy was sound.

 

[Leon Sandcastle]

The whole Claypool thing was a calculated risk. He realized Fields needed a good receiver to get better. This was a QB move more than a Claypool move....

It did not work out, but his strategy was sound.

I agree. It gives a lot of people a reason to complain which I understand, it’s just lazy imo

 

[Nelly]

I liked the additions of Thuney & Dalman, the rest are more wait and see (though I am quite intrigued by Jarrett). Still need to see Poles start drafting some star players because this team is totally lacking in that department since he took over. With all those high-level picks, would've thought he'd fluke into one or two by now. Until they start hitting on the homegrown talent (especially at the top level talent), it's going to be very tough to develop a sustainable winner. Hopefully Johnson is better at evaluating college prospects than Flus ever was, and we start seeing some upgrades this year.

Coaching can have a lot to do with developing those picks and we all know how bad our coaching has been.

In Ben's system, it's entirely possible to see Caleb and Rome both take off. Now that Wright isn't all alone on the right side it's possible to see him establish himself as a top RT. Kyler Gordon has already established himself as one of the game's most versatile and dangerous nickelbacks. We could always use more but there's some there and hopefully some better coaching will get it out.