Some Love for Ryan Poles - Bear Fans Only

[--CyBear--]

Finding Purdy really bailed those guys out. Plus, Shanahan can flat out coach until he gets to the Super Bowl.

Here's the thing and I'm not implying this was your intent. If guys are so smart about draft picks like this, they wouldn't wait until the 7th round to make them and draft a few bums ahead of them. If it was all about coaching, they'd still have the guy they paid 3 1sts for.

Good coaching and player moves are also not random but you make your best bets and collect the chips.

 

[--CyBear--]

Poles sucks until proven otherwise. I love Jarrett, but he was an overpay. All of these guys are overpaid minus Thuney and Jackson to an extent. There's nothing inheritably wrong with that, the Bears are a bad team and until they start winning, they are going to have to overpay to get talent. Dayo is still developing so you hope he becomes something.

I will say that he's done everything he can THIS season to get the protection for CW so he can actually evaluate him so kudos on that.

Hard to disagree but what may have been a fault could now become an asset. I strongly suspect his GM style is to enable his coaching staff with much of the personnel requested. He's allowed Flus to hire really bad OCs and in kind O players for their changing schemes. It doesn't excuse some of Poles' questionable moves or hires whether the HC was involved or not but he's now got a smart and diverse coaching staff to enable. May work out.

 

[--CyBear--]

Why would this be unlikely in one of the deepest DE drafts in recent memory?

I really liked the Booker move last year but unless he's bulking up in this offseason, he's less of a fit that Allen prefers. Would make that DE pick even more likely. I like going into this draft without a glaring hole to fill. Makes it a lot less likely to get jumped for a guy you may want. Also allows you more movement in said draft instead of feeling you may run out of a top player at a particular position.

 

[playthrough2001]

Here's the thing and I'm not implying this was your intent. If guys are so smart about draft picks like this, they wouldn't wait until the 7th round to make them and draft a few bums ahead of them. If it was all about coaching, they'd still have the guy they paid 3 1sts for.

Good coaching and player moves are also not random but you make your best bets and collect the chips.

No, I agree. I should have said stumbling upon Purdy. If they thought he’d be as good as he’s been, they definitely would have drafted him higher.

Shanahan can coach but Lance is a bridge too far. That was a major draft **** up!

 

[playthrough2001]

From Fishbain today at The Athletic on Poles shaping the roster… Here’s an excerpt.

“These are benefits that could come Poles’ way if this thing starts to go in the right direction — winning football games. Financially and draft capital-wise, they’re in a phenomenal position to build around Williams this year, and that’s what we’re seeing.

To make a comparison to 2018 for the umpteenth time, that year, GM Ryan Pace splurged in the offseason on wide receivers Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel, tight end Trey Burton, backup quarterback Chase Daniel and kicker Cody Parkey. He traded up in the draft for receiver Anthony Miller. Then over Labor Day weekend, he continued to take advantage of Mitch Trubisky’s contract and took the swing for edge rusher Khalil Mack.

This year’s “haul” is all linemen, and while two are on the “wrong” side of 30, was Poles not supposed to try to add guys who are leaders with Pro Bowls on their resume at positions of need? The Bears don’t need Jarrett and Thuney to dominate in 2028.

The same can be said if they use the No. 10 pick on a running back, a position that often has a short shelf life, or make another trade for a veteran. This is about creating a contender from 2025-27, and, if all goes well, create the “good problem to have” when it’s time to pay the quarterback.

Poles is being honest — he’s focusing on doing what’s best for the Chicago Bears. And what’s best for the 2025 Bears is to build a team that can make the playoffs and recognize the “window.” If the Bears can finally put it all together, maybe it will truly be a “championship window.”

Examining the Bears’ window to win and how GM Ryan Poles has shaped the roster

With Caleb Williams on his rookie contract, the Bears know that now is the time for strike, even with a new head coach.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Nelly]

To be fair, we weren't going to pass on Caleb. And I love the Odunze pick. But there were a ton of shitty picks in the first year, and in other rounds, as well as bad trades. Velus and Claypool ALONE stink. Wright was a good pick. This is his third year, and third strike IMO. But I'm going to guess that Ben will save his ass, and he will be here longer. Maybe he had learned on the job, maybe it's all Ben. We'll see.

I would have totally understood and even advocated for moving on from Poles this offseason. There were those rumors going around that Johnson didn't want Poles there, which appears to have been false but you never know. Nonetheless, Poles wasn't worth keeping around if it cost us Johnson, and maybe not in general.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm guessing Poles was stuck with Eberflus. He was hired and only given the choice between Eberflus, Quinn and Jim Caldwell of all people. You can look at what Quinn has done in Washington and say he was the obvious choice in hindsight but he was coming off a less-than-stellar stint with Atlanta before that. It was reported that Poles was wanting to fire Eberflus last offseason (presumably to hire Johnson to pair with Caleb) but was overruled by ownership and Warren, only to be proven right midseason. If that's the case, it would make sense that ownership would want to give him a little more time to prove himself. And to his credit, he hit the weakness of this team very hard in free agency, weaknesses you could argue were his fault though. It's also been reported that he's a pretty honest guy about where he's fucked up and has shown a willingness to move on from his mistakes (Claypool most notably, but Nate Davis was benched pretty early last season too).

Hopefully things work out from here more than they have. All GMs have some fuckups. Look at the Lance trade for the 9ers, the Jaelon Reager pick for Philly and many others. That trade with Carolina is probably all that's saved Poles' ass from a personnel standpoint cause it's been more negative than positive outside of that.

 

[playthrough2001]

Not sure this is true but it sounds good.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1899273025956319308

 

[TheEarlofRobin]

This is about creating a contender from 2025-27

Its really hard to 'create' a contender in one offseason, which is what the Bears are essentially trying to do because of Poles' complete ineptitude the past 3 years. It seems like the Bears are really focusing on the short term...in one way, its refreshing because the mundane task of 'winning games' has somehow been kept on the periphery of events until now. But its also very strange considering how bad/unstable/in flux the Bears roster is. To me, the biggest red flag is how the supposed 'building blocks' have gotten worse while playing for the Bears....Sweat, Stevenson, Moore, Kmet, Jaylon Johnson....they all played/produced well below expectations. And those are the guys you are counting on to become a contender?

 

[playthrough2001]

Its really hard to 'create' a contender in one offseason, which is what the Bears are essentially trying to do because of Poles' complete ineptitude the past 3 years. It seems like the Bears are really focusing on the short term...in one way, its refreshing because the mundane task of 'winning games' has somehow been kept on the periphery of events until now. But its also very strange considering how bad/unstable/in flux the Bears roster is. To me, the biggest red flag is how the supposed 'building blocks' have gotten worse while playing for the Bears....Sweat, Stevenson, Moore, Kmet, Jaylon Johnson....they all played/produced well below expectations. And those are the guys you are counting on to become a contender?

Sweat was injured last year but played great his first half season in Chicago. Jaylon Johnson has only played for the Bears so that doesn’t make any sense. The same applies for Kmet.

DJ Moore had his best season as a pro in Chicago.

Sorry Earl, back to the drawing board.

 

[playthrough2001]

From NFL.com

“Ten best moves of the 2025 NFL offseason so far: Bears, Bengals, Rams among teams trending up


1) Chicago Bears hire Ben Johnson. The Bears needed to hit two home runs when the offseason started, and they nailed the first one with the hiring of Johnson, who had been the hottest name in the coaching cycle.

Johnson created the most creative and prolific offense in the league during his time as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator. His job now is to produce similar results with a team that watched quarterback Caleb Williams, the top pick in the 2024 draft, underwhelm in his first season.

It wasn't that Williams didn't show promise, as his rookie numbers (3,541 yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions) were much better than most signal-callers generate in their initial exposure to the league. It's just that his warts became more glaring (specifically holding the ball too long) behind an offensive line that couldn't protect him (the Bears surrendered a league-high 68 sacks).

Johnson's offense in Detroit was built behind great protection for quarterback Jared Goff, a strong running game to set up play action and an aggressive mindset when it came to pushing the ball downfield. This is what the Bears need to bring to their offense. They learned how much of a mistake it was to pair a young, gifted quarterback with a defensive-minded head coach like Matt Eberflus. Hiring Johnson gives Williams a real chance to be as special as many people imagined he would be coming out of college.”

5) Chicago Bears rebuild offensive line. There's no rule that says you can't mention the same team twice in an exercise like this, but that's how impressive the Bears have been with their personnel moves.

This was the other home run general manager Ryan Poles needed to hit this offseason, the one that kept his quarterback feeling better about his safety when this team starts playing real games again in the fall. Instead of focusing on just one move here, you must take all three major acquisitions into consideration.

Poles started the process by making trades that delivered two guards, former Chief Joe Thuney (a first-team All-Pro in each of the past two seasons) and former Ram Jonah Jackson. Poles then snared former Falcon Drew Dalman, who was the best center on the free-agent market. It shouldn't be overlooked here that the Bears have the 10th overall pick in this year's draft, which puts them in a nice position to find a left tackle to round out this overhaul.

You have to love how aggressively Poles pursued this task. He had plenty of money to throw around in free agency, but he also sought familiar talents: Poles was in the Chiefs' front office when Thuney joined that franchise in 2021, while Jackson spent four years with Johnson in Detroit. Those are smart plays for an executive who can't afford any more missteps. Poles targeted skill players for Williams last year. This season, his quarterback should have plenty more time to utilize all those weapons.”

The other eight top moves are at the link below.

Ten best moves of the 2025 NFL offseason so far: Bears, Bengals, Rams among teams trending up

 

[TheEarlofRobin]

Sweat was injured last year but played great his first half season in Chicago. Jaylon Johnson has only played for the Bears so that doesn’t make any sense. The same applies for Kmet.

DJ Moore had his best season as a pro in Chicago.

Sorry Earl, back to the drawing board.

I'm talking about player performance in 2024. All of those guys had worse years than 2023.

 

[playthrough2001]

I'm talking about player performance in 2024. All of those guys had worse years than 2023.

Let’s see what happens with competent men running both sides of the ball.

 

[Sculpt]

Why would VM want to sign with the bears?

Maybe the regular reasons: money and love of the game... Chicago deepdish and blues clubs? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Sculpt]

I would have zero interest in Von Miller. He’s pretty much done.

Smith looks like he still has some pop. I’m surprised Detroit moved on. That would need to be explored before actually signing him.

Last year Von Miller had an 83 PFF passrush grade, 82 overall. That's about 13 pts over Sweat or Odeyingbo.

If Bears can afford him, they should grab Smith.

 

[Sculpt]

Why would this be unlikely in one of the deepest DE drafts in recent memory?

Excellent question. Just a gut feeling. Maybe it's trauma from last year.

 

[playthrough2001]

Last year Von Miller had an 83 PFF passrush grade, 82 overall. That's about 13 pts over Sweat or Odeyingbo.

If Bears can afford him, they should grab Smith.

Miller is 36. I would pass on him.

 

[Canth]

CW's deep passes are my biggest concern. I feel he needs to learn to throw the ball away more versus taking sacks but I believe he was just trying to make stuff happen to your point. The guy really gave it his all. It had to be incredibly frustrating to him. I think he is in far better hands now with BJ.

I'm still catching up on this thread. In regards to Caleb's accuracy, one thing that I found odd was how there was that video from I think it was rookie minicamp where he was hitting that deep out throw over and over and over again. But then in the games, he was all over the place on that same throw. I guess he needs to work on being a better judge of his WR's speed? I dunno.

 

[Sculpt]

Miller is 36. I would pass on him.

Just a one year on Miller -- if they pass on Za'Darius Smith -- Von is at the 1 yr contract stage.

Von would be rotational and hopefully a leader and mentor.

Like peeps have said, you don't want to draft for need, if you can avoid it.

Even if Bears draft a top DE/Edge (and I hope they do), you still don't want to depend on them starting every down.

 

[playthrough2001]

Just a one year on Miller -- if they pass on Za'Darius Smith -- Von is at the 1 yr contract stage.

Von would be rotational and hopefully a leader and mentor.

Like peeps have said, you don't want to draft for need, if you can avoid it.

Even if Bears draft a top DE/Edge (and I hope they do), you still don't want to depend on them starting every down.

I surprised the Lions didn’t hold on to Smith.

 

[playthrough2001]

The Bears move up from 24 to 15 in PFF’s NFL rankings.

Chicago Bears surge up NFL Power Rankings after dominating 2025 free agency

The Chicago Bears' successful 2025 free agency period has them on the rise in the latest NFL Power Rankings.

www.si.com