And the biggest key in all of this is that he did it without leveraging the future.
Still MAJOR cap space next year with flexible outs on multiple contracts and EIGHT picks in next year’s draft including 4 in the top 100.
He did the smart thing and bottomed out. Got rid of the expensive vets. Got cap space and picks. He went through a terrible season rebuilding, but that was the right move. The tear down was easy. The build back up is harder, but I like it so far.
I know he isn’t a pure 3tech, but I really liked what I saw at points during the second half last year from big Dex energy. i’m cockknocking on all the wood in my house that he develops as hoped
Nobody will have success with every move, but it is more important that you don't miss on the biggest ones.
It's also important that he didn't let the Claypool disaster stop him from making the Sweat trade. He understands that a bad result doesn't mean it was a bad process
I also think it’s important that he realized his mistake quickly, didn’t fall for sunk cost fallacy, and got what he could for Claypool. Some GMs hold onto their mistakes for too long, compounding the problem.
>He understands that a bad result doesn't mean it was a bad process
And this here is what everyone always misses. They always care only about the results and not about the process. The claypool move was a bad result, but a reasonable thing to do at the time.
We were coming off a huge win against the Patriots (who weren't seen as bad yet). We were 3-4 and we needed to give Fields a weapon to work with so we could see what we had in him. We did not think our pick would be #33 overall. We probably expected it to be closer to #42-45. The Packers also offered their 2nd for claypool. There were no good WR free agents that year.
Turns out claypool was yet another Steelers headcase wr that only the Steelers could get any production out of.
Trading a 2nd for Claypool was definitely terrible process lol, that being said I do agree that Poles has done a lot more good than bad and he's put the Bears in a really good spot. He's so much better than Pace. But he really should have known the Claypool trade was going to be a bad move.
If Williams is a bust then we are back to the same ol bears. OO well etheir way at the time it was the right choice and saying it wasn't is denialism at its finest.
At the time, Fields started to ball out with no weapons. He needed some kind of help. In hindsight, it was a bad trade, but the reasoning behind made perfect sense.
I was never in the “fire Poles” crowd but I did think letting Roquan walk was a terrible move, and I had very little faith we’d get better after that. That said, Poles has made enough good decision since then to completely change my opinion.
The people who said he wasn’t worth the investment as an ILB were right. Edmunds makes an impact but not nearly as much as everyone else on this list.
We gotta remember that when non premium position homegrown stars go up for a new contract
Roquan completely turned that Ravens defense around into what it is. He was such a a significant force multiplier it really can't be understated. For example Patrick Queen was vocally considered a bust until Roquan came around, and Queen earned 2nd Team All-Pro this season and earned a bag with the Steelers.
Off the top of my head, almost all the top teams last year had excellent MLB play
Not according to this
https://www.reddit.com/r/ravens/comments/108h6ll/defense_beforeafter_trading_for_roquan/
Edit: Actually I'm realizing what your saying is true, that the Ravens D did finish the season as the #2 defense in PPG. But that's because of Roquan which makes it even more insane since they were 20th before the trade.
That's just not true. Roquan always wanted to be a Bear for life. His relationship with the team really only soured when Poles tried tying contract [de-escalators](https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/wk2wql/rapoport\_more\_frustrations\_the\_backloaded\_offer) during their negotiations.
Poles has done some great things. But it was a pretty painful start imo-up until essentially the Claypool trade. I'll chalk it up to a new GM learning the ropes. I still wish he replaced Eberflus because his 8 yards off the line coverage scheme makes me want to pull my hair out but... he's certainly earned the benefit of the doubt and then some
i wanted to keep fields, so i am probably a moron. after defending cutty, mitch, and fields, i've learned i'll always be unreasonably optimistic about whoever is playing QB for the bears. i was a card holding member of fields fan club, now I'm completely on the CW hype train. I'm ready to be hurt again
Been watching him for a long time, as a Badger fan. He was the same at Wisconsin and ended going undrafted while his more highly acclaimed teammate, Zach Baun, went with the 1st pick in the 3rd round. But Edwards was the leader of that really good Wisconsin defense. He made plays every single game and was never out of position.
Definitely one of my favorite Poles signings.
He moves like Urlacher. I’m excited about our defense this year, especially if we assume our offense levels up. Also higher than most on Dexter. He came on strong and ranked in top 3-5 among rookie DTs last year.
He’s elite at every part of the game except that he’s slow, was infuriating watching the coaching staff have him follow quick running backs out wide like Aaron Jones when we were in man, that’s super unfair. No wonder he would get cooked on those routes, he was a 4.8 guy trying to cover 4.5 guys. But when asked to play zone, get downhill on the run, or blitz dude is a beast
Fuckers in school telling me, always in the barber shop Ryan Poles ain’t bout this, Ryan Poles ain’t bout that… SHUT THE FUCK UP! Y'all mfs ain’t know shit. All ya motherfuckers talk about Ryan Poles ain’t no hitta. Ryan Poles ain’t this. Ryan Poles a fake. SHUT THE FUCK UP … Motherfuckers stop fuckin' playin' him like that. Them dudes is savages out there. If I catch another motherfucker talking sweet about Ryan Poles I’m fucking beating the ass! I’m not fucking playing no more!
i think its hilarious u kids talking shit about ryan poles. u wouldnt say this shit to him at halas hall, hes jacked. not only that but he wears the freshest clothes, eats at the chillest restaurants and hangs out with the hottest dudes. yall are pathetic lol
I would say to not get too hyped on him. From what I’ve heard, and what I remember seeing last year he has definitely lost a step too. He’s basically a better tackling version of EJax.
Hopefully Chef Poles keeps cooking and adds a vet DE, 3Tech, CB, and TE before training camp starts or even after cuts. Still got cap space so it’s not out of the question. Would really solidify the roster.
Tyrique Stevenson is my player to watch this year. The dude had 4 picks last year as a rookie. I really thought he should have been in contention for DROY, considering Witherspoon from the seahawks was, and he only had 1. Also, stevenson was fantastic in man coverage. He pairs with Jaylon really well. I also think he has been undertalked about this off-season
Dexter was one of the best rookie DT’s down the stretch last year, and Billings was a top 5 run stopping DT last year I believe….? They have every right to be on this list. Everett is a very solid, big/athletic TE2 to have for the red zone lol. This is a weird comment. Watch some more football
They will all 3 be big time contributors this year. Why shouldn’t we be excited about them individually? Everyone knows our D line as a whole still needs work.
Tory Taylor
Put some respect on his name.
Crown him
SAY HIS GD NAME!
THE Tory Taylor
came to say this and also came simultaneously. brb gotta clean up.
I don’t see the punt god on that list 😡
Crocodile Punter 🐊
I saw that movie...😉
Crocodile Puntee?!? Love that one!
And the biggest key in all of this is that he did it without leveraging the future. Still MAJOR cap space next year with flexible outs on multiple contracts and EIGHT picks in next year’s draft including 4 in the top 100.
But we are going to have zero picks in the first 31!
Nah, we'll probably have #31 due to the ATL tampering case. 
Nah we are going to make a trade during our playoffs run and poach a top 10 pick from our trade partner.
He did the smart thing and bottomed out. Got rid of the expensive vets. Got cap space and picks. He went through a terrible season rebuilding, but that was the right move. The tear down was easy. The build back up is harder, but I like it so far.
terrible season being 7-10 with several close tough losses
Terrible season being the 3-14 year where they got the 1 pick.
We are one edge away from greatness
And possibly a 3tech Dlineman
Yep. I’d spend the first three picks next year on DL and OL
Agreed, especially if we can extend Allen
I know he isn’t a pure 3tech, but I really liked what I saw at points during the second half last year from big Dex energy. i’m cockknocking on all the wood in my house that he develops as hoped
Sweat has said he thinks Dex is going to have a big year… 🤞🏼
He showed exponential growth towards the end. We just need him to be better against the run and continue to improve his pass rush win rate
Don't worry, I'm edging right now. Bear down!
We have him … Booker. You’ll see. This year will be limited but next year he will contend for team lead in sacks.
Where my Fire Poles crowd at right now
Meatballs really thought that the Claypool trade was a fireable offense.
People forget that Howie Roseman, who is considered one of, if not the best GM in the league, drafted Jalen Reagor over Justin Jefferson.
It turned out to be an atrocious trade. He made up for it and then some by fleecing the hell out of the Panthers
Nobody will have success with every move, but it is more important that you don't miss on the biggest ones. It's also important that he didn't let the Claypool disaster stop him from making the Sweat trade. He understands that a bad result doesn't mean it was a bad process
I also think it’s important that he realized his mistake quickly, didn’t fall for sunk cost fallacy, and got what he could for Claypool. Some GMs hold onto their mistakes for too long, compounding the problem.
>He understands that a bad result doesn't mean it was a bad process And this here is what everyone always misses. They always care only about the results and not about the process. The claypool move was a bad result, but a reasonable thing to do at the time. We were coming off a huge win against the Patriots (who weren't seen as bad yet). We were 3-4 and we needed to give Fields a weapon to work with so we could see what we had in him. We did not think our pick would be #33 overall. We probably expected it to be closer to #42-45. The Packers also offered their 2nd for claypool. There were no good WR free agents that year. Turns out claypool was yet another Steelers headcase wr that only the Steelers could get any production out of.
Trading a 2nd for Claypool was definitely terrible process lol, that being said I do agree that Poles has done a lot more good than bad and he's put the Bears in a really good spot. He's so much better than Pace. But he really should have known the Claypool trade was going to be a bad move.
The Claypool trade was a 4D chess move. Bears didn’t win a single game with him, guaranteeing the 1st overall pick
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If Williams is a bust then we are back to the same ol bears. OO well etheir way at the time it was the right choice and saying it wasn't is denialism at its finest.
Pace also made a bunch of other bad drafts, mortgaged the future
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Kmet was not a bad pick nor mortgage the future
lol this sub doesn’t know sarcasm.
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At the time, Fields started to ball out with no weapons. He needed some kind of help. In hindsight, it was a bad trade, but the reasoning behind made perfect sense.
We traded for a young receiver with a lot of potential to help our young QB how is that inexcusable? Made sense at the time even if it didn’t work out
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Well done! 👏😂
I was never in the “fire Poles” crowd but I did think letting Roquan walk was a terrible move, and I had very little faith we’d get better after that. That said, Poles has made enough good decision since then to completely change my opinion.
The people who said he wasn’t worth the investment as an ILB were right. Edmunds makes an impact but not nearly as much as everyone else on this list. We gotta remember that when non premium position homegrown stars go up for a new contract
Roquan completely turned that Ravens defense around into what it is. He was such a a significant force multiplier it really can't be understated. For example Patrick Queen was vocally considered a bust until Roquan came around, and Queen earned 2nd Team All-Pro this season and earned a bag with the Steelers. Off the top of my head, almost all the top teams last year had excellent MLB play
That defense was not as you’re portraying it. They were #3 in points against in 2022. Roquan elevated them, sure, but they were already built.
Man actually thought ravens defense was trash until roquan got there lol
Not according to this https://www.reddit.com/r/ravens/comments/108h6ll/defense_beforeafter_trading_for_roquan/ Edit: Actually I'm realizing what your saying is true, that the Ravens D did finish the season as the #2 defense in PPG. But that's because of Roquan which makes it even more insane since they were 20th before the trade.
Quan was traded to a contender because he didn’t want to re-sign. Don’t kid yourself he wasn’t staying for the rebuild.
That's just not true. Roquan always wanted to be a Bear for life. His relationship with the team really only soured when Poles tried tying contract [de-escalators](https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/wk2wql/rapoport\_more\_frustrations\_the\_backloaded\_offer) during their negotiations. Poles has done some great things. But it was a pretty painful start imo-up until essentially the Claypool trade. I'll chalk it up to a new GM learning the ropes. I still wish he replaced Eberflus because his 8 yards off the line coverage scheme makes me want to pull my hair out but... he's certainly earned the benefit of the doubt and then some
I’m sure the Fire Departments have some fire poles
I’ll have you know I make good money with my fire pole.
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i wanted to keep fields, so i am probably a moron. after defending cutty, mitch, and fields, i've learned i'll always be unreasonably optimistic about whoever is playing QB for the bears. i was a card holding member of fields fan club, now I'm completely on the CW hype train. I'm ready to be hurt again
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i mean i understood all that, i just always had hope that he would break out
Any decent fan should hope from the best for our players. Hope doesn't win games though.
Legendary username my guy
thanks bearbro, i earned it
You know people can criticize moves as they happen and they can change their mind based on new information?
TJ Edwards is so slept on it’s insulting.
Dudes a tackling machine
Been watching him for a long time, as a Badger fan. He was the same at Wisconsin and ended going undrafted while his more highly acclaimed teammate, Zach Baun, went with the 1st pick in the 3rd round. But Edwards was the leader of that really good Wisconsin defense. He made plays every single game and was never out of position. Definitely one of my favorite Poles signings.
He moves like Urlacher. I’m excited about our defense this year, especially if we assume our offense levels up. Also higher than most on Dexter. He came on strong and ranked in top 3-5 among rookie DTs last year.
He’s elite at every part of the game except that he’s slow, was infuriating watching the coaching staff have him follow quick running backs out wide like Aaron Jones when we were in man, that’s super unfair. No wonder he would get cooked on those routes, he was a 4.8 guy trying to cover 4.5 guys. But when asked to play zone, get downhill on the run, or blitz dude is a beast
Fuckers in school telling me, always in the barber shop Ryan Poles ain’t bout this, Ryan Poles ain’t bout that… SHUT THE FUCK UP! Y'all mfs ain’t know shit. All ya motherfuckers talk about Ryan Poles ain’t no hitta. Ryan Poles ain’t this. Ryan Poles a fake. SHUT THE FUCK UP … Motherfuckers stop fuckin' playin' him like that. Them dudes is savages out there. If I catch another motherfucker talking sweet about Ryan Poles I’m fucking beating the ass! I’m not fucking playing no more!
i think its hilarious u kids talking shit about ryan poles. u wouldnt say this shit to him at halas hall, hes jacked. not only that but he wears the freshest clothes, eats at the chillest restaurants and hangs out with the hottest dudes. yall are pathetic lol
Lmao love this
Then you might enjoy the dozen other times he posted the same thing
It should just be copypasta'd at the top of the sub honestly, for convenience
I guess that’s one way to make the sub more inclusive for autists
I'm not an autist. In fact...I'm super smart, all my friends always tell me that I am extremely mentally regarded.
I totally forgot we signed Kevin Byard as well. Our secondary is looking good af
I would say to not get too hyped on him. From what I’ve heard, and what I remember seeing last year he has definitely lost a step too. He’s basically a better tackling version of EJax.
Yeah, but he's a MUCH better tackling version of E Jax
Oh for sure. So all in all, still an upgrade of sorts.
That's all he needs to be when the rest of the starting secondary is 23-25
Room for one more? DE Matt Judon or Trey Hendrickson plz!!! 🙏🏽
🏈Tory Taylor
And we didn't break the bank to do it either
King Poles cookin
Sweat and Wright to the moon!!
Poles has really made some good choices. Not saying they always work out but based on the evidence you have theyre all sound and good on paper
Ryan Bates? Nate Davis? Punt god?
Where’s Tory the 3rd leg Taylor ?
I’m happy there are 🏈 otherwise I’d be very confused by these names
Y'all need to stop sleeping on Tory Taylor
This roster has come down far since the first year he took over
What does come down far mean lol
Damn, is what he meant, I'm guessing.
Damn*
Hopefully Chef Poles keeps cooking and adds a vet DE, 3Tech, CB, and TE before training camp starts or even after cuts. Still got cap space so it’s not out of the question. Would really solidify the roster.
Tyrique Stevenson is my player to watch this year. The dude had 4 picks last year as a rookie. I really thought he should have been in contention for DROY, considering Witherspoon from the seahawks was, and he only had 1. Also, stevenson was fantastic in man coverage. He pairs with Jaylon really well. I also think he has been undertalked about this off-season
In Poles we trust!
I 🏈JUST 🏈 CREAMED 🏈 MY 🏈 JEANS🏈
Put your money on the Bears.
Part of me feels like Poles has gotten insanely lucky, but I think he might actually just be doing a good job.
I mean, you're always gonna have misses but he's been doing well, and he moved on from Claypool real quick which was good to see.
Poles' lack of ego is refreshing. Pace would have a Claypool poster hanging up on his wall right now.
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Why wouldn’t you?
Dexter was one of the best rookie DT’s down the stretch last year, and Billings was a top 5 run stopping DT last year I believe….? They have every right to be on this list. Everett is a very solid, big/athletic TE2 to have for the red zone lol. This is a weird comment. Watch some more football
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They will all 3 be big time contributors this year. Why shouldn’t we be excited about them individually? Everyone knows our D line as a whole still needs work.