It's both. If Fields is good, we'll recognize it without a stud #1. If he sucks, we'll also recognize it without a stud #1 masking his incompetence.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

The only real ‘weapons’ the Bears had prior to Poles were Monty, Robinson, Mooney, and Patterson.. Robison fell off (imo) and was overpriced, Patterson should still be here, but it wouldn’t make a huge difference if he was. And going out and signing aging players (like Watkins) to a team that clearly needs to be rebuilt isn’t a great option. Sammy Watkins isn’t turning Justin Fields into Aaron Rodgers. Drafting Picket isn’t going to either.


He wants to build thru the draft, and his predecessor left him with few options to do that in his 1st year. Tbh, I’m really not seeing anything Poles could have done or should have done that makes a huge impact on Fields being good or the team being good here in year 1. He inherited one of the worst rosters in the NFL with very little draft capital to go along with it.. and he doesn’t yet see value in grabbing high priced free agents for a team that is about as bad as it gets.


Obviously I agree Fields needs some help.. but I don’t agree that Poles had tons of options to fix all of that this past offseason, and I don’t agree he’s purposely trying to avoid adding that help.

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If the rule you followed lead you to this, of what use was the rule?

Yes, he took one of the worse rosters in the NFL and made it worse. Again what is the big accomplishment? The draft isn't looking so great to be honest. You could argue Kyler Gordan has been so bad, he's unplayable. Jones can't get on the field. That Dlineman is decent it seems. (Braxton)Jones is only playing cause Poles ignored the position in FA instead of getting a vet like Armstead.

Agreed.
I'm not saying Poles is sabotaging Fields. I'm just saying It seems clear he's not all that high on Fields and he has other priorities / messes to clean up.
- Priority #1. Clear Cap Space.
- Priority #2. Figure out everything else.

Poles will get to hire and fire at least one more Head Coach....he's looking at a 8-10 year job window. He has time. He's likely looking for Fields to give him a reason to believe in him as opposed to assuming he's legit.

I'll reserve judgment on Poles until after 2nd season.

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It seems all the talk about Fields is at one extreme or the other. He’s either called a bust or someone who can be “special” or elite. I don’t see him EVER reaching top 5, and top 10 might be tough. But he’s also not Deshone Kizer. Maybe he’s destined to be middle of the pack…the question is whether Poles wants to build his team around that (middle of the road QB with great defense and running game).

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Also; Even if Poles does not think Fields is the guy, I'm sure he would be happy to be proven wrong.

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Seems logical but maybe Poles feels that if Fields succeeds, Pace gets the credit. Maybe his plan is to show Fields as a project who will only succeed with the pieces Poles eventually provides. Or he’s already decided he wants his own guy.

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The question assumes Poles is capable of building a team. Why do we just assume that? He's failed spectacularly so far. Bottom 5 roster and no help for his sophomore QB. Miami and Philly invested in their young QBs. Why didn't Poles?

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Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

I will re-phrase "I don't think Fields success is his top priority right now". I would bet he's not high on Fields, but I do agree with the thought that a successful Fields makes his life easier. It seem to me all Poles cared about this year was dumping dead cap space and cleaning house. He really didn't significantly upgrade any one position

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Poles can still go out and get his own guy if he wants. If Fields succeeds, then his trade value is incredibly high.

I don't think he gives a shit about Pace. If the Bears win the Super Bowl under Poles, Ryan Pace will get basically zero credit.

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His top two free agent targets, he failed at....Larry Ogunjobi and Ryan Bates he identified them, but failed to sign them to the roster. Now you could stay circumstances this and circumstances that, but what about the missed opportunities in that first "A" wave while he was wasting time on players he didn't sign? That was his first showcase as GM and he failed miserably at it.

He took a bad roster and made it worse, but he cleared cap space for the long term.
You can call it tanking...I'll take it compared to what we saw last year with a "competitive roster" that everyone knew was average at best and going nowhere.

I'd say he's off to a rough start (free agency) but he gets at least one more year before I start saying he's Ryan Pace Pt. 2.

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Caller Bob and others wanted Poles to put the Bears in permanent cap hell just to win 8 games. Then they'll complain about the cap Bears being in cap hell in 2 years.

I don't know if Poles plan will work, but it's clear he has one, and he's disciplined. The Bears have more flexibility than they have had in a very long time.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Exactly. Caller Bob now says he wanted Poles to sign veterans, but if that happened you know he would be the loudest Ccunt complaining about spending money for 7 wins.

Dude shits out of both sides of his mouth on a daily basis.

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I don't think anyone has made an argument for being in cap hell. All I want is talent that helps Fields put points on the board. Not too much to ask. Like I said and you haven't answered yet: why did Miami and Philly invest in their young QBs by surrounding them with players that can help? Why did Cincy draft a WR with their first pick to pair with their young QB? What has Poles done for Fields? Jack shit. Why?

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Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

Fields will be entering year 3 next season. If he's not going to be a top 10 QB, Poles can draft a new QB in 2022( 2023 i meant) and re-set the clock on having to write a 200 million dollar check. It's clear that the Bears roster is 3 years away from being truly competitive. That's the point where you'd have to pay Fields the going rate for franchise QBs.

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"I give you my word as a Biden"

Miami had/has dreams of luring Brady there. They were even in on the Mr Masseuse trade talks. It wasn't because they loved Tua. The Eagles had draft capital and accepted a dumb trade.

Edit: The Bears had no draft capital, were in cap hell, and had a shit roster. Other than that, they were just like those teams.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Poles is playing the long game. That's fine. Time will tell if he's good enough at being a GM. He gets 2 drafts and 2 full seasons before I get pissed off and say he needs to be fired. He's done a great job of clearing cap space, but in terms of Free Agency...not good.

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Absolutely fair to give him time. I’d like to see something this year, however small. Maybe Leatherwood figures it out or Gordon stops sucking.

Good play from one or two guys that Poles is immediately responsible for would open his window a little longer (for me).

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I agree with this. I don't see Fields being a great quarterback. However, how many so called "great quarterbacks" are there right now? I say about 4 or 5 of them and two of them and several in the top ten are going to be gone from the NFL next year probably(Rodgers, Brady, Stafford). I see enough, though, to say that Fields will be a good quarterback who can win games with his athleticism. That's good enough for me.

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An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

His entire draft class sucks dick

Clearing cap space was the obvious and easy thing to do.

We won't know much about him until he does something with that cap space.

His top two draft picks have been bad so far, as has Lucas Patrick.

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It certainly doesn't look good four games into the season. Hopefully these guys improve.

Lucas Patrick has also been brutal.

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Brisker has played well. The only rookie who has mostly sucked is Twinkle Gordon.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

The front seven is brutal, can see why other teams launched these guys, Dan Hampton is 65 years old and likely still is better at taking on double teams than the DT group they are trotting out there this season.

The problem is that your top college QB's are similar to Fields in that they all play on teams that have better players right now than the Bears do on offense, so they look competent, but put them behind the Bears line and have them work with Bears skill position guys and they would likely look similar to Fields.

This team is a year away from basic functionality, and 2-3 years away from being competitive, but we knew that they day Poles took over and started launching high priced vets.

I give Bears fans credit. They faithfully watch this garbage, year after year.

They basically haven't pass blocked since Lovie. How can anybody at QB not get ruined, let alone get good?

The Bears haven't developed a QB since 1950 but there's always a new batch of young men who put all their hope and dreams in the newest QB prospect.

The Bears are pioneers of the forward pass. They also had the first franchise quarterback.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Brisker has made some good plays, but I wouldn't say he has played well. He looks completely lost at times.

Braxton Jones has been inconsistent.

Dominique Robinson flashes occasionally but hasn't done much so far.

Ebner appears to be nothing more than a placeholder.

I have high hopes for VJJ as a returner, but I doubt he'll ever amount to much as a receiver.

Gill is a pretty good punter.

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