Given how bad both lines are, they could only do this if they addressed OL/DL in free agency. They have 3 picks in the 1st 45 or so now, but this should be an off-season where they just keep adding, adding, adding on both lines. Realistically, I think they need at minimum 2 new starters on the OL and maybe up to 3 which is pretty drastic. DL has more pieces, but 2 glaring holes that they have to address - DT and an EDGE. Pickens doesn't look like the answer, Dexter has been better this season, and they should get Billings back, but they didn't stop the run well this season and there's no pass rush so this line is in need of some drastic changes.

If they take a RB in the first or second round the entire front office should be shot on the spot.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

You'd have to be convinced that this guy is another Barkley/Bijan Robinson type, instant impact, etc.

Probably would have to move on from Swift (not a big deal) also.

You'd have to be very aggressive in free agency and entering the draft feeling like the OL/DL have been addressed with more to come in the 1st 2 rounds.

Just don't see that as realistic given how many issues they have on both lines.

That’s the only reasonable take.

Start canvassing Little Italy for volunteers. I’m sure someone in the city has a list of people who threatened violence over the Columbus statue boner from the Lightfoot era.

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Poles has painted the franchise into a corner and they almost have to draft lineman in the first two rounds, but if a guy like Dylan Sampson drops into the third it would worth a look. The new HC will also likely want a bigger back to pair with swift which you could find in free agency, but doubt they want to tie up too much more cap space at RB.

They likely get a shot at one of the top LT prospects or maybe one of the Michigan DT guys, they desperately need both, do not see them winning another game, so could be an opportunity to trade back a pick or two if a team wants to jump up for a QB.

Poles has had 19 3rd through 5th round picks over the past three seasons and has drafted one starter and a punter with those picks, his third round picks are brutal, Velus Jones is already gone, Pickens is a bust, and Amegadjie is a soft tissue injury dude, that alone is enough to get him fired.

The Edmunds deal looks worse by the day, he was brought in because he seemed to be a good fit in the Eberflus soft Cover 2, but looks lost most of the time in zone coverage and is soft as hell in the run game, a guy like Vrabel would have no use for him.

I don’t completely disagree but.. they do have a need for an impact player there. There isn’t anyone that is truly worthy of a top-10 grade this year imo tho. Jeanty isn’t ‘special’ like an AP or Henry (for example).


This is a weak draft all around as far as star power goes. Poles needs to stick to the trenches with the 1st three picks and see what he can land.


Sucks because last year was the perfect year to grab a Center.. this year not so much.

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

Interviews with head coaching candidates will be quite interesting, all of the candidates will have a strong idea of the type of lineman they want and Poles will have to explain what criteria he uses to evaluate lineman, the candidate will likely shake his head and tell Warren thanks, but I can't work with this guy.

The Rams saw no reason to bring Shelton back at center and felt a late round draft pick rookie was a better player than the guy Poles brought in to protect his potential franchise QB, Rams also started a guy at guard that was slotted to go to the Bears in numerous mock drafts.

Not sure why anyone would think Poles will get any better at this job.

The failure at Center alone is reason in my mind that Poles should be launched. Possibly the 2nd most important position on that side of the ball and just an absolute refusal to address it.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Not sure how you feel but I prefer a ‘gap’ system to a ‘zone’. Poles seems to be in love with this zone crap and I don’t think those lines are great at pass blocking. Zone makes more sense when you run a lot more than the Bears do. It’s one of the things that confuses me about the Bears offense tbh because Waldron was mixing both schemes earlier in the year.


The excuse used to be gap schemes used larger stronger but slower less athletic guys.. but that’s an old way of viewing modern prospects imo. The reality nowadays is that athletes have gotten bigger-stronger-faster.. so you can find large powerful linemen that are also nimble.


Tbh, I like the theory someone else posed here prior to the season -Poles goes after try hard failure types like he was when he played. He sees too much of himself in some of these castaways. And that’s yet another reason Poles ain’t the guy, he can’t evaluate properly.

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

I know you’ve been preaching about this too (along with myself, Claw, and I think Nas).. yeah his ignoring of the Center position is maddening.



Especially last year when two of the best prospects in the last few drafts (Frazier and Powers-Johnson) were available and could have been had in the 2nd round.



I absolutely hate the way Poles drafts.



That video they released of their war room was alarming too.. Poles having to be talked out of trading up for Odenze when he didn’t need to trade up was yet another giant red flag for me personally. The dude just doesn’t know what he’s doing and has to have his hand held on many decisions. I think even Warren -the dumbass he is- was telling Ryan to be patient there. It’s one of the reasons I scratch my head at the ‘let Poles cook’ crowd. I don’t think that crowd is paying any attention at all to what he does and how many bad decisions are actually his.

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

The Bears need a DT And another edge rusher on Defense and they'll be fine there. While their Defense is hardly terrible, it can be run upon. They also could stand to grab another pass rusher besides Sweat.

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.

Yup, if one of the Michigan DT's are there it would make sense, top level defensive line talent is hard to find, either have to overpay significantly in FA or draft them in the first round.

Thought all along, and likely posted here that the move to be made was to trade down from #9, pick up an extra second or third and then take Graham, Powers Johnson, Frazier, or Beebe, nearly all of those guys are starting, you could have found starting centers well into the 5th round, but then to go on the cheap and sign Shelton was a losing decision.

Have seen a few mocks that have the Bears taking Abdul Carter, looked like a game wrecker against SMU, but the SMU kid look an awful lot like Larry Borom, so will see how he does against better competition. He looks as if he could contribute right away as a pass rusher.

take a look at the videos of him versus the minnesota ot, who is highly thought of

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

We might have seen the end of the Braxon Jones era, especially as the Bears starting LT, you could draft Banks or Campbell, and that might be the best move long term, or sign a vet to get through a few years. You have massive needs on both lines so drafting the lineman available with your early round picks should happen, just do not want Poles making those picks, he favors guys with certain traits he thinks will produce with NFL coaching, reaching for projects rather than taking solid players.

+1 or a Safety. I could see Poles ignoring the lines again.

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I want to revisit this because after losing Monty, and this year Herbert the running game has been seriously compromised. I don’t think using an early pick on an RB is the worst thing -especially considering Ben Johnson’s reliance on the run and PA. It does have to be done in a certain way tho. Either way Roschon and Swift are both #2 RB’s and they need to look into that. Having a balanced attack opens things up for an offense.


Obviously I’d still like to lean trench heavy in the draft so I’m also becoming more intrigued by the DT option (Grant from Michigan being a player like). If they go this route they can still find some interior O-line talent in the 2nd round. My worry is at Tackle where there aren’t any home run prospects and there could be some over drafting there.


Bears also need more speed at WR -I like Tyler Scott but the Bears don’t seem to like him so that has to get figured out because there’s no legit vertical threat on this team outside of him. Odunze is sneaky good at some of the vertical stuff but he’s not a flat out sprinter who can put a DB on blast by flat out beating him without selling something.


Would like to see the Bears target one top tier O-linemen in FA and one top tier D-linemen (I’ve read Josh Sweat could be an option there). If they could do that it opens up some more possibilities to move on something like RB or WR in those 1st three picks while also allowing the Bears to use a couple early picks on the trenches.


Of course we’ll have to see how the coach thing shakes out 1st.

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

After Caleb basically threw for 0 touchdowns this year I think you have to go QB.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

If they could pair a first half quarterback with Caleb I think we’d be great.

If they get a top tier Oline and Dline in Free Agency then I would change my opinion on this and be ok with taking a RB in the 2nd round with one of their picks. But I still think the first round pick must be the best lineman on the board at their pick Oline or Dline.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Vegas still has New Orleans on the schedule, not sure what the tie breaker would be, but might be a chance to move up a spot or two if Carolina or Jets can squeeze out another win, still think you take the best lineman with first pick, but if a team wants to move up they should be listening because you need picks.

If a back like Dylan Sampson drops I would be interested in the 4th round, you do need a bigger RB that can run between the tackles to pair with Swift. Ben Johnson uses the backs quite a bit and would want to upgrade the room and Vrabel would want a load back, so the two top candidates would like to upgrade the position.

Vrabel runs a 3-4 D which would require significant changes to the front seven, but you need a significant upgrade to that group anyway, glaring needs at DE, DT, and LB, tons of work to be done.

Still think you take the best lineman available in rounds 1-3, it would be hard for the new HC/GM combo to do a worse job of drafting/signing lineman, Poles squandered tons of resources on WR's and DB's while ignoring both lines, it will be refreshing when they launch him.

Absolutely do not waste a single pick on a back.

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They have enough cap space and draft capital to look at the RB position. It would be small minded of the Bears to completely ignore a position of need imo. And make no mistake RB is a position of need especially depending on who they bring in at HC. I doubt Ben Johnson is going to look at what they have there and say ‘yeah that’ll work’. Swift isn’t a good #1 and neither is Roschon. The threat of the run has to be real for a balanced attack and due to moves like trading a guy like Herbert (who showed promise as a ball carrier) the Bears have hamstrung themselves in that department.


I agree that it’s not an ideal situation to be in, but it’s still an actual situation they find themselves in. That’s why it will be key to address what they can in FA. Realistically they can actually sign 2 quality guys for bigger money with their cap space. So if they target players like Josh Sweat (DE) and Trey Smith (G) and land them it gives them room to operate within their 1st 3 picks. And that’s what I’d like to see them do.


This years offensive line crop isn’t loaded with dominant players that are obvious picks. Many of the top tackles have glaring issues and project as guards at the NFL level. So it makes no sense to put yourself in a position to over draft a guy. D-line kind of has the same issue as there’s not truly dominant players at edge and only a few prospects at DT (like Grant from Michigan) who jump out as guys worthy of attention. That’s not to say this is a poor draft class, but this class requires more homework and ability to identify talent than some recent drafts.

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

I’d go D-line with the 1st pick in that situation. Better chance of landing an impact player on that side of the ball while quality O-linemen can be found deeper in the draft (2nd and 3rd). You can then use one of the 2nds on a skill position like WR or RB at that point (again assuming they land a guy or two in FA)



My worry in FA is that Poles has demonstrated time and again that he likes to target backups and failures from other teams that had high RAS scores coming out of college. He has even picked up guys who failed in college based on their rankings coming out of high school (which might be the biggest red flag and most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen a GM do). Poles is an incredibly frustrating GM from that perspective. How someone looks playing football should matter more than their athletic score but lazy evaluators like Poles put a priority on things that don’t mean much. Just one more reason I’d launch him, he cannot evaluate talent by watching film.


There needs to be someone in the room asking him ‘so what’d you like about this guy?’

Poles ‘well he has a great RAS score and was highly recruited coming out of high school’

‘Ok that’s nice.. but how does he look when you put the film on?’


It’s a pretty simple concept, but Poles doesnt seem to grasp that side of it.

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

Always a sucker for anything Mock related to offseason football. Found this one interesting.

https://www.sportsmockery.com/chicago-b ... yg7zWSFG4w

Highlights:

Poles Fired.

Jeff Ireland new GM.

Ben Johnson new HC

Trade Edmunds for a 3rd round pick

Trade Stephenson for a 4th round pick

Free Agency

Sign

C - Drew Dalman

LB - Nick Bolton

CB - Chavarious Ward

OG - Brendan Scherff

Draft

1st round - Abdul Carter - Edge Penn St

2nd round - Tyler Booker - OG - Alabama

2nd round - Omar Norman-Lott - DT Tenn

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

They left out Caleb Williams becoming a competent quarterback.

It's Miller Time.

Agree that it has to start with firing Poles and brining in an objective set of eyes to evaluate the roster, this should happen sooner than later because there is a ton of heavy lifting to be done on both sides of the line.

They might have a half dozen or so guys that are solid NFL players which is about the same as when Poles took over, he paved the path to his own doom by bargain shopping in free agency and totally ignoring the offensive line.

.

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

https://www.tankathon.com/nfl

currently pick 9, worst we can do is pick 10. being in our division kills us this year as our SOS is much higher than these other loser teams. looks like pick 5 is the best we can do but that would take wins by the 4 shit four win teams ahead of us currently. i can see the jets beating the dolphins at home. maybe raiders beat the chargers, jags v colts who knows. seems like the only for sure 4 win team that will lose next week is the bears, the rest are live