2025 Mock Offseason Thread

[JABF]

Nov 5, 2024 22:30:11 GMT -6 mpbears68 said:

Nov 5, 2024 20:27:40 GMT -6 JABF said:

+1
It is a bad look already, but yeah, if Maye outplays Caleb it will get even uglier for Poles.  Poles overestimated the OL talent.  Poles overestimated Shane Walron's OC talent and he overestimated Eberflus' HC talent.  Those three whiffs are killing the Caleb Williams development - a setback of a full year due to it will be a full reset of those three in 2025.  The offense will start over from scratch with a lot of change.  Caleb will have to un-learn the Waldron crap offense and re-learn the new guy's offense.  This is a self-inflicted wound for Poles.

EDIT:  People are remembering how Poles bragged about this OL being his best ever... and then they go out on gamedays and crap the bed.  

I don't think Poles job is in any danger but yeah the shine has come off a bit.  I remain a fan of his but even I admit he really needs to improve fast in two key areas.  

One is coaching.  You can't tell me that Poles doesn't privately regret not replacing Flus with Harbaugh or Ben Johnson right now.  Or hiring Dan Quinn instead back in 2022.  He has whiffed badly on Flus and two OCs and that is screwing up his signature move--getting Caleb Williams,

Second is the OL.  Poles has brought in Patrick, Bates, and Davis and all 3 have royally sucked.  Darnell Wright has been a bit of a disappointment too.  Braxton Jones hasn't shown he is the answer long-term at LT.  I still don't understand why he didn't sign the best C he could this past March.  That was another huge whiff.

A year ago we would have criticized him for his misses at WR (Claypool, Velus) but he rectified that IMO with Moore & Odunze.  He really needs to own up to and fix the coaching and OL issues this coming offseason or he will end up becoming Ryan Pace 2.0


PS:
BTW, Darnell Mooney is lighting it up in Atlanta for less money than we paid Keenan Allen and he is way younger.  Kind of like David Montgomery went to Detroit and is having the best years of his entire career there.   

It's a real indictment of the Bears cultural, historical, and current coaching failures on offense.

Mooney is the #1 WR in the NFL right now for explosive plays.  At least that's what they were saying on one of the sports media outlets yesterday.  And they were talking about how Poles could have sweetened the deal and kept David Montgomery if he truly had wanted to (ultimately money talks, so don't buy into that crap that he would not have re-signed here).  I doubt it would have taken much more to sign him if he felt he was wanted and valued here. 

These multiple Bears players who are having a better (2024) season on their new teams just screams coaching failures.  Clearly Swift isn't being used properly here too (it kills me to watch Waldron run him between the tackles over and over again - clueless stuff).    

Oh, and one more thing that ticks me off.  We hear all the time how Poles "knows" all about offensive linemen because he was one.  LOL.  He was a camp body who never made it anywhere in the NFL, yet somehow that makes him the OL whisperer   - when I heard him puff out his chest and spout how this 2024 OL room was the best he's ever built, I about crapped my pants at the time.  The guy is either totally delusional regarding OL, or he thinks us fans are so stupid we believe that crap.  SMH.

I'm not on the fire Poles bandwagon if he can prove he has learned from mistakes and do better moving forward.  Talk is cheap, and fans watch what these GMs actually "do" with their personnel resources.  Poles has whiffed on the OL here for 3 years now.  Three years is a long time.  In his 4th year, 2025, he needs to show what he has learned from his mistakes on the OL and fix it.  Ultimately he is paid to get these things right.  He needs to figure it out.

[malagabears]

How many think Stanley (or want) for the LT for the 2-3 seasons while we groom our potential future one if drafted? I could see it if we really spend and we will seem to have the CAP space.

[JABF]

Nov 6, 2024 9:43:35 GMT -6 malagabears said:

How many think Stanley (or want) for the LT for the 2-3 seasons while we groom our potential future one if drafted? I could see it if we really spend and we will seem to have the CAP space.

Won't the Ravens extend him?  I know he's been injury prone and missed a ton of games.  But I figured they'd still try to extend him next year.  I'm thinking that if the Bears draft a tackle high in the draft then that guy probably should be fighting Brax for a starting position day-1.  I don't want to see a guy sitting on the bench for 2-3 years, because if that is the case then we've blown that draft pick.  The top 3 draft picks this year should probably be T, G, C.  All in the top two rounds.

[mpbears68]

Nov 6, 2024 8:16:16 GMT -6 JABF said:

Nov 5, 2024 22:30:11 GMT -6 mpbears68 said:

I don't think Poles job is in any danger but yeah the shine has come off a bit.  I remain a fan of his but even I admit he really needs to improve fast in two key areas.  

One is coaching.  You can't tell me that Poles doesn't privately regret not replacing Flus with Harbaugh or Ben Johnson right now.  Or hiring Dan Quinn instead back in 2022.  He has whiffed badly on Flus and two OCs and that is screwing up his signature move--getting Caleb Williams,

Second is the OL.  Poles has brought in Patrick, Bates, and Davis and all 3 have royally sucked.  Darnell Wright has been a bit of a disappointment too.  Braxton Jones hasn't shown he is the answer long-term at LT.  I still don't understand why he didn't sign the best C he could this past March.  That was another huge whiff.

A year ago we would have criticized him for his misses at WR (Claypool, Velus) but he rectified that IMO with Moore & Odunze.  He really needs to own up to and fix the coaching and OL issues this coming offseason or he will end up becoming Ryan Pace 2.0


PS:
BTW, Darnell Mooney is lighting it up in Atlanta for less money than we paid Keenan Allen and he is way younger.  Kind of like David Montgomery went to Detroit and is having the best years of his entire career there.   

It's a real indictment of the Bears cultural, historical, and current coaching failures on offense.

Mooney is the #1 WR in the NFL right now for explosive plays.  At least that's what they were saying on one of the sports media outlets yesterday.  And they were talking about how Poles could have sweetened the deal and kept David Montgomery if he truly had wanted to (ultimately money talks, so don't buy into that crap that he would not have re-signed here).  I doubt it would have taken much more to sign him if he felt he was wanted and valued here. 

These multiple Bears players who are having a better (2024) season on their new teams just screams coaching failures.  Clearly Swift isn't being used properly here too (it kills me to watch Waldron run him between the tackles over and over again - clueless stuff).    

Oh, and one more thing that ticks me off.  We hear all the time how Poles "knows" all about offensive linemen because he was one.  LOL.  He was a camp body who never made it anywhere in the NFL, yet somehow that makes him the OL whisperer   - when I heard him puff out his chest and spout how this 2024 OL room was the best he's ever built, I about crapped my pants at the time.  The guy is either totally delusional regarding OL, or he thinks us fans are so stupid we believe that crap.  SMH.

I'm not on the fire Poles bandwagon if he can prove he has learned from mistakes and do better moving forward.  Talk is cheap, and fans watch what these GMs actually "do" with their personnel resources.  Poles has whiffed on the OL here for 3 years now.  Three years is a long time.  In his 4th year, 2025, he needs to show what he has learned from his mistakes on the OL and fix it.  Ultimately he is paid to get these things right.  He needs to figure it out.

You are absolutely right on everything you said.

He was way over-confident in what he had done at OL and he way overestimated his HC/OCs. 


Even Allen move looks like crap when you could have kept Mooney for less and he's way younger.  I get that every GM has moves that don't "age well".  Every GM has things that don't look good in hindsight.  But the coaching and OL stuff (esp interior OL) was definitely NOT hindsight.  These were both widely known and widely discussed issues dating back at least until last season.  Last winter/spring he had the opportunity and the resources to make some major upgrades to both and he punted. 

Only an idiot thought Ryan Bates was a sufficient answer to a multi-year hole at Center and a malcontent bad signing at RG.  Only an idiot thought Jim Harbaugh wouldn't be a massive upgrade over Eberflus and his roving band of OC incompetents.

This season is effectively over and with it a year of Williams development and contract time has been largely squandered.  And yeah, maybe not all, but a good chunk of the blame for that has to be directed at Ryan Poles.

[bears40]

OL coach is a problem too. Did Flus force him on Waldron? I find it hard to believe that Waldron wouldn’t want his own guy coaching the oline to fit his scheme.

[bearsinhouston]

Nov 6, 2024 19:22:20 GMT -6 bears40 said:

OL coach is a problem too. Did Flus force him on Waldron? I find it hard to believe that Waldron wouldn’t want his own guy coaching the oline to fit his scheme.

He has a scheme?

[shark86]

Nov 6, 2024 19:29:54 GMT -6 bearsinhouston said:

Nov 6, 2024 19:22:20 GMT -6 bears40 said:

OL coach is a problem too. Did Flus force him on Waldron? I find it hard to believe that Waldron wouldn’t want his own guy coaching the oline to fit his scheme.

He has a scheme?

Of course. And it's working very well.

Bluff your way into an OC gig. Make lots of money, suck at your job, move on.

[mpbears68]

Nov 6, 2024 19:22:20 GMT -6 bears40 said:

OL coach is a problem too. Did Flus force him on Waldron? I find it hard to believe that Waldron wouldn’t want his own guy coaching the oline to fit his scheme.

I don't know the answer but yeah its a valid question.

Here's some other valid questions about Chris Morgan:

    Has the OL as a whole improved over the last 2 seasons?

    Can you name a player he has developed or "coached-up"?

[The Marshall Plan]

Nov 6, 2024 8:16:16 GMT -6 JABF said:

Nov 5, 2024 22:30:11 GMT -6 mpbears68 said:

I don't think Poles job is in any danger but yeah the shine has come off a bit.  I remain a fan of his but even I admit he really needs to improve fast in two key areas.  

One is coaching.  You can't tell me that Poles doesn't privately regret not replacing Flus with Harbaugh or Ben Johnson right now.  Or hiring Dan Quinn instead back in 2022.  He has whiffed badly on Flus and two OCs and that is screwing up his signature move--getting Caleb Williams,

Second is the OL.  Poles has brought in Patrick, Bates, and Davis and all 3 have royally sucked.  Darnell Wright has been a bit of a disappointment too.  Braxton Jones hasn't shown he is the answer long-term at LT.  I still don't understand why he didn't sign the best C he could this past March.  That was another huge whiff.

A year ago we would have criticized him for his misses at WR (Claypool, Velus) but he rectified that IMO with Moore & Odunze.  He really needs to own up to and fix the coaching and OL issues this coming offseason or he will end up becoming Ryan Pace 2.0


PS:
BTW, Darnell Mooney is lighting it up in Atlanta for less money than we paid Keenan Allen and he is way younger.  Kind of like David Montgomery went to Detroit and is having the best years of his entire career there.   

It's a real indictment of the Bears cultural, historical, and current coaching failures on offense.

Mooney is the #1 WR in the NFL right now for explosive plays.  At least that's what they were saying on one of the sports media outlets yesterday.  And they were talking about how Poles could have sweetened the deal and kept David Montgomery if he truly had wanted to (ultimately money talks, so don't buy into that crap that he would not have re-signed here).  I doubt it would have taken much more to sign him if he felt he was wanted and valued here. 

These multiple Bears players who are having a better (2024) season on their new teams just screams coaching failures.  Clearly Swift isn't being used properly here too (it kills me to watch Waldron run him between the tackles over and over again - clueless stuff).    

Oh, and one more thing that ticks me off.  We hear all the time how Poles "knows" all about offensive linemen because he was one.  LOL.  He was a camp body who never made it anywhere in the NFL, yet somehow that makes him the OL whisperer   - when I heard him puff out his chest and spout how this 2024 OL room was the best he's ever built, I about crapped my pants at the time.  The guy is either totally delusional regarding OL, or he thinks us fans are so stupid we believe that crap.  SMH.

I'm not on the fire Poles bandwagon if he can prove he has learned from mistakes and do better moving forward.  Talk is cheap, and fans watch what these GMs actually "do" with their personnel resources.  Poles has whiffed on the OL here for 3 years now.  Three years is a long time.  In his 4th year, 2025, he needs to show what he has learned from his mistakes on the OL and fix it.  Ultimately he is paid to get these things right.  He needs to figure it out.

I am not even close on the Fire Poles Bandwagon, however I'm surprised the OL is the problem that it is.

At work I see CEOs who came from a certain Department (Accounting / Finance, Operations, Sales, etc.) and they tend to focus on that area when they're in charge and that area of the company becomes strong as a result.

So when Poles got hired I was like OK the lines will be good. I guess I was wrong on that one.

[JABF]

Nov 7, 2024 3:17:12 GMT -6 The Marshall Plan said:

So when Poles got hired I was like OK the lines will be good. I guess I was wrong on that one

+1
To be honest I think most of us thought the same thing.  What really make me sick inside is seeing this problem span so many years here.  Our two super bowl appearances were years we had (arguably) our best offensive lines here in Chicago.  The 1985 OL was superb.  Those guys were poetry in motion executing plays.  The Bears had the #2 offense in the entire NFL that season.  We remember that great #1 defense, but often forget that the offense was amazing.  The 2006 team that went to the SB had a pretty solid OL too (yes they had other issues on offense though).   

Ryan Poles has had 3 years to build a solid offensive line here.  He has failed to do this. 

I am not wanting Poles fired.  He has done some remarkable things here, especially considering he is a first time GM.  Gotta give him some grace for that.  But in the 4th year, in 2025, he needs to show that he can build the OL for this offense and this quarterback to succeed.  Four years is plenty of time to get this right.  If he can't get it done in 4 years then he is dead to me.  I want him gone.