It is not fixable because of the guys he brought in. This is all on Poles.
He brought in bad tacklers? Prove it.
It will be proven as this season progresses. It is not all just tackling. He doesn’t have guys who can win in the trenches against any team that has a good running game.
It will be proven as this season progresses. It is not all just tackling. He doesn’t have guys who can win in the trenches against any team that has a good running game.
No...you made a definitive statement. Now prove it. Put up or shut up. They've played probably the two best running teams in the league. But you go ahead and prove your statement.
It will be proven as this season progresses. It is not all just tackling. He doesn’t have guys who can win in the trenches against any team that has a good running game.
No...you made a definitive statement. Now prove it. Put up or shut up. They've played probably the two best running teams in the league. But you go ahead and prove your statement.
Statements about the future are not provable in the present. Wait. You will see. Not every team will beat them as bad as the Packers did, but this is going to be a big problem against any team that can run the ball.
I expect the tackling to be a whole lot better this time around.
+1 I do too. It has been two tough opening games. Between the monsoon SF game and the Lambeau game, you couldn't pick a much more challenging opening for a team with new players, coaches and brand new schemes. Regarding the tackling though, I'll bet it does get better.
The CBA limits what teams can do to prepare for the regular season. Not too many pad practice sessions now at all. And one less PS game. For a veteran team that may not be a big deal at all. But for a team like ours is this year, with so many youngsters and rookies, all trying to transition to these new schemes (even the veterans have a challenge learning new schemes) then I wonder if we will see the Bears improve with more game reps? I believe we will see improvement, on all 3 units. Fields should improve too.
I just don't get the angst over these first two games of the Eberflus era. We have 1 loss. One. And against a Super Bowl contender at their house, in Lambeau Field. Did anyone expect the Bears to win there? I didn't. The world hasn't ended. The team will improve.
With all the focus on Fields, we haven’t said much about the defense. Bears rank #12 in defense and 18.5 scoring defense. We rank #7 in pass defense and DEAD LAST 32nd in run defense, giving up 189 yards per game. Teams are going to run all over us this year. That was caused by Poles.
You're not gonna wanna hear that the Bears finished 24th against the run last year...was that caused by Poles too?
Yep, the run D hasn't been the same since Covid and I correlate that largely to the decline of Hicks and Goldman. Bears DL right now is decent but hardly great. We lack a monster at NT or 3Tech who can stuff the run and keep the LBs clean.
I think you are gonna see DT/NT be a significant priority next offseason. Maybe not as obvious as WR but important enough to spend $$ on and/or a Day 2 draft pick.
You're not gonna wanna hear that the Bears finished 24th against the run last year...was that caused by Poles too?
Yep, the run D hasn't been the same since Covid and I correlate that largely to the decline of Hicks and Goldman. Bears DL right now is decent but hardly great. We lack a monster at NT or 3Tech who can stuff the run and keep the LBs clean.
I think you are gonna see DT/NT be a significant priority next offseason. Maybe not as obvious as WR but important enough to spend $$ on and/or a Day 2 draft pick.
Hicks, Goldman, Mack, Nichols are all good players but they weren’t all healthy and on the field together much in 2021. The guys Poles brought in to replace them are not good run-stoppers. The challenge for Poles in 2023 will be to replace these guys and still have enough resources to significantly upgrade the offense. The other way to put it is my original question, “Has Poles dug himself into a hole so deep that he can’t get out?”. The jury is out.
Yep, the run D hasn't been the same since Covid and I correlate that largely to the decline of Hicks and Goldman. Bears DL right now is decent but hardly great. We lack a monster at NT or 3Tech who can stuff the run and keep the LBs clean.
I think you are gonna see DT/NT be a significant priority next offseason. Maybe not as obvious as WR but important enough to spend $$ on and/or a Day 2 draft pick.
Hicks, Goldman, Mack, Nichols are all good players but they weren’t all healthy and on the field together much in 2021. The guys Poles brought in to replace them are not good run-stoppers. The challenge for Poles in 2023 will be to replace these guys and still have enough resources to significantly upgrade the offense. The other way to put it is my original question, “Has Poles dug himself into a hole so deep that he can’t get out?”. The jury is out.
To repeat,
Hicks is past his prime by several years and spends most of the season on the trainer's table. Great player in 2017-2018. Not so much now. Goldman hasn't been good since 2019 and stopped being motivated. He RETIRED. Nichols was decent but hardly special and was a better fit for a 3-4 than the 4-3 the Bears were moving to.
Poles will have plenty of money to sign a good DL in FA and add another via the draft. We are in year 1 of a rebuild. Next offseason is when he can first really add some assets. I don't expect the defense to be anything better than middle-of-the-road this season.
Hicks, Goldman, Mack, Nichols are all good players but they weren’t all healthy and on the field together much in 2021. The guys Poles brought in to replace them are not good run-stoppers. The challenge for Poles in 2023 will be to replace these guys and still have enough resources to significantly upgrade the offense. The other way to put it is my original question, “Has Poles dug himself into a hole so deep that he can’t get out?”. The jury is out.
To repeat,
Hicks is past his prime by several years and spends most of the season on the trainer's table. Great player in 2017-2018. Not so much now. Goldman hasn't been good since 2019 and stopped being motivated. He RETIRED. Nichols was decent but hardly special and was a better fit for a 3-4 than the 4-3 the Bears were moving to.
Poles will have plenty of money to sign a good DL in FA and add another via the draft. We are in year 1 of a rebuild. Next offseason is when he can first really add some assets. I don't expect the defense to be anything better than middle-of-the-road this season.
I know all that. Injuries or whatever, these guys are still better football players than the guys Poles brought in to replace them. That’s how I see it. No, butkus, I can’t “prove” it. We’ll see what he’s able to do next year. If he invests what’s needed in the front-7, which is a lot, I predict people around here will still be complaining that he’s not doing enough with the offense to help Fields. He’ll be trying to pull two rabbits out of his….hat.
I expect the tackling to be a whole lot better this time around.
+1 I do too. It has been two tough opening games. Between the monsoon SF game and the Lambeau game, you couldn't pick a much more challenging opening for a team with new players, coaches and brand new schemes. Regarding the tackling though, I'll bet it does get better.
The CBA limits what teams can do to prepare for the regular season. Not too many pad practice sessions now at all. And one less PS game. For a veteran team that may not be a big deal at all. But for a team like ours is this year, with so many youngsters and rookies, all trying to transition to these new schemes (even the veterans have a challenge learning new schemes) then I wonder if we will see the Bears improve with more game reps? I believe we will see improvement, on all 3 units. Fields should improve too.
I just don't get the angst over these first two games of the Eberflus era. We have 1 loss. One. And against a Super Bowl contender at their house, in Lambeau Field. Did anyone expect the Bears to win there? I didn't. The world hasn't ended. The team will improve.
We all preached and said patience would be needed and yet we’re heading into week 3 and we have peeps who are ready to jump off a ledge. 🤣🤣🤣