I did a little research on this. Since 1960, the Cowboys have been one of the most successful franchises. Their longest streak of improvement in W-L record is 3 years. You may recall that 2025 is my Super Bowl ready year. It would be 3 years of consecutive improvement. The peak is going to be 2025-26 if history is any guide. That’s about where you have to start unloading players under cap pressure. I figure that will be Poles time to be Super Bowl ready.
That sounds about right give or take a year. And what is stopping you from getting new, less expensive players if you are good at player evaluation?
Comes down to cap management and the ability to evaluate and draft good players to stay relevent.
Draft is only one thing. Any chimp can find a starter in the first and second rounds. The best GMs find players in the later rounds as well as through trades and free agency. Poles got lucky hitting #1 in the draft two years in a row and the second being the Caleb Williams year, plus he got some mileage trading away two Pro Bowl players (Mack and Smith), but it remains to be seen what he can sustain post-2026 when the gravy train runs out.
That sounds about right give or take a year. And what is stopping you from getting new, less expensive players if you are good at player evaluation?
Comes down to cap management and the ability to evaluate and draft good players to stay relevent.
Draft is only one thing. Any chimp can find a starter in the first and second rounds. The best GMs find players in the later rounds as well as through trades and free agency. Poles got lucky hitting #1 in the draft two years in a row and the second being the Caleb Williams year, plus he got some mileage trading away two Pro Bowl players (Mack and Smith), but it remains to be seen what he can sustain post-2026 when the gravy train runs out.
Most teams then should hire chimps. there are LOTS of misses in both rounds.
Draft is only one thing. Any chimp can find a starter in the first and second rounds. The best GMs find players in the later rounds as well as through trades and free agency. Poles got lucky hitting #1 in the draft two years in a row and the second being the Caleb Williams year, plus he got some mileage trading away two Pro Bowl players (Mack and Smith), but it remains to be seen what he can sustain post-2026 when the gravy train runs out.
Most teams then should hire chimps. there are LOTS of misses in both rounds.
Any GM who can’t consistently find starters in first and second rounds is going to get fired, and probably sooner than later. You sure can’t “build through the draft” if you’re missing much in those rounds. Pro Bowl players get traded for second round picks, and not just by Poles.
Oh man, that bandwagon picture brings back memories. Didn't you initially use it for the LT mafia on the CBMB? I can't remember anymore. We had all kinds of goofballs on there. Like Omeletpants.
Unless the LT mafia had a different picture, and this one was for when the Bears were going to be good again because they got rid of Jerry Angelo.
I think (if memory serves me right) one of the wildest rides on the bandwagon came when the mighty Harvey Unga came to town. He was Gale Sayers and Walter Payton - all wrapped up in a 7th round draft pick. If you recall, he set the franchise record for the number of practice squad assignments (dude was impressive)... he never gained a single yard in a regular season game, but he sure lit it up in summer camp.
But maybe the last big ride was 2016 when John Fox was our head coach. Shea McClellin was on that team too (destined to be Dick Butkus II). The fans were crazy-hopeful that summer in training camp. Dowell Loggains was our OC back then. Hopes were sky-high that there would even be a Kevin White sighting at WR - remember he missed his entire rookie season due to injury... that was back when we drafted people in the top-10 of the 1st round - who came to town pre-injured and couldn't actually, you know, play football. To his credit, Kevin White did play a few games that 2nd season - before breaking the same leg and missing that 2nd season too. But it didn't phase us up on the bandwagon that year. Because we flat KNEW we'd eventually see Kevin White in some future year (maybe even as soon as his 3rd year on the Bears) and walking upright on two healthy legs. Yeah, those were glorious days aboard the bandwagon.
I remember them well. If you recall we had QB David Fales, wowing the fans that camp too. WR Daniel Braverman had us dreaming we had another Jerry Rice in the making. Yeah, we were riding high that year. But then the season, the real season began. We did win 3 games that year. That John Fox team was so bad that even HE couldn't watch it at times. But that rascal, Ted Phillips loved Fox... so did the McCaskeys - and they even brought him back for 2017. Yeah, those were the days...
I went on the Wayback Machine to look at some old 2008 posts. One name jumped up and screamed "Haha, remember me!"
That name was Marcus Monk.
There were several posts, mind you, this was in January 2008, of the Bears getting Marcus Monk in the 3rd round. If they were lucky.
Then the Bears got him in the 7th round. Pick #248. And then the Superbowls started rolling in.
Draft is only one thing. Any chimp can find a starter in the first and second rounds. The best GMs find players in the later rounds as well as through trades and free agency. Poles got lucky hitting #1 in the draft two years in a row and the second being the Caleb Williams year,
There is definitely an element of luck (both good and bad) involved in pro sports. But in fairness, Poles has made a number of brilliant moves. Regarding the draft and the first and second rounds, GM's miss about half the time on those players. The Bears have had their misses over the years. Poles has made some brilliant moves in 26 months... for a rookie GM he was a quick learner. Right now he is looking like the best ascending young GMs in the NFL. He seems to be building a great team - from scratch. He took the team from cap hell to being solid financially now. Instead of duct taping a crap team he chose to nuke it and start over with young ascending talent. He is about to draft a quarterback that many many people believe will be one of the best to play the game. We don't know if that will or will not actually happen (as far as how his career will pan out). But Poles is bringing this exciting young QB to the Bears in 19 days. He has paired him with a Hall of Fame wide receiver - arguably the best route runner in the entire NFL - Keenan Allen... to pair with D.J. Moore, another incredible talent. He got Montez Sweat for a 2nd round pick, a guy experts say is better than ANY edge player in this upcoming 2024 draft. And he got us Caleb Williams and D.J. Moore in a trade down in the draft. Dude is the master chess player. What he has accomplished in 26 months is amazing. I believe this guy will go down as the best GM in Bears history before his tenure here has ended. He so reminds me of Jim Finks moves building the 1985 team... that build began years before 1985. I get that same vibe right now with Poles. He is building something for the ages. This is a great time to kick back and enjoy watching the Bears rise from the ashes to being great again. I'm thinking this offense will be the best we have seen here in many years... maybe in a half century or so. Not this rookie season for Caleb, but soon. It's coming.
Draft is only one thing. Any chimp can find a starter in the first and second rounds. The best GMs find players in the later rounds as well as through trades and free agency. Poles got lucky hitting #1 in the draft two years in a row and the second being the Caleb Williams year,
There is definitely an element of luck (both good and bad) involved in pro sports. But in fairness, Poles has made a number of brilliant moves. Regarding the draft and the first and second rounds, GM's miss about half the time on those players. The Bears have had their misses over the years. Poles has made some brilliant moves in 26 months... for a rookie GM he was a quick learner. Right now he is looking like the best ascending young GM in the NFL. He seems to be building a great team - from scratch. He took the team from cap hell to being solid financially now. He is about to draft a quarterback that many many people believe will be one of the best to play the game. We don't know if that will or will not actually happen (as far as how his career will pan out). But Poles is bringing this exciting young QB to the Bears in 19 days. He has paired him with a Hall of Fame wide receiver - arguably the best route runner in the entire NFL - Keenan Allen... to pair with D.J. Moore, another incredible talent. He got Montez Sweat for a 2nd round pick, a guy experts say is better than ANY edge player in this upcoming 2024 draft. And he got us Caleb Williams and D.J. Moore in a trade down in the draft. Dude is the master chess player. What he has accomplished in 26 months is amazing. I believe this guy will go down as the best GM in Bears history before his tenure here has ended. He so reminds me of Jim Finks moves building the 1985 team... that build began years before 1985. I get that same vibe right now with Poles. He is building something for the ages. This is a great time to kick back and enjoy watching the Bears rise from the ashes to being great again. I'm thinking this offense will be the best we have seen here in many years... maybe in a half century or so. Not this rookie season for Caleb, but soon. It's coming.
As I said, Poles has picked off the low-hanging fruit, thanks to getting lucky with two #1 picks and trading away two Pro Bowl players. The acid test will be (1) can he produce a Super Bowl ready team 2025-26, and (2) if not, can he survive and do anything post-2026.
Meanwhile, I am trying to arrange his match with Magnus Carlsen.
We were not a bad team at the end of the year. A decent mid level (or better since we won most of the last games) but we lost our QB and we have new players. I have no idea how this season is going to start out. It would be great if we could come out of the gate strong. I hope these first games are run heavy to take the load off the new QB. I think we have the horsepower to run it well. I think the OL should be better and the running game should be at least as good as last year, minus the running contribution of Fields.
I think you nailed it there ^^^^^
Hey, yesterday I watched Mark Potash of the Sun Times on a CHGO podcast do a great job explaining why Chicago Bears fans (like us) struggle with truly believing that "this" team is finally going to be the one that breaks the decades of disappointments. Listening to him talk, it seemed right-on to me. I'm paraphrasing it and probably butchering his comments (I'll add the poscast link below), but basically we are so conditioned for unexpected failures by this franchise that it is so very very difficult to believe in this present regime. There is a history here that is heartbreaking (literally heartbreaking) that just when we believe in the Bears they find a way to disappoint us.
He talks about this history. Even the 1985 Bears failed to sustain winning as they should have (should have been much more successful with that roster... but they just underperformed under Ditka). LOL, but I digress.
I think this guy (Potash) hit on it... we look at all of the great things Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus have done here in a short span of time, and it looks mighty good for 2024 and beyond. But we can't believe in this team due to the influence past regimes' failures have had on us. We reason in our heads that this is illogical to think Poles/Eberflus are responsible for failures going back 30, 40 or 50 years - but we keep thinking they are the same as these past bimbos. Unfair? Yes. But maybe it it just how we are wired now after decades of disappointments here. Anyway, I liked listening to him explain this from a fan's perspective (he is a Bears fan from the time he was a young boy). He "gets it" as far as how we feel about this present team.
The 87 strike, McCaskeys being cheap & letting Wilber Marshall & Willie Gault walk as FAs, McMahon taking illegal shots and getting knocked out/not staying healthy, Covert's injury forcing early retirement - these were also big reasons the Bears never were dominant in the playoffs again..not just Ditka.
Draft is only one thing. Any chimp can find a starter in the first and second rounds. The best GMs find players in the later rounds as well as through trades and free agency. Poles got lucky hitting #1 in the draft two years in a row and the second being the Caleb Williams year,
There is definitely an element of luck (both good and bad) involved in pro sports. But in fairness, Poles has made a number of brilliant moves. Regarding the draft and the first and second rounds, GM's miss about half the time on those players. The Bears have had their misses over the years. Poles has made some brilliant moves in 26 months... for a rookie GM he was a quick learner. Right now he is looking like the best ascending young GMs in the NFL. He seems to be building a great team - from scratch. He took the team from cap hell to being solid financially now. Instead of duct taping a crap team he chose to nuke it and start over with young ascending talent. He is about to draft a quarterback that many many people believe will be one of the best to play the game. We don't know if that will or will not actually happen (as far as how his career will pan out). But Poles is bringing this exciting young QB to the Bears in 19 days. He has paired him with a Hall of Fame wide receiver - arguably the best route runner in the entire NFL - Keenan Allen... to pair with D.J. Moore, another incredible talent. He got Montez Sweat for a 2nd round pick, a guy experts say is better than ANY edge player in this upcoming 2024 draft. And he got us Caleb Williams and D.J. Moore in a trade down in the draft. Dude is the master chess player. What he has accomplished in 26 months is amazing. I believe this guy will go down as the best GM in Bears history before his tenure here has ended. He so reminds me of Jim Finks moves building the 1985 team... that build began years before 1985. I get that same vibe right now with Poles. He is building something for the ages. This is a great time to kick back and enjoy watching the Bears rise from the ashes to being great again. I'm thinking this offense will be the best we have seen here in many years... maybe in a half century or so. Not this rookie season for Caleb, but soon. It's coming.
Poles inherited a disaster of a situation with Pace's roster & back loaded contracts. The position he has put the franchise in should not be underestimated. He's made ballsy moves unlike any Bears GM I can remember. If the Bears perform well he will deserve all the accolades he'll be getting.
The 87 strike, McCaskeys being cheap & letting Wilber Marshall & Willie Gault walk as FAs, McMahon taking illegal shots and getting knocked out/not staying healthy, Covert's injury forcing early retirement - these were also big reasons the Bears never were dominant in the playoffs again..not just Ditka.
I think that's fair. I was just so disappointed they had all that talent and couldn't do better.