Bear Digest

Bears GM Ryan Poles Comes Under Fire from Bill Belichick

Analysis: A week after he criticized Caleb Williams, Bill Belichick is taking it in a different direction by slamming Bears GM Ryan Poles.
Gene Chamberlain|
Things have been closing in fast on Caleb Williams as he tries to throw and Bil Belichick blames GM Ryan Poles.
Things have been closing in fast on Caleb Williams as he tries to throw and Bil Belichick blames GM Ryan Poles. | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

They always say offensive linemen are better when you don't hear their names being called out because when you do it's usually for something bad.

The Bears offensive line played a game Sunday that not only attracted their line attention but national attention, and that's not a good thing. The seven sacks and their 27 yards gained by running backs on the ground had former Patriots coach Bill Belichick questioning  their line during an appearance on ESPN's Pat McAfee Show.

But that's not all. He was calling out GM Ryan Poles.

"Chicago, just in terms of their overall team construction, the way that they decide to do it, you know, you look at a teams like Detroit in their division and Detroit has got three really good linemen with (Penei) Sewell, (Frank) Ragnow and (Taylor) Decker and those guys give, generally, Goff a lot of protection," Belichick told Pat McAfee and former Packers player A.J. Hawk. "The Bears have really put their resources into, a lot of money and a lot of draft choices into, receivers but they've had problems on their offensive line and it doesn't really look like that's gotten much better...."

Belichick pointed out how Demeco Ryans blitzed but that probably didn't even need to do it.

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"They (the Bears) had trouble with a four-man rush, five-man rush, just single blocks up there have been a problem for them," Belichick said. "You know, I like the receivers and I think the quarterback has got a chance but it's tough and I think it's going to get tougher."

By that, Belichick was questioning how the Bears could build a team expecting to throw it a lot in Chicago weather later in the year.

"Having to throw a lot and pass-protect a lot, I don't think that's really playing into the strength. That's not a strength of the Bears."

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The casual observer might think Belichick sounds like he's making an intelligent point.

But Belichick for years coached in Foxborough and they have had some of the worst weather games in history but did it with a quarterback throwing 40 or 50 times a game.  And the Packers did it in cold condition with Aaron Rodgers.

Beyond this, Belichick isn't even entirely right about how the Bears have invested their cash and draft picks. 

The part about investing in their line is somewhat accurate but they're 20th in the league in offensive line spending according to Overthecap.com They spend the 20th most in the league on offensive linemen. The reason for this is their offensive linemen are mostly younger players. Braxton Jones, Teven Jenkins and Darnell Wright are on their first contracts still, so naturally they make less. And they overspent on right guard Nate Davis at $30 million for three years. He hasn't lived up to it.

The one position they struggle with is center. They haven't had that position right since Olin Kreutz, but if they drafted one they'd be paying little for him, too.

Wright is a first-rounder, Jenkins a second-rounder. Jones was a fifth-rounder but has been an above-average tackle according to Pro Football Focus blocking grades.

They have invested in receivers but they had one of them out and one playing injured Sunday night. They also have resisted paying more to Keenan Allen when they could have given him more, and now he has a heel injury.

So Belichick can ridicule Poles if he wants, but the last time they used that offensive line against the Patriots and Belichick it worked just fine.

The problem right now is they're playing a different style of football with a revised blocking scheme that emphasizes gap blocking more than they did before, and they might not be ideally suited for this.

The real problem is the quarterback has played only two NFL games and only time will correct this. But the offensive line has blocked the run before and it won't be a surprise if they do it again.

Then Belichick will need a new reason to go after Poles. He should have no problem changing course because it was just a few weeks ago he was criticizing Caleb Williams and now he’s saying the Bears QB has a chance to be good. Stick around a week and maybe Belichick will call him an All-Pro.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.