This offseason Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles did a good job of filling the holes in the roster and improving the team. Now it is up to head coach Matt Eberflus and his coaching staff to get the most out of the players.
It has certainly been an impactful offseason for the Chicago Bears. General manager Ryan Poles had the tools to overhaul the roster. He owned the number one overall pick in the draft.
Poles traded that pick and received three picks in return (2023 second round, 2024 first round, and 2025 second round). Additionally, he received wide receiver D.J. Moore. As a result, Poles and the Bears had additional picks and a player to help quarterback Justin Fields in his development.
Furthermore, Poles’ moves last year resulted in the Bears having nearly $100 million in salary cap space. That was the most, by far, in the NFL.
Poles took advantage of that and signed a dozen free agents to help improve the team. He overhauled the linebackers unit by signing T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds, adding speed, athleticism, and toughness. Also, he added help to the offensive line by signing Nate Davis.
In the draft, Poles added more athleticism, speed, and toughness. He felt the Bears needed to get tougher in the trenches so he drafted a right tackle and three defensive tackles. He also made the secondary much tougher and faster. The secondary will once again be filled with athletic, hard hitters.
The job is not over, however. There are still holes in the roster. Defensive end is still a big need, for example. Poles and the Bears still have plenty of money available, though. They have about $34.6 million in cap space. That is still tops in the league. Poles can go out in the free agent market and find someone to come in and help.
Now the job is turned over to Eberflus
Poles did his job of strengthening the roster. On paper, the team looks better than the three-win team that took the field in 2022. Now it is head coach Matt Eberflus and his staff’s job to get the most out of the players.
Eberflus did a pretty good job of doing that in 2022. Yes, the team only had three wins. However, the team played hard every game. This was a team that lacked talent and despite the mounting losses (they lost their last ten games), they continued to play hard-nosed football.
-
Ep 119: Patrick Mahomes' Top 5 List
by Full Press Coverage on May 27, 2023 at 7:49 pm
The Bears were involved in eight games that ended in a one-score difference. Some of those were against the top talent in the NFL, like the NFC champions Philadelphia Eagles. Chicago lost seven of those. While they played tough football, the lack of talent ended up being the difference.
Perhaps with better talent and continued hard playing, the Bears end up winning more of those close games.
Eberflus showed last season that he is the right man for this job. He is a tough, hard-nosed coach and expects his players to play that way. Additionally, he isn’t afraid to put the best player in, even if it is a rookie.
Last season, Eberflus ended up using three rookies as starters. Braxton Jones was a surprise pick at left tackle. He ended up playing every snap of the season. Cornerback Kyler Gordon started from Week 1. While he struggled a bit early in the season, he was playing very well down the stretch. Safety Jaquan Brisker also was a starter right away and played like a veteran throughout the season.
Let’s not forget about Jack Sanborn. He was an undrafted rookie who took over when the Bears traded Roquan Smith in the middle of the season. He did a great job until an injury ended his season.
It seems that Eberflus and his staff are perfect for developing the Chicago Bears’ rebuild. Eberflus recently spoke on how his staff works hard on developing players, especially the young ones. He explained why he feels comfortable with giving those young players important snaps.
That’s why I hired these coaches as teachers. They all have a heart of service and they love to teach and they’re good teachers. We pride ourselves on developing these young guys, and we’re not afraid to put young guys in there. If guys are good enough to start, we’re going to put them in there and play them.
Poles now hands the reins over to Eberflus and his staff. It appears as if the team is in good hands with them. We will see how good soon.
-
Ep 157: Colts Owner Jim Irsay Joins The Showby Full Press Coverage on May 27, 2023 at 7:24 pm
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay joins Clark and Ira to discuss his Top […]
-
Ep 156: Karen Guregian Joins The Showby Full Press Coverage on May 21, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Karen Guregian of MassLIVE joins Clark and Ira to talk about her near four […]
-
You MUST know these Transfer Portal Guys this Seasonby LandryFootball.com on June 3, 2023 at 12:45 pm
Choosing a single impact transfer for each conference proved difficult. […]
-
The Best QUARTERBACK Rooms in College Footballby LandryFootball.com on June 2, 2023 at 1:15 pm
When you have quarterback depth in college football, it can be a blessing […]
-
Ep 287: BLeague Brings His A-Gameby Full Press Coverage on June 1, 2023 at 4:41 pm
-
Ep 286: FPC Dynasty Rookie Draftby Full Press Coverage on May 26, 2023 at 3:01 pm
-
Ep 285: Draft Discussions Dominatingby Full Press Coverage on May 18, 2023 at 4:38 pm
-
Ep 284: Recapping Rookie Dynasty Draftsby Full Press Coverage on May 11, 2023 at 12:59 pm
-
Episode 3.11: OTAs and Hot Topics w/Sam Fortier from the Washington Postby Full Press Coverage on May 30, 2023 at 9:20 pm
George Carmi hosts Sam Fortier from the Washington Post to discuss the […]
-
Episode 3.10: Commanders Roster and OTAsby Full Press Coverage on May 23, 2023 at 8:53 pm
On the latest episode of the Command the Mic Podcast, George Carmi hosts […]
-
Renegades Of Puck Ep 768by Charlie Saunier on June 2, 2023 at 9:19 am
Ep 768 The Renegades Of Puck Recap Game 4 Preview Game 5 Milwaukee […]
-
Full Press Kraken - Thursday, June 1stby Full Press Coverage on June 1, 2023 at 2:00 pm
Kraken have offseason work to do, AHL Playoff update. Learn more about […]
-
Full Press Blackhawks - Thursday, June 1stby Full Press Coverage on June 1, 2023 at 12:15 pm
What could the Blackhawks do to trade up in the 2023 NHL Draft? Who on the […]
-
Full Press Blackhawks - Tuesday, May 30thby Full Press Coverage on May 30, 2023 at 2:30 pm
Does picking Connor Bedard speed up the Blackhawks’ rebuild and few […]
-
Renegades Of Puck Ep 767by Charlie Saunier on May 30, 2023 at 4:01 am
Ep 767 The Renegades Of Puck Recap Game 3 Preview Game 4 Milwaukee […]
-
Full Press Hurricanes - Monday, May 29thby Full Press Coverage on May 30, 2023 at 12:45 am
A deeper dive into the Hurricanes free agent list and the cap situation as […]
-
6/2 - Nuggets Take Game 1, Barry Bonds, Stanley Cup Chat w/ Jim Biringerby Full Press Coverage on June 2, 2023 at 2:03 pm
Ian and John discuss the Nuggets Game 1 win over the Heat, the upcoming […]
-
6/1 - NBA Finals Preview, Aaron Rodgers, and Moreby Full Press Coverage on June 1, 2023 at 1:53 pm
Ian and John discuss Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Nuggets and Heat […]
-
5/30 - Heat Dominate Celtics; Vegas Advances; Jimmy Gby Full Press Coverage on May 30, 2023 at 3:35 pm
Ian and John discuss the Celtics disappointing Game 7 performance against […]
-
5/29 - Celtics/Heat Game 7; DeAndre Hopkins Releasedby Full Press Coverage on May 30, 2023 at 12:12 am
Ian and John discuss Game 7 between the Celtics and Heat as well as the […]
-
5/26 - Celtics Force Game 6; Mahomes QB Listby Full Press Coverage on May 26, 2023 at 2:12 pm
Ian and John discuss the Celtics big Game 5 win the Top 5 quarterbacks of […]
-
5/25 - Panthers Advance To Stanley Cup Finals; Celtics/Heatby Full Press Coverage on May 25, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Ian and John discuss the Celtics and the Heat and welcome in Jim Bringer […]
-
Ep 2: Top 5 Super Bowls Of All Timeby Full Press Coverage on February 7, 2023 at 3:26 pm
Ian Glendon and John Sapochetti give their Top 5 Super Bowls of all time. […]
-
Ep 1: The Top 10 Quarterbacks Of All Timeby Full Press Coverage on January 12, 2023 at 8:42 pm
On the first episode of 'According To Who?', host Ian Glendon and John […]
-
Ep 167: Ahmed Johnsonby Full Press Coverage on June 3, 2023 at 2:00 pm
-
Fight Stack: Final Notesby Full Press Coverage on June 3, 2023 at 11:00 am
-
Full Press MMA - Friday, June 2ndby Full Press Coverage on June 2, 2023 at 11:00 pm
-
6/2 - Nuggets Take Game 1, Barry Bonds, Stanley Cup Chat w/ Jim Biringerby Full Press Coverage on June 2, 2023 at 2:03 pm
-
Fight Stack: Karine Silva vs Ketlen Souzaby Full Press Coverage on June 2, 2023 at 11:00 am
-
Ep. 224: Wisconsin-Whitewater Head Football Coach Jace Rindahlby Full Press Coverage on June 2, 2023 at 5:00 am
-
Full Press MMA - Thursday, June 1stby Full Press Coverage on June 1, 2023 at 11:00 pm
-
Ep. 247 - History and Legacies on the Line in Nuggets vs. Heat NBA Finalsby Full Press Coverage on June 1, 2023 at 10:08 pm
-
Heat at Nuggetsby Broken Controller Media on June 1, 2023 at 5:00 pm
-
Ep 287: BLeague Brings His A-Gameby Full Press Coverage on June 1, 2023 at 4:41 pm
-
Boot 2 The Face "Too Much Wrestling"by Boot 2 The Face on June 1, 2023 at 11:21 pm
Your boys are back talking ALL of the pro wrestling that happened this […]
-
Boot 2 The Face "PPV Predictions"by Boot 2 The Face on May 26, 2023 at 1:06 am
BIG weekend in wrestling and EJ and Rucker are here to predict!AEW Double […]
-
AEW Double or Nothing and Night of Champions Previewby Full Press Coverage on May 26, 2023 at 9:59 pm
Jim is back once again joined by Teddy Repantis as they preview Double or […]
-
What's Next For CM Punk and AEW, The Bloodline, and the Countdown to Double or Nothingby Full Press Coverage on May 23, 2023 at 1:27 pm
Jim is back once again joined by Teddy Repantis as they discuss the launch […]