I'm not jumping up and down for the moves the Bears have made so far in preseason, but my affinity for Ryan Poles has moved a notch in the right direction for the way he's gone about Free Agency. With the many holes to fill he's signed impact players that not only can play right away but are in the prime of their careers and coming off of career years with their previous teams including teams that were playoff contenders right from the beginning. With Aaron Rodgers out of the division the Bears automatically move to the head of the pack and the draft hasn't taken place yet. With the haul of picks the Bears got from Carolina. What I liked about Ryan Pace is he was a lot more transparent with the media than Poles and I never trust a coach with some gimmick principle the players are supposed to buy into and then lose a bunch of games.   

Well the league now knows whoever is going to play with Justin Fields won’t be drafted until number 9 of the first round whatever that position might be. A number of players have come out and said they want to play with Justin including a wide receiver who played with him at Ohio State. I’ve not been a fan of Ryan Poles. He’s too secretive and let his star quarterback lobby for his job before the trade with the Carolina Panthers let him know his job is safe. Even if the Bears had drafted a quarterback at number one they still have to put weapons around him. Wide receivers and offensive line. And a defense with more holes than a “Holy Cow,” (Harry Caray). When you have a talent like Fields you don’t keep people guessing especially when you’re largely responsible for losing 14 out of 17 games which is how they got the number one pick in the first place.

 The Chase Claypool deal with the Steelers at this moment looks like a dud which means they’ll have to waste a pick on another receiver and no one knows what’s going to happen to David Montgomery at the running back spot a key player in the Bears stellar running game in the 2022 season.

 I get it that new regimes want their own players but Chicago has a penchant for letting good players walk. Or trading star players who go on to get even better with other clubs or better paydays that we’re too cheap to pay them what their worth. I know Justin Fields is no Tom Brady, yet but with no losing seasons the whole time ne New England they just retooled and dominated year after year. I have yet to see a new regime come in and make the current roster better so we’ve had to see some bad teams before someone gets it right. Which in the Bears case not since Lovie Smith.

 Sports are like a wave. For a period a team will do well knowing they will eventually crash and have to start all over again. Right now it has been a steady stream of ugh. I have to laugh when a new regime has been hired and always the talk about the change in culture and how they are going to get guys to buy into the philosophy the new coach brings. Which is a coy way to say we’re going to lose a lot of games before we get it right. I doubt the Bears turn in the Jacksonville Jaguars and make an impact in the playoffs anytime soon but you can tell when someone has gotten comfortable in their job and everyone in the locker room is dead man walking.

 The thing about sports is there is a lot of waiting and speculating in slow news cycles. It’ll be weeks before the draft months before they take the field for preseason games. And anything can happen but fans like to have certainty, or as we say show and prove that you’re going to upgrade the roster not just blow it up. However you go about building this team you want to reassure your number one star that he is hands off and they’ll build around you and not try to shoe horn you into a style of play that makes you want out of Chicago as soon as possible because you know when it comes to signing a new contract you might as well start looking towards Green Bay. The words are simple: “Justin Fields is our Quarterback.” The rest is gravy. G©