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Former NFL head coach Bill Belichick isn’t impressed with what he has seen from Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles.
Belichick, who is now serving as an analyst after coaching the New England Patriots for the past 24 years, broke down some Week 2 action on the September 16 episode of “The Pat McAfee Show.”
When discussing Chicago’s 19-13 loss to the Houston Texans — a loss that saw Houston’s defense sack Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams seven times — Belichick saved his most pointed criticism for Poles for valuing wide receivers more than offensive linemen when constructing the team’s roster.
Belichick cited the Bears’ NFC North rivals, the Detroit Lions, as an example of a team that values and prioritizes O-line play.
“Chicago, just in terms of their overall team construction, the way that they decided 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. Those guys give, generally, [quarterback Jared] Goff a lot of protection,” Belichick told McAfee, before taking his criticisms further.
Bill Belichick on Ryan Poles’ Roster Construction: It Doesn’t Look Much Better
“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 said. “They had trouble with a four-man rush, five-man rush — just single blocks up there have been a problem for them. 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.”
Speaking to co-host and former Green Bay Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk directly, Belichick also noted the weather in Chicago in the latter part of the season could be problematic without a somewhat decent offensive line.
“A.J., as you know better than I, Chicago in November and December, that’s a fun place to have to rely on throwing the ball,” Belichick said sarcastically.
Bears Prioritized Playmakers Over Offensive Line This Offseason
After selecting Williams No. 1 overall in this year’s draft, Chicago also had the No. 9 selection, and with it, a choice to make: take a playmaker such as receiver Rome Odunze, or snag an O-lineman.
The Bears could have stayed put and added a tackle. Tyler Guyton out of Oklahoma was available. So was tackle Olu Fashanu. Poles has also shown a propensity to trade down, which he could have elected to do to nab a quality center, such as Zach Frazier or Jackson Powers-Johnson. Instead, he chose Odunze.
Time will tell whether Poles made the correct decision, but after using the team’s first-round selection on O-lineman Darnell Wright in 2023, the Bears GM went a different route in 2024. The lone offensive lineman the Bears drafted in 2024, Kiran Amegadjie, missed training camp while recovering from a quad injury he suffered in college.
The Bears also added veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen via trade. Allen has a base salary of $18 million and missed Week 2 with a heel injury that may continue to nag him.
The Bears did add offensive linemen Coleman Shelton and Ryan Bates but neither has made an impact due to poor play (Shelton) or injury (Bates). Veteran swing tackle Matt Pryor was another free agent addition, but he has yet to see the field on offense.
The Bears have played just two games against very good defensive fronts. It’s too early to panic. But when a future Hall of Fame coach such as Belichick criticizes your roster construction, it’s not nothing.
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