Ryan Poles made it clear that he believes the Bears can compete sooner rather than later, and their goal will always be to win games. It doesn’t sound like a full rebuild is on the table, yet there will obviously be some roster turnover as he and Matt Eberflus shape the team in their vision. It's also clear to anyone who’s watched the Bears over the past 30 years that the offense could use some more help than the defense. On Monday, Eberflus said part of the plan to get things back on track will be to build around young quarterback Justin Fields.
“What does that mean, what does that look like?” Eberflus said. “Well, I don’t know right now. We’ve got to look at that, we’ve got to evaluate and see where he is and where his skillset is, and then see his camera. How does he see the game, and how fast does he process, how fast does he do things? Then, how can we stretch him as we go?
“But we’re building the offense around the quarterback.”
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Included in that will be the addition of weapons to complement Fields. Part of that will happen in the draft, and part of that will happen in free agency. No matter where they find the new players, there’s one trait in particular Eberflus singled out when talking about skill players he wants to help Fields.
"Explosive athletic ability,” said Eberflus. “That equals chunk plays on offense… If you want to score points, you have to get chunk plays and big plays. That's how you score.”
But before adding the flashy playmakers, Poles added that the Bears will start in the trenches.
“I think it starts with the foundation of the offensive line and establishing that run game which then leads to explosive plays,” Poles said. “We have to continue to work on that, get that to a level and I think you will see more points scored and more efficiency, more explosive plays, everything plays off that. So that's going to be a focal point."
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Poles is a former offensive lineman. So is his assistant GM Ian Cunningham. So it’s no surprise that building out the line will “always” be a point of emphasis for his front office when building out their roster.
“Your starting five rarely ends up being the five at the end of the season,” Poles said. “So not only do you need really good starters, but you need depth as well. I’ve always felt that’s the foundation. Establishing the run game, having protection, allows you to dictate the game.
“Especially here, having to go up to Lambeau in December, or games at home late in the season, you gotta be able to have that line to be successful, in my opinion. So it’s definitely going to be an emphasis.”