3 reasons why Poles believes Bears foundation is strong

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The buzz word around Halas Hall this year was “foundation.” When Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus took over the organization in January they each put in serious work to begin reshaping the franchise to match their vision. Poles tore the roster down to the studs with moves like the Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith trades and decisions not to re-sign other players like Akiem Hicks, Allen Robinson, Eddie Goldman and James Daniels. Eberflus installed his H.I.T.S. system and changed the way the Bears would approach the game. Instead of focusing on schemes, they would focus on fundamentals. Practices were more intense and that intensity was expected to be carried to the games on each and every snap.

The idea was that if the Bears played the right way and filled their roster with guys dedicated to putting in the work required, they’d be able to get the most out of their players. Instead they went 3-14 and finished the year on a 10-game losing streak. Still, they insisted they were building a foundation and everyone in Halas Hall believed the team was on the right track. On Wednesday Poles addressed the media and gave three reasons why.

First was team discipline.

“I think we were one of the least penalized teams in the league,” Poles said. “The bond I talked about in the locker room, sticking together. As a GM and head coach you worry about through adversity, the locker room starting to fracture. People being selfish. And that was never the case. There was no finger-pointing. The guys bought in. They had fun with each other.”

It’s true. According to Football Database, the Bears only had 80 penalties accepted against them, which was third-fewest in the league. That was a big improvement from last year when they had 106 penalties accepted against them, which was tied for 12th-most. The types of penalties the Bears committed in 2022 vs. 2021 point to better discipline too. This year, the Bears mainly got flagged for holding or pass interference, infractions due to poor technique. They were only flagged once for unnecessary roughness and had 17 “other” flags that include things like taunting. Those are infractions that come from playing undisciplined football. Comparatively, the Bears led the league in 2021 with 11 unnecessary roughness calls. Their 31 “other” flags were fourth-most in the league.

Next for Poles was the invaluable playing experience for the young Bears on the roster.

“We led the league in rookie snaps by almost a thousand. That’s gonna pay off for us in the long run. Those guys, if they’re starters, the game’s gonna slow down for them. If they end up being rotational players or back-ups, when their number’s called they’re gonna have game experience and be able to be successful through that.”

It is very hard to win with as many rookies and second-year players as the Bears fielded this year. There’s no denying that this playing experience will help the young Bears, and help the coaches and front office evaluate who is worthy of more playing time in 2023. However the Bears will need to add more proven veteran talent at some point when they want to make deep postseason runs. They have the resources to do that this year with an incredible amount of salary cap space. It’s to be seen if cornerstone players like Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon take a big leap in their sophomore seasons.

Finally, Poles was encouraged by the toughness his team exhibited throughout the year. According to Poles, the team’s resilience earned praise throughout the league.

“I can’t tell you how many coaches from the teams that we played called the next morning, or GMs and said, you can feel your guys on tape. You can feel that the way that they play, they played the right way. Keep doing what you’re doing. You’re on the right path.”

Once again, this was evident to anyone who watched the Bears all year. The team may have been outmatched on the field at times, but they were almost never outworked. Eberflus had his players fighting for a full 60 minutes all year, and in turn they had opportunities to win nearly every game. The only game where the effort was questionable was Jan. 1 when they were blown out by the Lions 41-10. Otherwise the team never quit. That’s impressive in a season that went sideways before December.

It’s still far too early to tell whether the Bears will be able to build a championship team on this foundation, but it’s clear that they laid real groundwork this year.

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