The Chicago Bears will look to snap a 12-game losing streak dating back to last season when they travel to Kansas City on Sunday to face the defending Super Bowl Champion Chiefs. Although the Chiefs' offense, led by All-Pro and MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes, has struggled to begin the season, many analysts expect a blow out in the Week 3 matchup due to Chicago's issues on defense. Head coach Matt Eberflus' has been responsible for a unit that has given up over 25 points in each game of the losing streak so far and has yet to force a turnover this year, but general manager Ryan Poles deserves share the blame also.
Poles Has Yet To Give Eberflus The Tool Needed To Run A Successful Defense
When the Bears fired former general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy at the end of the 2021 season, Poles and Eberflus were hired within 48 hours. Chicago's current head coach had the vision of implementing a Cover-2 defensive scheme, moving the team away from the 3-4 defense that was in place under Nagy. Although Poles' goal was a total rebuild of the roster, he needed to find players that would be best suited for a Cover-2 scheme.
For a Cover-2 Defense To work to its fullest potential, pass rush pressure must be generated by the defensive line to allow linebackers to drop back in pass coverage to guard opposing running backs and tight ends. A consistent pass rush created by the defensive line will force the quarterback to hurry his throws, leading to interceptions by the opposing secondary or linebackers. Through the first two weeks of the 2023 season, Chicago's defensive unit has only one sack and no turnovers, which has led to opposing quarterbacks throwing for over 500 yards passing.
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Poles initially got off to a good start, providing Eberflus with players to fit the ideal vision for the defense. Cornerback Kyler Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker were drafted in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, joining veteran safety Eddie Jackson and cornerback Jaylon Johnson. The starting secondary for Chicago was a strength on defense in 2022, as the starting four generated eight interceptions and three fumble recoveries.
Despite the success of the secondary, Chicago still featured one of the league's worst defensive units in the NFL in 2022 due to their inability to defend against the run. The Bears' defensive line lacked any credible threat in both pass and run defense, especially after Poles traded Pro Bowl defensive end Robert Quinn after Week 7. Chicago's defensive line only recorded ten total sacks in 2022, as Brisker led the entire defense with four.
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What is troubling about the struggles of the defensive line has been the lack of success generated by players brought in by Poles to improve the defense. In the 2022 NFL Draft, Chicago's general manager selected defensive end Dominque Robinson in the fifth round. Robinson, despite recording one and a half sacks in his first NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers last year, has yet to wrap up an opposing quarterback since then. Free agent defensive linemen Al-Quadin Muhammad, Armon Watts, and Justin Jones were signed by Poles before the 2022 season and combined for only five and a half sacks, with Jones being the only one still with the team.
This offseason, despite having the most salary cap space in the NFL and having numerous high-end draft selections due to Chicago finishing with the worst record last season, there were no significant additions made to bolster the defensive line until August, when pass-rushing specialist Yannick Ngakoue was signed. During the offseason, Poles signed free agent defensive end DeMarcus Walker and drafted defensive tackles, Gervon Dexter and Zacck Pickens. Although Pickens and Dexter have shown promise early, none of the three defensive linemen brought in during the offseason have come close to recording a sack through the Bears' first two games this year.
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Pace Had More Success When Finding Players To Fit A Defensive Scheme Than Poles Has Had
Poles' struggles to find defensive line talent to help improve the Cover-2 scheme is made worse by the fact that the person he replaced as general manager had more success right away. When Chicago hired Pace in 2015, the team underwent a complete overhaul of the roster, especially on the defensive side of the ball, as they converted their defensive scheme from a 4-3 to a 3-4. The Bears former general manager found defensive talent immediately that helped provide the defense with the added pass rush pressure they needed.
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Pace's most significant free agent signing in his first season as general manager was edge rusher Pernell McPhee, who recorded six sacks and an interception despite only playing in 14 games in 2015. A year later, Chicago would sign defensive end Akeem hicks, who would record 23 sacks in his first three seasons as a Bear and be named to the Pro Bowl in 2018. Pace's ability to find talent enabled Chicago to have the league's best defense in 2018 and win the NFC North Division for the first in eight seasons.
The most glaring difference between Pace's first two seasons as general manager and Poles' first few seasons has been the defensive draft success. Chicago's former general manager drafted Eddie Goldman, Adrian Amos, Leonard Floyd, Eddie Jackson, and Roquan Smith, all of whom contributed immediately during their respective rookie seasons and were all vital pieces to the team's division title in 2018.
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Outside of Brisker and Gordon, who performed well in their rookie season last year, Poles doesn't have any other draft selections that have provided any production on defense so far. Dexter and Pickens can develop and produce as the season progresses, but the defensive line appears to be a jarring weakness in a defensive scheme in which no defensive line pass-rush pressure is a fatal flaw. Although Eberflus and defensive coordinator Alan Williams deserve blame for not coaching and devising a better defensive game plan to overcome these weaknesses, Poles deserves partial responsibility for not providing better assets through two offseasons.
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