On Monday, legendary NFL head coach Bill Belichick put the Chicago Bears on blast for their odd roster building around rookie QB Caleb Williams. Belichick was obviously being a bit more polished and TV-like in this snippet, but you can tell just how much he is bashing the Bears in this clip:
Bill Belichick criticizing Ryan Poles roster construction. 👀 #DaBears #Bears pic.twitter.com/6wSmABGS5f
— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) September 17, 2024
On The Pat McAfee show, Belichick ripped apart the Bears for their roster construction, and talked about how a team in their division, the Detroit Lions, are built the right way with a solid offensive line. He noted how the Houston Texans were able to get pressure with ease during the Bears Week 2 loss at Houston.
In terms of roster construction, the buck stops with the General Manager, so while Ryan Poles has largely done a good job, he's had his share of misses, but his misses are a bit more magnified for a couple of reasons:
-Caleb Williams is one of the most high-profile rookie QBs ever
-The misses seem to be mostly along the offensive line.
Games in the NFL are almost always won and lost along the offensive line. Williams has been pressured a ton this season through two games and has already taken nine sacks. He'd be on pace to take 77 sacks this season if this average holds up. It's just not been a fun time for the Bears on offense. The unit ranks 18th in scoring at just 18.5 points per game.
There has been just one offensive touchdown for the team thanks to RB Khalil Herbert. Now yes, this offense getting off the ground and beginning to consistently produce is going to take some time but with the society we live in, people tend to expect results almost immediately. That was likely never going to happen with Caleb Williams and the Bears.
The coaching is also a bit suspect at times, so while the OL is not doing Williams any favors, coaching isn't, either. What may end up happening here is at some point the Bears may end up bringing in a more offensive-focused coaching staff seeking to get the most out of Williams.
This could be someone like Ben Johnson or Bobby Slowik of the Detroit Lions and Houston Texans. I would also imagine that Ryan Poles, if he's still in his role as the Bears GM, would dip into the free agency market to try and some more offensive line help.
But his shortcomings as a roster builder, especially on offense, are being exposed in the 2024 NFL Season.