Under the Radar

[GoBears]

Ryan Poles being hired GM and him claiming Armon Watts on waivers from the Vikings? That's an amazing skill, now how many fingers am I holding behind my back?

thirteen.

 

[Bearly]

I'm glad that Poles and Flus took advantage of the waiver wire, but when you pick up 7 guys off waivers, that you then must place on your 53 man roster.... that says a lot about your depth. I might be wrong, but I don't ever remember a team claiming so many players off waivers.

BUT, if this works out where the Bears actually start or have big contributions from these guys, the league might take notice. The team just finished spending all of OTA, minicamp, training camp and preseason games with the depth guys, and you have to be willing to trust your scouting is good enough to cut a guy you just spent the last two months training.

Poles has pulled out all the stops this off season, by trading down a hundred times in the draft to pick more players, claiming this many guys off waivers, trading away Mack, bringing in FLUS, standing strong with Roquan..

All of these are tough/risky decisions, but I think what he is doing is smart, because a first year GM has ZERO expectations when he has limited Draft capital and cap space.

Essentially he is trying to make the bottom of the roster as strong as possible so when he goes out to get players next off season, they should be able to make an impact without carrying the entire team.

I'm not crowning Poles as GM of the year, but just like Flus, I like what I have seen so far!!!

I think a good evaluation is how he recovered from adversity. Things sure didn't look to be going well early in FA yet the those misses are no longer noticeable. It's early but it appears due to both perseverance and maybe luck, things look better than expected. When it comes to luck, if it occurs on a regular basis, it's more likely perseverance and capitalizing on opportunity.

I get what doc is saying about Watt but another GM may also have overpaid another player or overfilled the roster in a way that made that pick up less desirable. Patience is also a virtue. Fortunately, Poles can afford some this year.

 

[pseudonym]

I know that first sentence sounded like I was being critical, but it was actually giving Poles praise for pulling out all the stops. He really has done everything he can with the limited resources he started with this year.

Oh cool, well even better then LOL.

 

[BBBF]

thirteen.

Pro Tip: Always keep a severed finger in your back pocket. Nobody ever guesses 11.

 

[GoBears]

Pro Tip: Always keep a severed finger in your back pocket. Nobody ever guesses 11.

Or a fraction, like 10 1/2.

 

[ursamajor]

Ryan Poles being hired GM and him claiming Armon Watts on waivers from the Vikings? That's an amazing skill, now how many fingers am I holding behind my back?

1. And when you show us, it’s going to have a terrible smell.