Bears' general manager Ryan Poles talks 'hard, emotional' cut down day

all right good to see everybody um so in terms of triny Camp um want to just say thank you to our players uh for the time and effort that they've put in I thought they've done a really good job they came in with intent to get better improve uh built chemistry um and I thought you could see that through the duration of of training camp this year uh want to thank our coaches and really all of our staff um we really press hard on development and I thought there were some really uh cool situations where you saw guys come in as either you know a raw rookie or you know someone that wasn't playing to uh the standard of what we needed and then by the end of training camp um they were in the conversation of of making the roster which is always good to see um also want to thank our performance team and really that's the alignment with Coach flu um our rate of of Mis practices uh dropped significantly for the first two years and obviously with a ability that allows people to improve and get better and build that chemistry that we talk about also want to thank our front office um you can really see uh every part of player acquisition if it's the draft undrafted free agency free agency at the very highest level to um guys just coming in for opportunity at the you know minimum uh they were in the mix and really again applied pressure when it came to making the roster and and really this year uh by far from the first two years was the most difficult time whittling this thing down to to 53 uh we had some really good discussions a lot of back and forth constantly talking about you know worrying about today um but also looking into the future um because we're always looking not only just now but also what's the roster going to look like what are the situations not you know one two three years from now so had really good conversations there which was good um I think the other thing that I really learned this year is when you're intentional bringing in the right type of people when you invest in relationships um you invest in time and bonding and creating this this group and this culture it makes cut down day uh extremely hard emotional um because you care about the guys and you want to be want to see them be successful but you know at the end of the day there's business decisions that have to happen and you got to get this thing down to a 53 man roster um which was which was difficult U but I'm really proud of where we are uh to kick this season off um significant improvements um which again makes me proud of the work that we've done here as an entire organization uh terms of transactions that have happened the last two hours uh car's back on board he's in the building and Patrick scales is going to be on IR um until he heals up so I'll open it to questions we look at the receiver room and the way you overhaul that in the time you've been here you got here it was pretty bare you had Moon not much shows it's production kind of dipped you took a swing and Miss on a trade and now you got the room that you have now whereas maybe two years ago you couldn't find Four Guys you felt really good about now you feel like maybe you only need four guys you know what I mean how do you go about overhauling that and how do you feel about that process yeah um I think the big thing is there's there's a level of patience in there um one because when you approach is different if it's for agency or the the draft um we really try to do the best best available um I remember that first year um that was a big question were you going to get a receiver get a receiver and we didn't have the first first round pick and we end up with brisker and and Kyler and really we felt like that was best available and we knew that it was going to take time to really get all the pieces and there's still um space for us to improve as well um so we're just kind of in this kind of second phase of things but really patience um letting the board kind of talk to us and then being opportunistic you know with the trade drafting Rome um there's a lot of cool things that that happened so and we used every every different kind of way to acquire that Talent which was great we we saw Keenan was on the bike today is there any concern about his health for no no he had uh last week like a cleat issue uh so some discomfort in his foot but he should be fine Ryan as you evaluate the season and look to measure success is it playoffs in your mind is that the ultimate measure for you or you look at the roster to development side more so and say that's kind of the priority for this year no like obviously that's that's my priorities let's get the roster in the best shape possible because that's going to give us the opportunity to win games um but it's always going to be to win championships um to win the division win Super Bowls that's always the goal um obviously getting in the playoffs and in winning playoff games would be outstanding uh but I think the biggest thing is like can we take that big jump from where we were last year uh to this year and I think we're capable of doing that that 53 man roster from what you inher what are you most proud of about this group and how they come yeah uh I'm proud of I'm proud of the process that we've set up um it's not just about acquiring the best talent it's about acquiring the right talent and I think that's what you see um in this building I think it's it's special like the group of guys it's it's really special I know talked a lot about that but even when you go through cut down days and you're letting guys go and they're like man I just want to be here like can feel it uh I want to be a part of this thing so it's not like I always look at it and I'm excited about it but when you hear from people inside the building uh but also outside it kind of makes you feel really good about the progress that you've made but um a lot of hard work a lot of time um and developing the process so that it's sustainable ran as you've continued both your relationship with Matt and your evaluation of them what's left the strongest impression on you about how he's handled the last eight months from overhauling the coaching staff to now getting this team ready ready to go into the regular season yeah I think his resilience um for how for where our roster was and for how far we knew it had to go to set a standard and hold everybody to that um is extremely difficult uh to keep a team together through adversity is extremely difficult but I think at the end of the day that's going to be awesome is like those things will be established and then when the winning comes you have a stronger product because of it and so really I really look at the resilience piece of it it's so hard with pressure to stay the course um when you want to be you know there's a lot of noise in terms of doing different things and changes and all that but to hold the line is it takes a special man to do that and he's done that and then just ability to adapt and adjust um you can see that on a daily basis um always trying to get better taking the feedback from players you know what do we need to change what do we adjust what are you guys seeing how are you feeling and then making the tweaks um that relationship is has been incredible and then I probably had a third thing is it's kind of coming to me but just investing in relationships uh he's had every single person on our team over at his house um to spend time there to get to know them better there's activities and things that he did but that was done intentionally that wasn't just to do it and check a box it was is to really invest in our players and build that trust because you need that you got a number of guys banged up on the offensive line today we saw Bill Murray go off how comfortable are you with the depth you have um this this is the best depth I've I've ever had um actually let one of the guys go on cutdowns and was like man you did an excellent job I wish you know we could could keep you here it just he's like this is the deepest room I've ever been a part of um so we have more versatility more depth um sh we got 10 guys so I feel comfortable um obviously you want your starting five to be healthy and ready to go but uh I feel more confident in the depth of our line than I ever have before ran we've seen we've seen a lot from Caleb on the field but in the building what have you seen to be the effect of his personality uh of his social skills his ability to relate with others yeah it's it's fairly natural uh it's not forced I think that's one thing and we've all been in teams before but like there's people that come into those situations and they try too hard and it's like man that's awkward you know it's hard to buy into that and then there's guys that just they they can they can navigate that so naturally because they're authentic and it's real and that's what he's done and like and then on top of that just as a as a professional player like you have to perform we got to do some things that guys are like okay like like there's something different about you and then pair that with a good natural just good social skills um some cool things happen and Leadership starts to Blossom and that's what you see now what do you expect from him this year um I expect him to it's a great question I want him to lean on the talent around him and then when the time is right and that's an instinctual thing and I think that plays right into him that's when you do the the special and balancing that and then sometimes it's going to get out of whack one way or the other but always come back to that it's kind of like that that neutral place where he's at his best um and I think he has that just from studying him and watching uh years of tape on him he he has that ability and um so I think that that's kind of the the big thing is just lean on the guys around him being insensual let that those wild plays happen at the right time Ian we we saw it in the preseason a little bit this can be important sorry back to the old line yeah how good can that unit be you made some moves this off season I don't think you can point at it and say you put a ton of resources into it like how how good can that group be uh I think the group can be really good um in terms of investing in it I mean Darnell was a first- round pick we traded for Bates who has versatility uh pton Nate um who obviously needs to continue to work on just the dependability ility and and consistency Coleman Shelton has been a great addition he's a glue guy for the up front his ability to get everybody on the same page and executed at high level has been been really good um I think Braxton's improved um and and teevin is is playing his best ball too so I think that that group has the ability to be be special um and as the season goes along and the beautiful thing is they're all those guys strain um and you can see that in the preseason too just trying to keep Caleb clean um it's important to him and it's a really strong nck group so it's good Ryan I'm pretty sure we've seen you on the field kind of mimicking Caleb's throwing motion you never see that I don't know what else you could have possibly been doing with that uh was it fun for you was it a fun training camp for you to see this guy that you had scouted for so long and drafted and then brought here and then watching it in person yeah yeah it's it's fun um but I don't know I just I can't ever let my mind go too far down that road it's always about improving um but it it's it's good to see anytime you you draft a player because of what you saw from college and you see some of those things transfer over to the Pro game that that gets you excited um if it's the other way it scares the crap out of you you know it's like where did that guy go um and we haven't had that with really any of our our draft picks everybody has been as advertised or if if not better as you try to grow Caleb into a quarterback who can be a game-winning quarterback with the game on the line from your lens what separates the best quarterbacks in this league in terms of the ones that are consistently productive in the fourth quarter um I think it's really I look at I kind of say it's like their heartbeat like does their heartbeat Skyrocket in those pressure situations or do you see this like calm and and we're not going to know until we're in it in terms of the the pro side of it um but that's what I look for I want the game to slow down there to be a level of poise and again I'll go back to it it's that same combination of taking what a defense gives you leaning on your talent and then when you're forced to be special be special what did you experience with hatrick through that lens in terms of when you realized that he was that guy in Kansas City in terms of what it did for the entire organization yeah so it's interesting because I know there's a lot of comparison comparisons out there but I don't I don't know what Patrick's rookie year would have looked like um but I know in year two you saw exactly that when when the pressure went up he was calm and then when it was time to do something special he was able to do it and connect but I also think you know we probably don't talk about enough he really gave opportunities for special players to be special um and I think that's what took it over the over the edge congrats you finished the video if you want to build on that success download the NBC Sports Chicago app it's got highlights exclusive insights and push alerts tailored to you everything you need to be a real Chicago sports fan download it now