One of the benefits of having a former offensive lineman in Ryan Poles as Bears general manager is knowing he’s going to address the weaknesses that have plagued the offensive line.
Poles confirmed as much during his introductory press conference, when he said the offensive line will be a focal point for him. Which is great news for quarterback Justin Fields. After all, Fields was one of the most-sacked quarterbacks in the NFL last season.
As a former offensive lineman, Poles has a good idea of what he’s looking for in offensive linemen, which includes running to the quarterback’s aid after he’s been laid out. Something that didn’t happen often enough last season.
“It agitates me to see a quarterback get hit and be on the ground — and I watch the five guys and their body language,” Poles said, via The Athletic.
“If I see my guy on the ground, I’m running over there, getting him up, making sure he’s clean, ready to go. I don’t know if I saw that enough in the tape that I watched, and that’s critical. And also to protect your guy. If you see something cheap, something dirty, you need to set the tone that that’s not gonna happen, because if you do let it happen once, it’s going to happen over and over and next thing you know, your quarterback is hurt. So that (nastiness) mentality is critical and is something we need to add.”
That’s good news for Teven Jenkins, who played in five games with two starts during an injury-shortened rookie season.
As many Bears fans will recall, Jenkins was the only offensive lineman that stuck his neck out for Fields, when he took a brutal hit out of bounds. Jenkins got in an opposing lineman’s face and was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after reacting to the lineman throwing a punch.
Teammate Germain Ifedi then proceeded to shove Jenkins and chastise him for simply defending his quarterback. Granted, there’s a time and place for it, which even Fields acknowledged. But Fields also said it was nice to see Jenkins stick up for him.
Well, at least Poles seems to be on Jenkins’ side.
