Silvy: Is Ryan Poles right person to fix Bears? The jury remains out

King Poles, he is not.

That was the nickname many Bears fans gave general manager Ryan Poles soon after making a few moves. He also isn’t the Halas Hall jester, either.

There are two kinds of Chicago sports fans:

The kind that is willing to fall in love quickly and anoint our guys immediately to mend their broken heart.

And the kind that will never acknowledge anything good because their sports hopes and dreams have been shattered so many times. While this is understandable, the skepticism makes this type of fan quite unlovable themselves.

Allow Dr. Silvy to mediate and help find common ground in one of the more complex debates going in Chicago sports.

Has Poles been successful in his short Bears run? In this hot-take world, it’s a question almost impossible to answer definitively.

My best answer: We need more time, as does Poles.

This past week is the perfect microcosm of the scrutiny Poles faces. His team was winless on the season and faced a franchise-record 14-game losing streak. I already have his first coaching hire as a bust.

And his first trade? Chase Claypool was booted from the building, and the Bears’ offense looked much more fluid without him.

Claypool is the Bitcoin of the NFL. He went from being a wide receiver solution worth the 32nd overall draft pick to a throw-away trade to the Dolphins in less than a year.

Poles spent that 32nd pick for a grand total of 18 catches, 191 yards, and ZERO wins. It will go down in history as one of the worst trades for the Bears.

Yet, in the same week, the trade Poles made with Carolina could turn out to be the best in franchise history. DJ Moore is by far the best player on the Bears and one of the most underrated players in the NFL. He’s every bit as good as Bills receiver Stefon Diggs. And as of now, the Panthers’ pick, which belongs to the Bears, is in line to be the first overall in one of the great QB drafts in recent memory, and could set up the Bears for years.

Poles can choose Caleb Williams or Drake Maye and trade Justin Fields for more picks, AND use his own first-rounder to build the roster. Or he can keep Fields, trade the first overall pick for a king’s ransom (King Poles, anyone?), and keep the roster construction going with a boat load of picks.

All this for passing on Bryce Young last year and trading down to nine.

But wait, there’s more.

Another tentacle of that move is passing on Jalen Carter and handing him to the Philadelphia Eagles.

It’s easy to second guess the decision now, while Carter is surrounded by a locker room full of leaders, on a team built to win now, with a general manager who already won a ring and was fresh off a Super Bowl appearance, let’s remember the decision Poles was facing in April. After Carter left the combine abruptly when police in Georgia filed his arrest warrant, Carter vowed to make things right.

Instead, he gained weight, wasn’t in shape and couldn’t finish basic drills during his Georgia pro day because of exhaustion. This is against the backdrop that some of his Bulldogs coaches wouldn’t vouch for him as a player and person. Would you draft this player at the time on a rebuilding team with your first-ever first-round pick? I’m not going to crush Poles for this decision and also knowing that Darnell Wright has gotten some rave reviews himself. Poles’ process made sense, and he ended up with a talented player. That doesn’t always happen.

In 1998, the Bears also had questions about a hugely talented player with some character concerns at the fifth overall pick. Mark Hatley brought this player to town for a visit and to have breakfast with his childhood hero, Walter Payton. The player overslept and missed the breakfast. With all the questions the Bears already had, it was enough for Hatley to pass on the player and instead he drafted Curtis Enis. The player who overslept? Randy Moss. The Bears had valid concerns, and Moss gave them no reason to think he would take the NFL seriously when he couldn’t even show up to a breakfast with his football idle. It’s one thing to miss on Moss, it’s another to whiff with Enis. Poles did not whiff with Wright.

It’s not perfect, Bears fans, and there’s plenty to be concerned about, but Dr. Silvy wants you to breathe.

While it’s still story time, I must remind you that when Theo Epstein first took over the Cubs, he thought it was a good idea to:

• Hire Dale Svuem as his first manager.
• Trade future batting champ D.J. LeMahieu for bust Ian Stewart (similar to the Claypool deal).
• Sign Edwin Jackson to a deal worth $52 million. Jackson went 16-34 with a 5.37 ERA.

The point is, it’s hard to get a rebuild off the ground, even for a hall-of-fame executive like Epstein, so an inexperienced GM like Poles needs more time too.

But I also hear you skeptical fans, Poles still hasn’t:

• Found true building blocks to rush the passer.
• Addressed the center position.
• Realized that Velus Jones is a bust and moved on much like he did with Claypool.

Poles has drafted some nice players ones like Jaquan Brisker, Kyler Gordon, Braxton Jones, Tyrique Stevenson and Roschon Johnson. He also scouted the undrafted market with Bagent and Sanborn. But, Poles needs to find some truly great players to build around.

I make a living forming opinions. I’m not shy.

I’d like a new Bears head coach. Give me Ben Johnson or Jim Harbaugh.

If the Bears end up with the No. 1 overall pick, I’m pretty certain you must draft Caleb Williams.

My opinion on Poles? I still have no clue.

Dr. Silvy prescribes more time.

• Marc Silverman shares his opinions on the Bears weekly for Shaw Local. Tune in and listen to the “Waddle & Silvy” show weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m. on ESPN 1000.