Poles characterizes importance of the Senior Bowl originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Ryan Poles met with the media in Mobile, Ala. to discuss the importance of the team's presence at this year's Senior Bowl.
"It's real valuable for us," Poles said to ChicagoBears.com. "You can't get around the country to see everyone throughout the fall, so being able to get up close and see how they move, see how they lead, communicate, those are all big pieces of the puzzle that we've got to answer.
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"The other thing, too, is seeing specific matchups. You get the opportunity to see someone who might have gone to a small school go against a power five school [prospect], and that's important for our evaluation as well."
Much of the organization is at the Senior Bowl to get an up-and-close look at the incoming prospects for the NFL draft. Along with Poles, head coach Matt Eberflus is there, and Luke Getsy, who is coaching the American team Saturday.
According to the story, linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi and assistant tight ends coach Tim Zetts are also in attendance to assist Getsy with coaching the team. The Bears' assistant special teams coordinator, Carlos Polk, is working as a special teams coordinator for the National squad.
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This year's bowl marks the first year each team isn't coached by a full NFL staff from the same organization. A new protocol allows coordinators and assistant coaches to step into larger roles for professional development.
"Whenever you're in a leadership position on this large of a scale, when you have that volume of players, I think it's really important," Poles said. "It's going to be really big for his [Getsy] development."
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The Senior Bowl has brought recent draft success to the Bears, by way of Velus Jones Jr. – who was in attendance for one of the practices – Braxton Jones, Dominique Robinson and Ja'Tyre Carter last season.
"It had a big impact," Poles said. "Again, when you're trying to close a loop on some of the information that you gathered in the fall, that helps you feel more confident about making the selection. The other thing is just seeing them move around. I remember Velus moving around. You could see the speed up close and personal against some competition from all over the country. So that had a big part."
