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Poles discusses defense's growth, Fields' Week 12 finish

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General manager Ryan Poles spoke with Jeff Joniak Sunday on the Bears pregame radio show on ESPN 1000 AM and 100.3 HD2 FM.

Coming off a Monday Night Football victory in Minnesota followed by the bye week, Poles is seeing a confident Bears team as they prepare for the final five games of the regular season.

Poles said he "likes where this team's at," expressing his excitement in a developing defense that has generated eight takeaways in the past two games.

"You look at the defensive side of the ball, they're playing out of their mind," Poles said. "It's almost like the defense is starting to grow some teeth now. They play with attitude. They expect to turn the ball over, expect to get pressure. I'm really happy with the direction that's going."

As for the offense, Poles is looking for more opportunities to get in the end zone, but is happy the unit is "doing what it takes to win," starting with quarterback Justin Fields.

"Loved seeing Justin finish in a game," Poles said. "I know he wishes he didn't fumble the ball, but to see him execute, get the ball in a position to kick a field goal to win a game, was really good growth. Now we just gotta see consistency on the offensive side — more explosive plays, more scoring touchdowns and finishing drives, especially of off turnovers.

"So I like where we're at. You can tell just from practice, guys feel good coming off the bye week. They've got bounce to their stuff, we're very healthy. Exciting times for us."

Listen to the full interview below.

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