When Bears GM Ryan Poles did his due diligence on defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, one thing he heard over and over besides the ridiculous athletic ability was high-intensity leadership and character.

He even saw some of this himself during the joint practice the Bears held in Nashville in August.

"When your phone blows up and you have coaches and players, people that have been with him that talk about what he means to a football team and to the culture, you know exactly what he's going to do," Poles said. "And we felt that a little bit in joint practice as well."

GMs and coaches will all talk about character and leadership, and many of the players Poles brought to Chicago in free agency or by trade have been touted for similar reasons.

It seems now, however, they have added someone who holds people accountable, even those who were acquired to hold people accountable. Simmons hasn't been someone who trifles with this concept of leadership, and even said something along those lines to defensive leaders Grady Jarrett and Montez Sweat.

"Like I told Grady today, like, if I'm getting that slide (by interior blockers), I expect you to go win," Simmons said. "And that's pretty much what it is. Same with Montez. I'm like, if the tackles could hang on me and you can't get off the ball and go get a free sack, there's something wrong.

"And that's just a Thursday conversation that I'm having with these guys."

Not bad for openers

Some might call that an eye-opener, as openers go. Simmons did make it clear he wasn't saying those two were slacking, but was using his comments in the discussion as an example and would expect others to say this of him if they saw him not getting it done.

Certainly Simmons has been double-teamed. According to Pro Football Focus, he was double-teamed the 16th highest percentage of plays (66.67%) last season. He knows how to fight through it, though, because he ranked first in PFF pass rush grade, in total sacks and for pass rush win rate among defensive tackles. This year he is third in pressures (24) and sacks (20) and first in defensive stops (20).

Simmons doesn't need to be reminded what he must do for the team. It's planted on him to the tune of what the Bears gave up to get him.

“The trade told me everything I needed to know, especially the value — from giving away two first round picks," Sweat said. "I could also look on the other side of that and be like, ‘Man, I just got traded.’ But I could also look on the bright side of things: This team believes in what they have here, and they want it right now.

"My game, my passion, my energy, my leadership, I can only help this team even more than what it's got. This is a great locker room from quarterback all the way down, so my job is to come in here and be nothing more than myself, and I'm excited to be able to help this team compete for a championship, and that's every team’s goal in the NFL. I think right now, with the way this team has been competing, I've been watching these guys from afar. It's a great team, great locker room, and I'm excited to do my part to help this team get to its goal.”

He's there to do his part, and it would appear to make sure everyone does theirs. Every team can use this honesty.