| 11 April 2010
Every Bears fan has things about their team that frustrates them and aspects of their players that make them love those players and stay fiercely loyal to them no matter how foolish it makes them look. There are players that are inspiring, and players that make you bury your head in your hands. Lastly there are players that are polarizing, perhaps none more so than former Bears quarterback Rex Grossman, with the mere mention of his name caused some of the most heated debate around.
So with that in mind new writer, Dave Melton wanted to tackle different players and aspects of each player th at he loves and hates. Naturally, Dave wanted to start out with the player that was the biggest catalyst of the 2009 season, Jay Cutler. Sorry Dave that's too easy, if you're going to earn your stripes (smile) you're getting a bit of a tougher challenge. I gave Mr. Melton (no relation to Henry) a player that was beloved by all in 2008, and became a bit of a catalyst in 2009 for his lack of production.
What I love about Matt Forte:
Big play ability – It didn’t take long for Bears’ fans to find a reason to fall in love with the 2nd round draft pick out of Tulane. Against the Colts in Forte’s NFL debut in 2008, a perfectly-executed inside trap left a gaping hole, Forte made one safety miss, then exploded past the rest of the Colts’ secondary into the end zone for a 50-yard TD. Since then, Forte has also broken off other long runs of 47, 53, and 61 in brief two-year career. For a comparison, Thomas Jones had three runs over 40 yards in his three years with the Bears, to Forte’s four 40+ carries. 
Hands – Forte also cemented himself as a great threat out of the backfield in that rookie season, catching 63 passes for 477 yards and eight touchdowns. He didn’t display as much big-play ability in this area, with his longest reception netting 19 yards, but he always seemed to make the first man miss in space. Seven of the 7.6 yards Forte averaged per reception came after contact. In that first season, Forte was also reliable with the football in his hands, with just one fumble on 379 touches.
Pass protection – After dealing with the inability of Cedric Benson to halt a defense’s blitz packages, seeing Forte step in the line of fire of oncoming defenders was a breath of fresh air. Early on, he seemed willing and able to contribute to pass blocking, adding to his reputation as a solid, well-rounded running back. There’s still room for Forte to grow in this area, but he performed well for a young running back in his first two seasons.
What I hate about Matt Forte:
The disappearance of nearly all these things in the 2009 season – The guy in the #22 jersey last season did not look like the Matt Forte that burst onto the scene in 2008. His big-play ability was non-existent, except for the two games against the woeful Lions. Take away those two games and his longest rush of 2009 was 16 yards. His rushing average took a hit as well. In games where Forte had at least 10 carries, he only averaged 4.0 yards three times, with two of those games against Detroit. I guess you have to give some credit for a good player exploiting a bad team, but it also shows that against the better teams in the league last year, Forte was containable.
Forte’s hands were also more unstable in 2009, fumbling five times after only doing so once in 2008. He only found the end zone four times compared to the 12 in the previous year.
Of course, the blame was not Forte’s alone. He certainly did not get a lot of help from his teammates on the offensive line, who struggled all season to create running lanes. But there was also something missing from Forte last season. It didn’t seem like he hit the holes quite as fast as he did in 2008. That first defender seemed to bring him to the turf a bit more than in his rookie campaign. Basically, Matt Forte didn’t look like the Matt Forte that we all adored after the first game of his NFL career against the Colts.
It should also be noted that Forte played through some injuries last season, which certainly could have explained the drop in performance. Combine an unhealthy running back with a subpar offensive line performance, and there’s a big reason for the atrocious 2009 Chicago Bears ground attack.
2010 Outlook: There are reasons for optimism for Forte. First, his body should be healthy after the off-season. Second, the addition of Chester Taylor to the Bears’ backfield should help take some of the workload off of Forte, keeping him fresh throughout the season. For a guy who touched the ball nearly 700 times in his first two seasons, having another back to spell him at times could help Forte maintain peak performance into November, December and (hopefully) January.
On the other side, though, there’s still a lot of uncertainty on the offensive line. There’s really no way to know how the group will perform in 2010 until they can get on the field together. A large reason for the success or failure of Forte’s 2010 season will come with his ability to digest the extensive playbook that will be used by new offensive coordinator Mike Martz.
Forte will also have to adjust to being the lone man in the backfield. For his first two years, Forte nearly always followed fullback Jason McKie into the line. With the arrival of Martz, McKie was released, since the fullback is seldom used in Martz’s offenses. The clips of Forte’s college career I was able to find indicated that he frequently followed a FB in college as well. Will the lack of a FB make a difference? We’ll find out pretty quick, won’t we?
If Forte can understand the new offense and find that combination of elusiveness and explosion that made him successful in 2008, there’s a chance that Forte can thrive in 2010 in Martz’s wide open offense. But without a line in front of him, that won’t make a difference.
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