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A thought on Forte


Connorbear

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Hear me out on this. Let's say Barber and Bell continue to shine and Taylor does a reversal...and Forte will not come to an agreement with the team. Do we consider trading Forte if we can get the right offer (I would say a 1st round pick)? I love Forte and would hate to see him leave but running backs are a dime a dozen. I remember when the Broncos had a different thousand yard rusher 4 years in a row.

 

Thoughts??

 

Peace :dabears

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Here me out on this. Let's say Barber and Bell continue to shine and Taylor does a reversal...and Forte will not come to an agreement with the team. Do we consider trading Forte if we can get the right offer (I would say a 1st round pick)? I love Forte and would hate to see him leave but running backs are a dime a dozen. I remember when the Broncos had a different thousand yard rusher 4 years in a row.

 

Thoughts??

 

Peace :dabears

 

 

Absolutely yes given the conditions that you describe.....Forte is a quality back but not irreplaceable and a 1st round pick would be very nice to have....

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No until someone else is utilizing the draft picks...

 

A bird in hand for JA is seriously worth about 4 in his bush.

 

But, your question does bear serious thought. I wonder if, given the same touches, would Taylor have had similar stats?

 

Here me out on this. Let's say Barber and Bell continue to shine and Taylor does a reversal...and Forte will not come to an agreement with the team. Do we consider trading Forte if we can get the right offer (I would say a 1st round pick)? I love Forte and would hate to see him leave but running backs are a dime a dozen. I remember when the Broncos had a different thousand yard rusher 4 years in a row.

 

Thoughts??

 

Peace :dabears

 

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I've never really thought of Forte as a Superstar RB. He doesn't have that elite level speed like a Chris Johnson or an Adrian Peterson who can take it to the house with just a little bit of space or one missed tackle. I think Matt has shown to be a reliable back. He will catch the ball out of the backfield 40-50 times a year, run for over 1,000 and carry the load every once in a while. But like I said, I don't see him ever reaching that 1,500+ yards rushing and 15+ TD barrier that gets you to an elite level. Therefore, if the Bears can't come to an agreement and some team in the lottery level range wants to offer a 1st round pick for him, I would have no problem trading him.

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I've never really thought of Forte as a Superstar RB. He doesn't have that elite level speed like a Chris Johnson or an Adrian Peterson who can take it to the house with just a little bit of space or one missed tackle. I think Matt has shown to be a reliable back. He will catch the ball out of the backfield 40-50 times a year, run for over 1,000 and carry the load every once in a while. But like I said, I don't see him ever reaching that 1,500+ yards rushing and 15+ TD barrier that gets you to an elite level. Therefore, if the Bears can't come to an agreement and some team in the lottery level range wants to offer a 1st round pick for him, I would have no problem trading him.

If Forte was running behind an above average offensive line in any of the last 3 years, what kind of numbers would he have put up?

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Guest TerraTor
Hear me out on this. Let's say Barber and Bell continue to shine and Taylor does a reversal...and Forte will not come to an agreement with the team. Do we consider trading Forte if we can get the right offer (I would say a 1st round pick)? I love Forte and would hate to see him leave but running backs are a dime a dozen. I remember when the Broncos had a different thousand yard rusher 4 years in a row.

 

Thoughts??

 

Peace :dabears

 

 

Absolutely the worst thing they could ever possibly do

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Guest TerraTor
He would be a Pro Bowl caliber player for sure. I'd probably put him on the same level as a Stephen Jackson. A great but not spectacular game changing RB.

 

This may sound dumb

 

Id take a Forte over a Peterson. With the quality of Defensive lineman I think you need a decent blocker and a pass catcher, and before last year a non-fumbler

 

And from another poster, behind a quality Oline, hed have MJD(hate him) numbers...

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This may sound dumb

 

Id take a Forte over a Peterson. With the quality of Defensive lineman I think you need a decent blocker and a pass catcher, and before last year a non-fumbler

 

And from another poster, behind a quality Oline, hed have MJD(hate him) numbers...

You said it - not me. ;)

 

Peace :dabears

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Guest TerraTor
The point of my post is that, for the most part, running backs have a very short lifespan in the NFL. Does anyone remember what happened to Shawn Alexander after he signed his big contract? He wore out and declined rapidly.

 

Peace :dabears

 

 

So the Queens should trade Peterson quick cuz hell be done soon?

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Guest TerraTor
The point of my post is that, for the most part, running backs have a very short lifespan in the NFL. Does anyone remember what happened to Shawn Alexander after he signed his big contract? He wore out and declined rapidly.

 

Peace :dabears

 

He was what> 31?

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Hear me out on this. Let's say Barber and Bell continue to shine and Taylor does a reversal...and Forte will not come to an agreement with the team. Do we consider trading Forte if we can get the right offer (I would say a 1st round pick)? I love Forte and would hate to see him leave but running backs are a dime a dozen. I remember when the Broncos had a different thousand yard rusher 4 years in a row.

 

Thoughts??

 

Peace :dabears

 

I almost hate it when you guys do this to me but again I find myself siding with Terra Tor. As odd as this sounds he makes some insightful and sensible observations.

 

Why would the team want to get rid of someone that has become as reliable and dependable as Forte? I don't care if he could garner a #1 (tip of the hat to Mad Lith on this one). You (CB) said it yourself that "running backs are a dime a dozen" and what team would be willing to give up a first knowing that? Getting back to Forte's reliability. Bears football is known for two things; Defense and running game. The Defense...set. Running game...set. I'm sure many here recall the painful days of Curtis Enis and Rashaan Salaam. Why would you want to tinker with that and hope that a relative unknown like Bell works out in the long term? Let alone for another possible "first round bust" in exchange for a player like Forte?

 

And pointing out the other area I highlighted, where has it been said that Forte may not "come to an agreement"? From what I've seen most of what is going on is based on good faith on Forte's behalf. He is hoping that a deal gets worked out...showed up for practice and for the Preseason. As far as I'm aware, nothing has been offered. Now if he was acting like Knox and "rumored" to be upset at his placement (adding Barber this year and Taylor last year probably put him on notice) then sure, I would think about it. And obviously from reports and his appearance, he has been working hard on his off time to become even better. I have read reports that he was duplicating some of Walter's workouts in running hills and what not. A guy like that needs to stay with the team, not play against it.

 

 

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Not gonna do it.

 

First, I disagree with your premise that Taylor might do a role reversal. I think he is what he is, a shifty back who has lost his shiftiness. Bell ran with passion, Barber too, and we need that.

 

Second, did you see our pass protection? Did you see our run blocking? At times the run blocking wasn't great but it did show up in significant ways on many plays. Even on screens. Point is, we must be able to run effectively this year and I think having 3 RBs who can do that is a necessity, Taylor isn't one of them. The running game is the only thing that will give this Oline some breathing room on pass protection. We have TEs who can run block too! I say we go large and run the ball.

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Second, did you see our pass protection? Did you see our run blocking? At times the run blocking wasn't great but it did show up in significant ways on many plays. Even on screens. Point is, we must be able to run effectively this year and I think having 3 RBs who can do that is a necessity, Taylor isn't one of them. The running game is the only thing that will give this Oline some breathing room on pass protection. We have TEs who can run block too! I say we go large and run the ball.

Our OL is calling for Shoop to come back. LOL! I would almost keep 4 backs this year, cause as it looks, running we be a priority.

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Exactly! I saw the game replay last night on NFL network, and the smell test provided some healthy scents coming from Barber and Bell... They ran hard and mean. We need that kind of change of pace from Forte more than what I've seen from Taylor last year. Taylor looks to be the man out unless something drastic happens. Even Unga ran mean.

 

Bell ran with passion, Barber too, and we need that.

 

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If Forte was running behind an above average offensive line in any of the last 3 years, what kind of numbers would he have put up?

 

Great question!

 

Thinking about the apparent speed increase last year, and the muscle he has added each year, I think he would have put up somewhere near the top 3 in the league every year.

 

Last year would have been somewhere around 1300yds rushing. I figure a 5 yd per game increase is pretty minimal, and the number of explosive plays (+40 yds) would have gone up by 4 or 5 for the year.

 

I honestly believe it's about 80% OL and 20% RB. You can put any NFL-ready RB behind the 1990s Dallas OL and figure in around 1500yds per year.

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Last year during games there were graphics showing that Forte was over 1/3 of the Bears offense. I can't bring myself to envision a reason to trade Forte for that reason alone. Given this unique lockout forged season you have to believe that Martz's is going to lean heavily on Forte in his offense.

The right and only thing to do is to give him a 3 year extension but tear up the last year of his rookie contract by giving him a big bump in salary this year. That way the shelf life question will only be for an additional 2 years beyond this season. I'm not sure Forte and his agent would go for that given the fact that DeAngelo Williams contract may be the target that they are shooting for. Once again the difference is that Forte has a contract and won't be unrestricted until after the season.

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One other note is the Bears have the upperhand here and can let Forte play out his contract and franchise him just like they did Briggs.

The Bears though really don't like using the franchise tag, with good reason. Wouldn't go over well with Forte, don't want that dragging on the whole season. That'll get done.

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The Bears though really don't like using the franchise tag, with good reason. Wouldn't go over well with Forte, don't want that dragging on the whole season. That'll get done.

I just was using that as a reference point. Even though the Bears don't like doing it they did use the transition tag a couple of times when that was available for teams and they have used the franchise tag on Briggs. I personally see something getting done along the lines of how they reupped Cutler.I believe the money will be similar to the guaranteed money that MJD got in a similar situation with Jax since he has the same agent as MJD.I still feel that if he intends on getting DeAngelo Williams money then he maybe in for a tough negotiation that may drag through the season.

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Another thing to consider and hopefully the team won't consider this. With the "prospect" of Bell doing well and belief he will stay good they could play hardball similar to what the Giants are doing with Umenyiora. While he (U) missed practice they had that second year player (can't remember his name but it was hyphenated) that played really well in the first preseason. Seeing that, Umenyiora found out he could become expendable. And thusly decided to play, or so it would seem. Again, I would hope the team wouldn't pull that on Forte but it could very much influence the negotiations. Which could sully things a bit.

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