Do The Bears Need To Limit Matt Forte's Playing Time?

by WCG on Sep 25, 2008 1:17 PM CDT Comment 14 comments

There have been some highlights that one could point to as far as the promise or potential of this team. The biggest has to be that of the play of our rookie running back Matt Forte.

Currently Forte is second in the NFL in yards from scrimmage with 409 yards (Frank Gore - 412). He also leads the league in attempts with 73. So the questions is do the Bears risk burning out Forte too early? At his current pace he will carry the ball 389 times and have about 1,700 yards. Last season Redskins back Clinton Portis led the league in carries at 325 and only 5 others had more than 300 carries.

So wouldn't it make sense for the Bears to start using Kevin Jones more and let Forte have few less carries per game? Kevin Jones has only had 17 attempts this year even though he is a starting caliber player.

This goes back to the theory we have had about players such as Mark Bradley and Garrett Wolfe, though a little different admittedly. We have Jones in house and know if healthy he can be a big play guy for us, but the coaching staff still seems against the idea of using him. So long as he is producing it seems it would be a benefit on a number fronts to use him. You get Forte a little extra rest leaving him fresher come the 4th quarter where we have had troubles holding a lead. It gets Jones more playing time to get used to the offense. It also makes it harder for opposing teams to get keyed in if you rotate personnel from time to time.

No running back in Bears history has ever carried the ball 389 times in one season, not even Walter Payton, the most durable runner in NFL history. Payton has the four busiest seasons in team history, carrying 381 times in 1984, 369 times in 1979 and 339 times in 1977 and 1981.

Other Bears News and Notes:

Wednesday's Injury Report

Mark Bradley made it through waivers with out being picked up. This makes him a unrestricted free agent and he is free to seek his fortunes anywhere.

In the first of many fines I am sure are to come, the NFL has fined LB Jamar Williams for taunting a Bucs player during last Sunday's game. Williams was hit with the 7,500 after standing over Dexter Jackson after a tackle on a kick off return in the first quarter. Williams is considering appealing.

The Bears still insist that they are operating a balanced pass game, but it looks like Kyle Orton and Brandon Lloyd have decided that Lloyd is the go to guy and the #1 receiver for the Bears. Lloyd has made some big time catches and in a few cases replay worth grabs. He has the speed and is finding ways to get open and Orton is looking for him. Orton is going to need to trust he is open with the monster pass rush the Eagles will be bringing this Sunday.

Can the Bears use the same plan that the Bucs did to keep QB Brian Griese sack free, to protect Kyle Orton against the Eagles?

Poll

Do the Bears need to worry about Matt Forte and use other backs to keep him fresh?

Yes, if the Bears are going to be serious contenders Forte needs to be fresh

132 votes

No, you ride the horse that brought you, if he isn't injured he needs to get the ball

24 votes

Forte is young and can handle it, but the Bears still need to use Kevin Jones

136 votes

292 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 14 comments |

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Comments

I need another voting choice.

“The Bears aren’t going to be contenders, but they owe it to the player (he is a person, too, goddamnit) and to the future of the franchise to not run him into the ground in a meaningless rookie season.”

Not only would he carry the ball more times than any Bears player in history, he’d have the most carries of any rookie since….

2007 – Lynch – 280 carries – missed 3 games
2006 – Addai – 226 carries – missed 0 games
2005 – Cadillac Williams – 290 – missed 2 games
2004 – Kevin Jones – 241 – missed 1 game
2003 – Dominick Williams – 238 – missed 2 games
2002 – Portis – 273 – missed 0 games
2001 – Tomlinson – 339 – missed 0 games (A-Train – 278 – missed 2 games)
2000 – Lewis – 309 – missed 0 games
1999 – Edge – 369 – missed 0 games

Here’s the link.

So, yeah, unless the Bears are fine w/ Forte missing 2-3 games this year, or they think he’s Tomlinson or Edgerrin James, or if they think he has the build of Jamal Lewis, they definitely need to slow him down.

Anything over 17 carries per game is too much.

by tyger1147 on Sep 25, 2008 1:59 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I got your 4th choice right here!

But seriously I get your point. The Bears may not be contenders now, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be later. It would suck to be ready to go for it and have a back who is half broken down.

Being Who You Thought We Were Since 2005!

by WCG on Sep 25, 2008 2:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Since Jones and Forte are actually similar runners

It would make sense to spell Forte a little more often than they have the past 2 games.

Jones is a cutback runner… and can also catch that screen. Forte seems to be little more dynamic in that they can split him out of the backfield and send him downfield on a route.

I'm not going to even bother trying to update this sig everyday anymore... that's what the standings column on ESPN is for.
Updated on May 25, 2008

by SackMan on Sep 25, 2008 4:33 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Its bigger than Forte though...

… Angelo has ALOT of explaining to do right now, in particular, his draft selections. His “ice” HAS to be getting mighty thin at Halas Hall and ANY good PR about some of his personnel decisions is better than what he has been getting.

He needs for this class and last year’s class to produce immediately and in BIG way. 2005 has gone down is BY FAR one of the worst drafts by a team since the draft was trimmed to 7 rounds, he has a 1st round pick that MANY have noted there was a pre-existing condition, and he has yet to outproduce Dick Jauron in personnel improvements (check for yourself; start with QB). Thus far Devin hester and Matt Forte have stood out (although Hester at receiver seems to be a “bust in the making” and I think it would be FAR MORE beneficial to use him sparingly as a WR and allow him to excel at return man).

After 3 weeks of football, Forte is a front-runner for ROY honors. That would carry some weight at Halas Hall, right?

Besides… once the playoff picture becomes a LITTLE clearer (first to 9 games wins the NFC North), the Bears will call off the “Forte barrage” and come up with some nagging injury for the rookie that wil put Jones back in the picture.

by ChicagoMarine on Sep 25, 2008 2:08 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

We are carrying 4 RBs

Why not use them? Wolfe can be good in situational plays and works well when given space, AP is a ST ace first but can do well running and then lastly their is Jones who has showed flashes, give him more first half carries and just more overall and the team will be better off.

Fire Ron Turner!!!
Fire Angelo!!

by GallopingGhost on Sep 25, 2008 2:16 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Limit his carries

Backs that have a lot of carries (remember Jamal Anderson!) typically don’t follow through very well the following season. Spell him more with KJ.

"I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany." - Ron Burgundy

by mdmnd9294 on Sep 25, 2008 4:18 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I like

to see him out there if he is healthy. Jones comes in a few different series per game, but I wouldn’t go deeper than that unless it’s for a play or two.

by Twins Territory on Sep 25, 2008 5:37 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Lovie/Turner

These two dumbasses should not be coaching anything but a meaningless pee-wee footbal game. Look around the NFL with all the tandum running backs and their success. Two backs in ROTATION will keep the defense guessing and keep fresh legs in the WHOLE game; maybe we can finish. We have two great tightends as well and can’t find a way to utilze them. The problem is that our offense does not have any character and defenses know what we are going to do because of the players we have in the game.(refer to carolina game). Bottom line is that Turner calls the plays and somehow Lovie is okay with the playcalling, which baffles me. That’s why I put blame on Lovie as well. I have seen hogh school footbal teams with more character and productivity than the Bears offense. Holy shit, how long do I have to wait to buy an offensive team jersey? I get it, our defense is good to great, but our offense sucks which equals maybe playoffs if things fall our way. Can we just get a coach with some balls and expression to fire up our offense? I mean seriously, I now if I was a head coach and we just lost two close game because of mismanagement(Lovie holding a timeout in Bucs final drive and not resting our D/Fing idiot) I would be pissed. Every time Lovie speaks it’s as tough he has no care in the world about anything, he is always so blank. Get a clue!! Better yet, get a new job and take all your friends, I mean other coaches, with you!!!!

by stumpo on Sep 25, 2008 5:42 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

jeez

tell us how you really feel.

i mean forte is right now our best player on the offense. lets be honest here: he’s our best runner, he’s one of our best recievers and i have seen only a couple plays where he might not have picked up the right blitzer. with that said as stagnant as our offense has been and with ortons one dimensional passing game, there really isnt a good time to pull him out of the game.

i think by week 10 most fans will equate fortes value to the offense to that of hesters value to the return game….ie essential for that phase to function.

where i disgree with you is the expression and balls part. i dont see anything wrong with a team wanting to run the football and win with defense. the problem i have is that ortons one dimensional arm is prohibiting this team from breaking any runs late in the game. the other problem i have is that veteran defensive playmakers dropping balls in the clutch-briggs and vasher and hillenmeyer getting beat routinely.

by rahulsriram on Sep 25, 2008 8:10 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Honestly, though, who really cares about this year?

The Bears will not make the playoffs this year. They might make it next year if they have a fresh and healthy Forte. They might be in contention the following year if they find a decent QB in the draft and start grooming him. And if they pull that QB out of his ass, three seasons from this one, they might be legitimate contenders for the Super Bowl. Let’s not put too much mileage on the kid yet.

Regardless, there’s no reason in hurting the kid in a year where making the playoffs are very unlikely.

by tyger1147 on Sep 26, 2008 8:55 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I actually think that I have seen enough out of Forte to say with some certainty

That if we had a better o-line Forte could be a similar threat to the Vikes AP. I think he is that good.

Fire Ron Turner!!!
Fire Angelo!!

by GallopingGhost on Sep 26, 2008 12:00 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

If we had a real O-line...

We’d be a real friggin contender.

I don’t know how they could neglect the line THAT bad. No excuses for it. Horrible.

I'm not going to even bother trying to update this sig everyday anymore... that's what the standings column on ESPN is for.
Updated on May 25, 2008

by SackMan on Sep 26, 2008 12:41 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I disagree.

Maybe overall, but not in the ground game. he’s not near as fast. He’d never come close to breaking the single-game rushing record.

I’m thinking an LT-lite type of back isn’t out of the question, though—based on absolutely presumptive looks of only three games. Or maybe a more run-oriented Brian Westbrook.

by tyger1147 on Sep 26, 2008 9:04 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs