Pick 44: RB Matt Forte
Moderator: chitownsports4ever
Pick 44: RB Matt Forte
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- dougthonus
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Can't say I'm too enamored with this pick. We'll see how it goes though.
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If we can solidify our OL a little more on day 2 Forte and Benson will be a good combo. Plus giving Benson some competition isn't a bad idea. Forte is our type of RB, he's going to surprise a lot of people.
I wanted him in round 3 or 4, round 2 was a little early. There were WR galore available, but Chi has never been a WR town, and I really believe Olsen is going to be a bigger part of our offense and the WR position will be null. Our best years we've had our WR catching 50 or so passes, and our RB have done the work.
If Forte and Benson can pull off 2000-2500 yards, we'll be alright. We need a legit 1-2 tandem to waste some clock and AP and Benson were not going to give that for us.
We need a OG, left side, then some WR and S help in day 2, we'll be fine.
There had to be a reason to pass on those WR (Kelly, Sweed, etc).
I wanted him in round 3 or 4, round 2 was a little early. There were WR galore available, but Chi has never been a WR town, and I really believe Olsen is going to be a bigger part of our offense and the WR position will be null. Our best years we've had our WR catching 50 or so passes, and our RB have done the work.
If Forte and Benson can pull off 2000-2500 yards, we'll be alright. We need a legit 1-2 tandem to waste some clock and AP and Benson were not going to give that for us.
We need a OG, left side, then some WR and S help in day 2, we'll be fine.
There had to be a reason to pass on those WR (Kelly, Sweed, etc).
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Forte is a between the tackles guy, loves to run hard. Think of Edge James when he was running hard. He always fell forward for another yard or two, thats what this guy can bring.
Chicago will love him for that. Lunchpail guy through and through. He's a solid workhorse.
Those are his combine stats. Now pair that with a 6'2'', 220 body, and he's made for the Chicago running game.
Chicago will love him for that. Lunchpail guy through and through. He's a solid workhorse.
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NFL Combine Results
40-Yard Dash 4.46
Bench press 23
Vertical jump 33
20-yard shuttle 4.23
60-yard shuttle 11.49
Those are his combine stats. Now pair that with a 6'2'', 220 body, and he's made for the Chicago running game.
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If Forte and Benson can pull off 2000-2500 yards, we'll be alright. We need a legit 1-2 tandem to waste some clock and AP and Benson were not going to give that for us.

If I win the 100 million in the lottery, then I'll be rich.
Only 7 teams rushed for over 200 yards.
Only 2 teams rushed over 2200 yards.
Yes, if we could get 2000+ yards out of those 2 we'd be fine, but there's absolutely no reason to expect that will happen.
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Heh.
Ask Saints fans about Matt...
http://www.saintsreport.com/forums/show ... hp?t=68550
Anyway he's fast,but doesn't quite have break away speed,has great vision,will break tackles,can catch the ball.
He's a prototypical Bears RB.Except this time I have a strong hunch that he won't turn out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing like Benson was.
Ask Saints fans about Matt...
http://www.saintsreport.com/forums/show ... hp?t=68550
Anyway he's fast,but doesn't quite have break away speed,has great vision,will break tackles,can catch the ball.
He's a prototypical Bears RB.Except this time I have a strong hunch that he won't turn out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing like Benson was.
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- dougthonus
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He's a prototypical Bears RB.Except this time I have a strong hunch that he won't turn out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing like Benson was.
Hopefully he's a wolf in sheeps clothing. Benson was a sheep in wolves' clothing.
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In comparison, here are more numbers...
Mendenhall
5'11'' 220
Stewart
5'11'' 230
Felix Jones
6 ft. 205
Chris Johnson
5'11'' 195
*Johnson had the fastest time in Combine history!
Besides giving you solid rushing numbers he can also give you some catches in the backfield. Think Brandon Jacobs like, but not as big.
Mendenhall
5'11'' 220
Code: Select all
NFL Combine Results
40-Yard Dash 4.45
Bench press 26
Vertical jump 33
20-yard shuttle 4.18
Stewart
5'11'' 230
Code: Select all
NFL Combine Results
40-Yard Dash 4.48
Bench press 28
Vertical jump 36
Broad jump 10.80
Felix Jones
6 ft. 205
Code: Select all
NFL Combine Results
40-Yard Dash 4.47
Bench press 8
Vertical jump 33
Broad jump 10.40
20-yard shuttle 4.19
Chris Johnson
5'11'' 195
Code: Select all
NFL Combine Results
40-Yard Dash 4.24
Vertical jump 35
Broad jump 10.10
*Johnson had the fastest time in Combine history!
Besides giving you solid rushing numbers he can also give you some catches in the backfield. Think Brandon Jacobs like, but not as big.
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Stat Overview Rushing Receiving Fumbles
YEAR ATT YDS AVG LNG TD REC YDS AVG LNG TD FUM LST
2004 140 624 4.5 48 4 20 180 9.0 47 2 0 0
2005 169 655 3.9 26 4 23 163 7.1 24 1 0 0
2006 163 859 5.3 64 8 28 360 12.9 49 2 0 0
2007 361 2127 5.9 77 23 32 282 8.8 28 0
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BULL even PAX wrote:We'll be a team that rushes for over 2000 yards. period.
Doubtful of that,but I do have no doubt in mind that Cedric Benson won't be the starter by the end of the season.
But you know the best stat about Matt Forte.
In 4 years at Tulane University,had 0 fumbles.
Also wasn't running behind a world beater of an offensive line.
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With the Bears using their second round pick on a RB, and not making big moves for a WR, after letting their top WR go in FA, I'm convinced Lovie's words of "The Chicago Bears are a running team" will come to fruition.
If we had gone QB or WR in the second, then we'd be looking at lots of attempts for Rex or Kyle, but I think this organization has learned how they will succeed. Running the football. It worked with a rookie QB when Orton was a rookie, and it worked when TJ actually had a line to block for him.
Afte the line lost a step, and guys started to get injured we had no blocking for our running backs. Giving Benson some competition, and getting a legit RB in the second round will revilitize our running game.
There should be no reason Rex gets the same amount of attempts he has gotten, we need to target the TE more and let our running game take over.
Of course this only happens if we shore up our OL tommorrow.
If we had gone QB or WR in the second, then we'd be looking at lots of attempts for Rex or Kyle, but I think this organization has learned how they will succeed. Running the football. It worked with a rookie QB when Orton was a rookie, and it worked when TJ actually had a line to block for him.
Afte the line lost a step, and guys started to get injured we had no blocking for our running backs. Giving Benson some competition, and getting a legit RB in the second round will revilitize our running game.
There should be no reason Rex gets the same amount of attempts he has gotten, we need to target the TE more and let our running game take over.
Of course this only happens if we shore up our OL tommorrow.
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dougthonus wrote:If Forte and Benson can pull off 2000-2500 yards, we'll be alright. We need a legit 1-2 tandem to waste some clock and AP and Benson were not going to give that for us.
If I win the 100 million in the lottery, then I'll be rich.
Only 7 teams rushed for over 200 yards.
Only 2 teams rushed over 2200 yards.
Yes, if we could get 2000+ yards out of those 2 we'd be fine, but there's absolutely no reason to expect that will happen.
I never said all rushing.
Gimme some of that production in catches out of the backfield and we'll have our Chicago Bear offense back. I hated how many times we passed last year, and how sparingly we used our TE's.
We're going back to Chicago Bear football. RB and TE, so its not surprising to see 2000-2500 yards of production from our RBs in rushing and passing.