Matt Forte - Downgrade next season ? (1 Viewer)

[Chachi]

Bears GM Jerry Angelo plans to lessen the workload of RB Matt Forte.

"When you look around the league, everybody is implementing a dual running back system," Angelo said. "Your number one usually touches the ball around 20 times. The other back gets 10 to 12 to 15 touches. That's a good balance ... I'm confident we'll get back to that." No running back accounted for a higher percentage of his team's offense than Forte in 2008, but expect that to change next season.

Source: Chicago Tribune

No clue who is going to get those other carries.

ETA to add ? mark in title.

 

[Burning Sensation]

This may not be so bad for Forte. He will still get the goaline and 3rd down work. Another decent RB to use between the 20's might lengthen Fortes career, not to mention keep him fresher/healthier over the season.

 

[Michael Fox Fan]

This may not be so bad for Forte. He will still get the goaline and 3rd down work. Another decent RB to use between the 20's might lengthen Fortes career, not to mention keep him fresher/healthier over the season.

With a RB who isn't very talented, the last thing I want to see is RBBC. This isn't great news for Forte, if it comes to fruition.

 

[Burning Sensation]

This may not be so bad for Forte. He will still get the goaline and 3rd down work. Another decent RB to use between the 20's might lengthen Fortes career, not to mention keep him fresher/healthier over the season.

With a RB who isn't very talented, the last thing I want to see is RBBC. This isn't great news for Forte, if it comes to fruition.

Are you talkng about Forte, or a RB they might bring in?

 

[corpcow]

This may not be so bad for Forte. He will still get the goaline and 3rd down work. Another decent RB to use between the 20's might lengthen Fortes career, not to mention keep him fresher/healthier over the season.

With a RB who isn't very talented, the last thing I want to see is RBBC. This isn't great news for Forte, if it comes to fruition.

Are you talkng about Forte, or a RB they might bring in?

I think he's talking about Forte, since he he said it's not great news for him The question about Forte is talent vs. opportunity. There's no denying he put up great numbers this year, but the question is how much of that was because of his ability to be special vs. getting the bulk of the carries in a surprisingly good offense.

One thing in Forte's favor is that he showed remarkable hands and route running ability. He's an EXCELLENT receiver out of the backfield and even when he split wide, so that should keep him on the field on 3rd downs, etc.

 

[Burning Sensation]

This may not be so bad for Forte. He will still get the goaline and 3rd down work. Another decent RB to use between the 20's might lengthen Fortes career, not to mention keep him fresher/healthier over the season.

With a RB who isn't very talented, the last thing I want to see is RBBC. This isn't great news for Forte, if it comes to fruition.

Are you talkng about Forte, or a RB they might bring in?

I think he's talking about Forte, since he he said it's not great news for him The question about Forte is talent vs. opportunity. There's no denying he put up great numbers this year, but the question is how much of that was because of his ability to be special vs. getting the bulk of the carries in a surprisingly good offense.

One thing in Forte's favor is that he showed remarkable hands and route running ability. He's an EXCELLENT receiver out of the backfield and even when he split wide, so that should keep him on the field on 3rd downs, etc.

I thought he was talking about Forte, but the not very talented comment threw me off. How anyone thinks that Forte benefited from a good offense is insane. An average Oline, Kyle Orton, and a bunch of crap at WR. Forte WAS that offense, and just because the guy doesnt run a 4.3 forty, or was not a first round pick does not mean he isnt talented.

 

[ajopiela]

Hey, it's a two back league.

As long as Forte (For Example) is still the "guy" they would give the ball to if they needed 4 yards......I would take this news with a grain of salt.

 

[corpcow]

I thought he was talking about Forte, but the not very talented comment threw me off. How anyone thinks that Forte benefited from a good offense is insane. An average Oline, Kyle Orton, and a bunch of crap at WR. Forte WAS that offense, and just because the guy doesnt run a 4.3 forty, or was not a first round pick does not mean he isnt talented.

I think he was talking about talent relatively, not absolutely. He was still an early pick, so you know he is a good RB... but the point was his finish this year (RB4 in many leagues) was more because of his opportunity than raw talent. He benefited from an effective offense that had very few real playmakers around him. He was the focus of the offense.He had was 4th in the league in rushing attemps (316) and was one of the only top 10 RBs who averaged less than 4 YPC (3.9 YPC). Turner had 4.5, ADP had 4.85, Portis had 4.3, DeAngelo had 5.5, TJones was 4.5, Slaton was 4.8, Chris Johnson was 4.9). His numbers were also helped because he led all RBs with 63 catches at 7.5 YPC (good, but nothing spectacular). He only broke 100 yards 3 times all season, and that was against Detroit, the Rams, and Indy. No RB touched the ball more this year, and his top 5 finish may have more been a matter of circumstance and opportunity than anything else. If he only gets 250 carries next year, you're talking about a guy that isn't even going to break 1k rushing yards at that rate. Yes, he gets some credit for holding up under the weight of that load. (Then again, he averaged just 3.3 YPC over the last 4 games of the season). And yes, if he had a better offensive line and better receivers his YPC may go up somewhat... but how much? It all comes back to this: if his numbers come from having the bulk of the offense run through him because he's the most talented player on that offense, and they bring in additional guys to share the load, then his numbers are likely going to suffer.

 

[The Man with the Plan]

Since when does Jerry Angelo call plays? He can say whatever he wants but it doesn't really matter.

 

[Michael Fox Fan]

This may not be so bad for Forte. He will still get the goaline and 3rd down work. Another decent RB to use between the 20's might lengthen Fortes career, not to mention keep him fresher/healthier over the season.

With a RB who isn't very talented, the last thing I want to see is RBBC. This isn't great news for Forte, if it comes to fruition.

Are you talkng about Forte, or a RB they might bring in?

I think he's talking about Forte, since he he said it's not great news for him The question about Forte is talent vs. opportunity. There's no denying he put up great numbers this year, but the question is how much of that was because of his ability to be special vs. getting the bulk of the carries in a surprisingly good offense.

One thing in Forte's favor is that he showed remarkable hands and route running ability. He's an EXCELLENT receiver out of the backfield and even when he split wide, so that should keep him on the field on 3rd downs, etc.

I thought he was talking about Forte, but the not very talented comment threw me off. How anyone thinks that Forte benefited from a good offense is insane. An average Oline, Kyle Orton, and a bunch of crap at WR. Forte WAS that offense, and just because the guy doesnt run a 4.3 forty, or was not a first round pick does not mean he isnt talented.

I don't think he's a great talent. His fantasy performance was more the result of a large number of touches. I never said that Forte benefited from a good offense. For some reason you inserted that logic into my comment. The Bears fed him the ball over and over and over...that was his greatest source of value.

He will still be a top-15 RB (most likely), but if Angelo really brings in a back to get 30-40% of touches, Forte's value drops.

 

[Anthony Borbely]

I believe Forte was a good player with an exceptionally good situation and if I owned him, I would be selling high. I don't think he has a whole lot of upside.

 

[-OZ-]

I believe Forte was a good player with an exceptionally good situation and if I owned him, I would be selling high. I don't think he has a whole lot of upside.

He;s already shown his upside, but I think this is one of those times you trade the better performing rookie for a more talented, underperforming rookie if you get the chance. If I had Forte, I'd strongly consider dealing him for McFadden or Stewart.

 

[corpcow]

I believe Forte was a good player with an exceptionally good situation and if I owned him, I would be selling high. I don't think he has a whole lot of upside.

Indeed. Someone in my league just traded Marshall (who is signed very cheap in this cap league), 1.08 and a 2010 3rd for Forte and a 2010 2nd.

 

[corpcow]

I don't think he's a great talent. His fantasy performance was more the result of a large number of touches.

I never said that Forte benefited from a good offense. For some reason you inserted that logic into my comment. The Bears fed him the ball over and over and over...that was his greatest source of value.

He will still be a top-15 RB (most likely), but if Angelo really brings in a back to get 30-40% of touches, Forte's value drops.

Yep, that was exactly my point. Btw, on the benefiting from a good offense point, I think he was reading too much into my post. I said "There's no denying he put up great numbers this year, but the question is how much of that was because of his ability to be special vs. getting the bulk of the carries in a surprisingly good offense."

 

[gianmarco]

I thought he was talking about Forte, but the not very talented comment threw me off. How anyone thinks that Forte benefited from a good offense is insane. An average Oline, Kyle Orton, and a bunch of crap at WR. Forte WAS that offense, and just because the guy doesnt run a 4.3 forty, or was not a first round pick does not mean he isnt talented.

I think he was talking about talent relatively, not absolutely. He was still an early pick, so you know he is a good RB... but the point was his finish this year (RB4 in many leagues) was more because of his opportunity than raw talent. He benefited from an effective offense that had very few real playmakers around him. He was the focus of the offense.He had was 4th in the league in rushing attemps (316) and was one of the only top 10 RBs who averaged less than 4 YPC (3.9 YPC). Turner had 4.5, ADP had 4.85, Portis had 4.3, DeAngelo had 5.5, TJones was 4.5, Slaton was 4.8, Chris Johnson was 4.9). His numbers were also helped because he led all RBs with 63 catches at 7.5 YPC (good, but nothing spectacular). He only broke 100 yards 3 times all season, and that was against Detroit, the Rams, and Indy. No RB touched the ball more this year, and his top 5 finish may have more been a matter of circumstance and opportunity than anything else. If he only gets 250 carries next year, you're talking about a guy that isn't even going to break 1k rushing yards at that rate. Yes, he gets some credit for holding up under the weight of that load. (Then again, he averaged just 3.3 YPC over the last 4 games of the season). And yes, if he had a better offensive line and better receivers his YPC may go up somewhat... but how much? It all comes back to this: if his numbers come from having the bulk of the offense run through him because he's the most talented player on that offense, and they bring in additional guys to share the load, then his numbers are likely going to suffer.

Great post. He's M. Lynch part II. A rookie that everyone went gaga over because of the 1st year #'s despite the fact that the actual #'s themselves were as a result of a large # of carries/touches and not necessarily performance related. As AB also points out, he is a great sell-high at this point.The one thing I will agree with that someone else mentioned is that he IS a great receiver out of the backfield and that until his situation changes, he is still going to put up pretty solid #'s. But, I don't think he's a good enough talent to hold off another RB if things don't go well. As an example of this, think Willie Parker. NO ONE expected Pitt to draft Mendenhall. Parker was the clear #1 until that happened and when Mendenhall was drafted, Parker's value sunk like a rock even though he maintained the #1 role. It was just a matter of everyone questioning whether Parker would keep the job.Same thing with Minn 2 yrs ago when Minny took AP. Chester was great the year before but it was mostly a matter of situation. Now, if a team like Jax drafts a RB in the 1st round, there is no concern about MJD because of his talent. Likewise for teams like Minny, StL, SF, and Tenn bc of the obvious talent of guys they have. I don't think I could say the same for Chicago and Forte. If they were to turn around and take a RB very high in the draft, that would be a big concern I think.

 

[Wilbur Wood]

Forte has talent and he has very good "opportunity".

He's not pulled at the goal line. He is used extensively in the 3rd down passing game. He's got enough acceleration to break out 20+ yards if the hole is there.

The 2008 Bears have many needs that will get addressed during the off season. Bringing in legit form of RB competition for Forte is not one of them. All RB's, Forte included, will benefit by taking a few series off here and there.

Bottom line is that Matt Forte 2009 shouldn't be that different than 2008's version. Pretty good bet for a Top 10 RB next year, one of the safer bets for sure.