Day: February 13, 2016

Dan Wiederer at the Chicago Tribune asks one of the many questions that follow the exits of Matt Forte:

“What will the Bears miss without Forte?

“Where do you even start? Probably his football intelligence. Or his durability and toughness. Or his versatility. Or his unselfish, low-maintenance demeanor.”

How about his instincts? An upright runner, the Bears have rarely had a running back with better vision. Because it isn’t as apparent as superior athleticism (which Forte didn’t lack) and flash, this greatest of his assets made his talent hard to recognize and is one of the things that caused him to be amongst the most underrated players in the league.

Dan Wiederer at the Chicago Tribune discusses the exit of running back Matt Forte. In doing so he exposes the real reason for Forte’s exit:

“Behind Langford, Ka’Deem Carey made strides in 2015, first earning greater opportunity as a special teams contributor, then seeing flashes of work in the backfield. Carey’s burst remains his most noticeable strength, and the Bears are hoping he’ll use that to compete for the No. 2 role.”

Many people will point to the emergence of Jeremy Langford as the primary reason for Forte’s exit. But the Bears will almost certainly continue to run a back field with two backs and having depth at the position is a must.

In addition to Carey, Wiederer mentions the presence of Jacquizz Rodgers and Senorise Perry. These three men, all of whom are hard runners and all of whom contribute on special teams, are the reason why the Bears didn’t want to spend money, even at a fair price, on Forte. Carey’s emergence as a special teams contributor, in particular, probably did as much as anything to determine Forte’s fate with the team.

None of these four men are the equal of Forte (I loved Steve Rosenbloom‘s parting comment in his column: “Tip to Langford: Don’t drop a pass.”).  But the Bears apparently like their running backs. Add the possibility that they may find that a another one is the best available player in the fourth or fifth round again and they have a glut at the position. It’s a shame that it led to the departure of one of the most professional players on the team in Forte but it’s still a nice problem to have.

Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune speculates upon where former Bears running back Matt Forte may land now that he is officially entering free agency:

“The question now is where will Forte land? He would be an ideal fit for the Cardinals offense or for the Packers, who got underwhelming production from Eddie Lacy last season and could lose James Starks to free agency.”

Like almost all Bears fans, I would hate to see Forte as a Packer or to see him go anywhere in the NFC North, for that matter.  David Haugh mentions the Seattle Seahawks as a possible destination but running back Thomas Rawls out played Marshawn Lynch this season an is obviously the future there.  Other realistic options include the Cowboys and the Redskins.  I’ve heard the Broncos mentioned but they probably won’t have much in the way of cap space.  The Texans and the Colts are also possibilities.

Personally, my first thought was the New England Patriots, who certainly were short in the running game at the end of their playoff run. Dion Lewis is a wonderful back but he isn’t as versatile as Forte and he will becoming off of a torn ACL next season.  Forte is on record as saying that his first priority is to go to a team that can win a Super Bowl. The Patriots certainly are that and they would certainly know how to use him.

Whatever happens, I think there’s a market of Forte.  If money really isn’t the first object there will probably be plenty of contenders for him to choose from and no one would be happier than me to see such a class act win a Super Bowl with one of them.