Bears have doubts that Matt Forte’s knees can hold up

Bears are just doing what players union agreed to. Bears are smart to franchise him. If he has another good year they can do it 1 more time. Forte cant blame the Bears. He should blame his union

daddies3angels said:

Bears are just doing what players union agreed to. Bears are smart to franchise him. If he has another good year they can do it 1 more time. Forte cant blame the Bears. He should blame his union

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See...Forte can pretend to hold out of he wants, but odds are he can't really afford to pay for the missed time for too long. Make your $16+ Million over the next 2 years, and hope a team takes a chance on you in free agency. Of course, in order for a team to take a chance on you, you have to perform, and not come up w/ a "strained hammy" on the first day you're with the team.

One thing I'll give Emery credit for -- the league is moving away from RBs, and the Bears are moving away from Forte. We've got weapons, and above avg. RB(s) in place if Forte can't/won't play. He's better off to make his money and play for a big contract in two years.

bring this stud back..

X-Factor said:

See...Forte can pretend to hold out of he wants, but odds are he can't really afford to pay for the missed time for too long. Make your $16+ Million over the next 2 years, and hope a team takes a chance on you in free agency. Of course, in order for a team to take a chance on you, you have to perform, and not come up w/ a "strained hammy" on the first day you're with the team.

One thing I'll give Emery credit for -- the league is moving away from RBs, and the Bears are moving away from Forte. We've got weapons, and above avg. RB(s) in place if Forte can't/won't play. He's better off to make his money and play for a big contract in two years.

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yep just ask Peyton Hillis last year

bleacherbum54 said:

yep just ask Peyton Hillis last year

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Excellent call, and case-in-point. If you quit on your team, other teams notice the fact that you did and the lack of production.

I like Forte, I really do. He showed a lot of piss and vinegar coming out of Tulane and doing what he did. However Football is a business, and it is from both sides. Running backs have a short shelf life, and it has almost always been that way. Except for the true legends of the game, running backs are a dime a dozen. They are weapons when they are healthy and they are nothing but washed up bums once they lose their step. Forte isn't a washed up bum yet, but precaution is smart on the Bears side here.

I just don't see why Forte is crying like a little girl. He knows his knees have been injured, he knows he is coming off injury. We still want to pay him like he is one of the 5 best RB's in the league? Take the money and play, Matt. If we end up not wanting you, then you can be a free agent next year. But the chance is if you DON'T get re-signed during the season it is because you have proven you aren't worth the money, and then who is going to pay you like a top-5 running back? huh? No one. That is right. Be a smart business man, and sign the franchise tag. Make your money now, because one play could end your career, and while us fans might sob over you leaving the management of the Bears will be whispering under their breaths that they are glad we didn't sign you to a long term contract, saying 'I told you so' all the way.

Sign the Franchise tender, make top-5 money and shut your mouth.

If Forte is going to wine and complain..fine I'm ok without him. Get a trade.

JosMin said:

Get involved with another team, get Forte to sign an extension and get rid of his ass. I'm sick of hearing about his contract. If he doesn't want to be here, get rid of him.

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Can you really blame him? He knows how short running backs' careers are. You can't honestly tell me that if you were in his position, you wouldn't do the exact same thing? He was 46% of the Bears' offense last season, which means he was 46% of the reason we were 7-3 and on our way to a playoff run. I'm really torn on the whole situation overall though. He deserves the $8.5 mil a year he wants (see chart), but with Bush and Bell, we don't necessarily need him.

RB Salaries Compared to Production


It's tough to see a guy like Forte put the team on his back and play his heart out and then the next year they're ready to just dump him. Last year, when Roy Williams was on the field and you thought there was no hope for the offense, Forte was there to give us hope. Forte was and probably still is so important, but at the same time, we don't really need him. It's a tough situation for both sides.

Wakacha said:

He was 46% of the Bears' offense last season, which means he was 46% of the reason we were 7-3 and on our way to a playoff run.

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This is last season though, think about all we have done to add weapons to our offense since then.

-Traded for Brandon Marshall
-Signed Michael Bush
-Signed Jason Campbell
-Signed Eric Weems and Devin Thomas
-Drafted Alshon Jeffery
-Drafted Evan Rodriquez

We have done a lot to make our offense better so that our RB position doesn't have to carry the team like it has in years past. In a way it almost seems like a plan that would make Forte accept less money. We may be Lovie's team that 'Gets off the bus running the ball' but no where does he say Matt is running it. Forte on a team that has seen a whole lot of change, you have to look at it stastically. Brandon Marshall will take over 10-12% of our offense, if not more. With him being a high target, passing lanes will open up for other guys, so give them another 2-3% overall as well. Add in Alshon Jeffery who should take up 5-8% of the offense, and Michael Bush as a backup who will take some carries out of Forte's hands? Forte will be doing considerably less then he is used to, which should boost the production of the plays he is actually in on.

Like I said before, this game is a business and we as fans don't usually see it like that. The math behind all of our additions is above my head, but I tried to represent how I think it could turn out. If we get Forte happy on this team, and Urlacher signed to an extension....not only would my boner reach the moon, but we would be automatic championship contenders in the realist possible way.

If you look at running backs, they have 3-4 good seasons unless they are really great. Forte isn't going to be able to keep it up and he has to realize that. The Bears aren't going to pay him big money for a long time because he won't last that long. The fact that he has bad knees hurts him even more. The Bears just can't take a chance like that on him. He has to realize that the Bears aren't trying to screw him. The Bears have good reason to be cautious.

I love Forte and he's done great things, but he's going to fall eventually. And it won't be a coincidence if he falls the year after signing a big time contract. I wish he would play to earn his pay instead of hold out. The Bears know what they're doing and aren't going to lock up big money on an injury prone player.

He accounted for something like 46% of the Bears offense, that was like 12-15 percent higher than the next guy...if memory serve me correct he could have comeback and played last year. I see both sides here...I just want the Bears to win so I hope it works out for the best either way.

Tazer4mvp said:

He accounted for something like 46% of the Bears offense, that was like 12-15 percent higher than the next guy...if memory serve me correct he could have comeback and played last year. I see both sides here...I just want the Bears to win so I hope it works out for the best either way.

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He was 46% of the Bears offense in the games he played. He missed 4 games. That factors in. It's not the first time he's been hurt. And on top of that, he could NOT have played in the reg season after his injury. Had we made the playoffs, he would've had a shot to play...and he did play in the probowl iirc.

I don't see both sides here. He's performed, and we are willing to make him a top 5 paid RB in the league for next year....if he performs well again, we'll probably make him a top 3 paid RB in the league. If we won't, a team like New England will....and he's in good shape. He just has to keep working hard and impressing while he's here. All this bitching says to me is that he doesn't think he can keep this up for another cpl years. And i don't want to hear the whole "make your money while you can" argument. He can make over $7M this season by signing a piece of paper. That's making your money while you can.

I really like Forte and I think he does great things for the Bears, but he's not worth spending Chris Johnson or Adrian Peterson money on. He's not worth it. Especially when the Bears have Bush and Bell that can suffice for the Bears with their new passing game.

If Forte wants the big money, he has to prove that he can go a whole season without an injury this year and put up some pretty big numbers.