Thread: Fri bear practice and injury notes

Wouldn't mind at all seeing melton as the FB in some goal line...

USA TODAY:

Bears' Matt Forte a perfect fit in Mike Martz's quick-strike attack

By Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Two of the longest touchdowns from scrimmage in the NFL this season were produced by the powerful legs of Matt Forte. He opened the season by taking a screen pass 89 yards, and last weekend raced to a career-long 68-yard run.

But don't call the Chicago Bears' bread-and-butter weapon a long-distance runner.
"Long distance? Distance runners are slow," Forte said, sitting in the lobby at Halas Hall this week. "Sprinters are fast. Those were long sprints."

By any definition, Forte's quick-strike versatility — he's just the fifth NFL player since 1970 to post at least a 65-yard rushing TD and 85 yards-plus receiving TD in the same season — illuminates grand visions of a rebuilt offense now directed by Mike Martz.


Martz doesn't hesitate to mention Marshall Faulk as the standard for Forte. Faulk, now on the Hall of Fame ballot, flourished as a multiple dimension when Martz ran the St. Louis Rams' wide-open offense in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

"Some of the things I didn't know, that we experimented with Marshall and took time to work into, we can just do it now because I've seen Matt do it," said Martz. "He has that way about him, running routes and in the running game. There's a model that's been set."

Heading into Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks, Forte, a third-year pro — who has picked up nuances from watching film of Faulk — is tied for eighth in the league with 531 yards from scrimmage on 90 touches.
In last weekend's victory at Carolina, when the Bears (4-1) were without quarterback Jay Cutler (concussion), Forte churned out a career-high 166 yards on 22 carries. He's also third among NFL running backs with 231 receiving yards.

"That's what happens when you are healthy," Forte said.

Forte feels much better about his explosion and power cuts than he did last year, when he was slowed by hamstring and knee injuries and saw his average carry dip to 3.6 yards and his touchdown count drop to four after scoring 12 times as a rookie. He fully realizes the occupational hazards. On average, running backs have the shortest career span of any position, 2.6 years.

"We take a lot of hits," says Forte, whose string of 37 consecutive starts is longest of any active NFL running back. "Durability is just as important as being explosive or fast."

There's a lot of football left. Despite Forte's big plays, the Bears rank just 27th in total yards, underscoring the inconsistency comes in grasping a new system and injury setbacks.

"As we keep playing," Forte says, "each week we're going to get better and better."

Figure short-distance plays among the priorities. In five games, the Bears are 30th in the NFL with their red zone TD rate (28.6%) and last in goal-to-go situations. They are 0-for-9 in producing TDs on snaps from the 1-yard line.
"I'm kind of dumbfounded by it," Martz said. "Enough's enough. That's more of a coaching deal. You can do too much down there. We've just got to let 'em play."

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BradBiggs I think a fair estimate is after the bye. RT @MiTohHertz @BradBiggs Can we expect Major Wright to be back on the field soon?

this is a game, where if we come out thinking highly of ourselves, I think we could get caught flat. It is interesting how we have overcome things this year, and the Giants game should ground us for a while, but especially this one as it is so close to that experience and also our Offense getting Jay back.

I think we have an opportuniyt to have a HUGE win, like +30 to -10. I am saying 38-10 at this moment, but I could see a larger margin as all three phases get the job done this week at home. I do not see us making this a close win for some reason. I usually get a little nervous, but they have too much going on to come to Soldier field and play like they did against the Chargers.

Originally Posted by jnastorer

this is a game, where if we come out thinking highly of ourselves, I think we could get caught flat. It is interesting how we have overcome things this year, and the Giants game should ground us for a while, but especially this one as it is so close to that experience and also our Offense getting Jay back.

I think we have an opportuniyt to have a HUGE win, like +30 to -10. I am saying 38-10 at this moment, but I could see a larger margin as all three phases get the job done this week at home. I do not see us making this a close win for some reason. I usually get a little nervous, but they have too much going on to come to Soldier field and play like they did against the Chargers.

can't see how we can be 'full of outselves".. We are just getting cutler back, Still have many doubters and packers only 1 game behind us( 2 with tie-breaker).. So IMo way too early for overconfidence, esp with the giants game still fresh in minds and Collins 4 INT pig -fest

I totally agree. I just cannot see us coming out and not playing hard and destrying this team. this could be the game where they break out a bit and build some confidence that things are coming togehter.

Originally Posted by jnastorer

I totally agree. I just cannot see us coming out and not playing hard and destrying this team. this could be the game where they break out a bit and build some confidence that things are coming togehter.

Esp as Seattle has been God awful on the road and getting worse each year, winning 3 on the road in 2007, than 2 and 1 last year and so far none in 2010 road games. Add to this, despite seattle playing in the 'fluff" NFCW conference, Hasslebeck is 1-13 in his last 14 road games with a 60.7 Qb rating.. that is brutal! Would love to see a blowout, but first comes a "W" : )

This is the type of game that . You show a 'good team" and take care of business, before the redskins game next week. Because of the Cutler situation and still unease of the 0-line and now briggs may not play, can't see Any looking forward or 'trap" game for bears