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Matt Forte has advice for Jay Cutler
By Michael C. Wright
ESPNChicago.com
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Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte indicated he's forgotten about Jay Cutler's experience in the team's loss to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game, and suggested his quarterback should do the same.
From Forte's standpoint at informal Bears workouts this offseason, Cutler appears to be taking that advice.
"What he has to do is forget what happened, and I think he already has," Forte said Thursday on the "Carmen, Jurko & Harry" radio show on ESPN 1000. "Just seeing him out when we were running routes, he's 100 percent throwing the ball just like he's always done, taking drops and looks very good. So he has to forget about what happened, and continue to play at that high level he was at winning all those games last year. I think he's going to come out and do that."
Cutler's knee injury and the resulting fallout from the team's 21-14 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Packers have been well-documented. But for Cutler's teammates, it's a distant memory.
What's important now, according to coach Lovie Smith, general manager Jerry Angelo and several Bears is how Cutler responds to dealing with the adversity from last season. Cutler appears to have taken the right steps by organizing informal passing workouts with teammates at undisclosed locations in the area.
Forte said he and Cutler have been in contact throughout the offseason.
"We had a lot of contact," Forte said. "The weather is crazy up here, but once it finally got good enough to where we can go and safely run routes and catch the ball, we got together multiple times every week. Everybody from the skill positions was there catching balls and running routes. So I think it was a really good thing that he got everyone together.As for his contract, Forte said he'd prefer to let his agent, Adisa Bakari, handle the situation. Heading into the final year of his contract, Forte is scheduled to earn $555,000 in 2011. But his statistics since entering the league in 2008 indicate that Forte has outperformed the contract he signed as a rookie.
Since entering the NFL, Forte ranks fifth in the NFL in yards from scrimmage (4,731 yards), behind Tennessee's Chris Johnson, Minnesota's Adrian Peterson, Jacksonville's Maurice Jones-Drew and St. Louis' Steven Jackson. Yet Forte's backup, Chester Taylor, pocketed more ($7 million) in 2010 alone than the total value of Forte's contract.
"My agent is handling that, and he's in talks with the Bears people," Forte said. "Look at the stats over the last three years, and I'm among the top five running backs in all-purpose yards and touchdowns and all that stuff. So hopefully we can do something."
Michael C. Wright covers the Bears for ESPNChicago.com and ESPN 1000.
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High Fives / Like - 2 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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Forte needs to be re-inked before next season. I said long ago that we'd be sorry about the deal we gave Taylor when it came to extending Forte so let's see if I was right. You know his agent is gonna pull that out just as soon as the talks get serious. He's at least a top ten back and he's gonna want to get paid like it. I just hope we don't have another Lance Briggs kind of debacle with Forte.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. 
Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
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Matt is 100% right about Jay. Just need to move on. The hard part is, the media and some "so called" fans won't let him move on. Also, need to get Forte locked up ASAP. Does so much for our offense. In my opinion one of the best catching the ball out of the backfield.
BEARDOWN
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Originally Posted by
CNYBearFan54 
Matt is 100% right about Jay. Just need to move on. The hard part is, the media and some "so called" fans won't let him move on. Also, need to get Forte locked up ASAP. Does so much for our offense. In my opinion one of the best catching the ball out of the backfield.
BEARDOWN
If Cutler is smart , he'll just ignore the BS , and let those in the media (who bring it up) just show themselves for the asses that they are. Forte is a solid RB who will have ( barring injury ) a good if not great career. Get him signed.
What should you call any : Fumble , Hold , Interception , Three and out , or Sack ?
A " F.H.I.T.S " ? or a J'Marcus ?
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Originally Posted by
Blue Horse-shoe If Cutler is smart , he'll just ignore the BS , and let those in the media (who bring it up) just show themselves for the asses that they are. Forte is a solid RB who will have ( barring injury ) a good if not great career. Get him signed.
I think it's encouraging that Cutler has forgotten all about that shit from the NFC Championship Game, or so it appears that he has. Forte has a bright, bright future ahead of him and will only get better. Sign him, get it done, and boot Chester Taylor out of Chicago if he doesn't perform better this season.
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High Fives / Like - 1 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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I think there should be a good contrast made between how Cutler bounced back from his 26 INT season and Grossman's single handed ***** over of the team in the SB, by showing that Cutler came back with a fairly good season with less turbulence, and Grossman just worked his way out of town. They both went through the toughest seasons after the media tore into them and look how they responded. The only difference is Cutler STILL has to "prove" himself, and I believe he's shown the mental toughness last year.
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Originally Posted by
Dagan81 I think it's encouraging that Cutler has forgotten all about that shit from the NFC Championship Game, or so it appears that he has. Forte has a bright, bright future ahead of him and will only get better. Sign him, get it done, and boot Chester Taylor out of Chicago if he doesn't perform better this season.
I doubt he ever forgets, but he is trying to put it behind him
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Originally Posted by
Blue Horse-shoe If Cutler is smart , he'll just ignore the BS , and let those in the media (who bring it up) just show themselves for the asses that they are. Forte is a solid RB who will have ( barring injury ) a good if not great career. Get him signed.
At the moment I think that whole thing bothers certain fans and some sportswriters who have little else to write about more than most of the rest of us. I don't really believe Cutler thinks about it very much either. Those of us who have played competitive sports at one time or another have all had a poor performance that we had to shake off. How long did that last? A game or two, or maybe even less?
The guy is an NFL QB and by now, especially after his Denver debacle, he's pretty used to the negative press he's been getting throughout most of his career. I can't see what happened last year affecting him anymore than I can see affecting the team a a whole. We fell one game short of making and very possibly winning a Super Bowl las year and the only thing on his mind and the rest of the teams should be seeing to it that we don't fall that one game short this year.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
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High Fives / Like - 1 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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Originally Posted by
The Benjamin I doubt he ever forgets, but he is trying to put it behind him
Or what Cutler could do is use this experience to fuel his desire to be an even better quarterback. Who knows?
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