Bears reinstate RB Unga

Bears reinstate RB Unga
By Brad Biggs, Tribune reporter

3:48 p.m. CDT, April 16, 2012
As expected, one running back was absent when the Chicago Bears started their voluntary offseason workout program Monday: Matt Forte, who is not under contract, did not attend.

But another running back, whom the club has not seen in some time, is back in the mix. Harvey Unga, who has yet to play in a regular-season game, was reinstated from the reserve/left squad list.

Unga, who was drafted in July 2010 with a seventh-round pick in the supplemental draft, has not been seen since preseason. The club placed him on the reserve/left squad list on Sept. 3 after he was excused from training camp for personal reasons.

The former standout from BYU faces an uphill battle to make the roster in what is likely a final chance. Unga spent his entire rookie season in 2010 on injured reserve after suffering a pulled hamstring. The club expected him to return this spring. as former general manager Jerry Angelo said before the season ended that Unga would be back in the fold.

Unga, 6-foot, 237 pounds, rushed nine times for 27 yards in preseason action last year before departing. Forte, newly signed Michael Bush and Kahlil Bell are firmly entrenched ahead of Unga. Some have wondered if he could fit as a fullback but that is unlikely and the Bears found a solid option at that position last year with Tyler Clutts.

Unga’s best chance to stick will be to make a solid impression on special teams because reserve players, especially running backs, have to fill critical roles in this area.

Bears reinstate RB Unga - chicagotribune.com

I would wonder if this means the end of Forte in chi-town?

Hopefully Unga amounts to something.

I would love to know what the issue was with him, but ultimately, it's none of my business. NFL teams do not often allow such freedom, so something tells me it must have been pretty bad, but again, I guess we don't really need to know.

Nah, I don't think Unga's return has anything to do with that at all. The only thing we ever heard was that it was unspecified personal reasons but whatever it was the Bears must have felt he was justified in doing it. Perhaps something with his wife or another family member in distress. Lovie's a pretty understanding guy when it comes to that.

He's not really a FB and I don't think after seeing Clutts knock some guys on their butts last year that he'll be working as a FB. As long as Clutts is healthy he owns that spot now. I think he's seen as more of a backup to Bush as a power back. If Forte isn't there for whatever reason and he can play ST maybe he makes it as a 3rd RB but if Forte is still a Bears I don't see us carrying a 4th RB.

The kid runs north/south and has some power and as far as the NFL is concerned he's still a first year guy so they can always shuffle him over to the PS if they like his potential. Even if Forte plays in 2012 this may end up being his last year. I don't see us franchising him a second time as long as the other pan out. At some point in time we'll need another RB and they thought enough of him to use a supplemental pick on him so they must believe he has some promise, especially if they're letting him return from sabbatical.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by soulman

Nah, I don't think Unga's return has anything to do with that at all. The only thing we ever heard was that it was unspecified personal reasons but whatever it was the Bears must have felt he was justified in doing it. Perhaps something with his wife or another family member in distress. Lovie's a pretty understanding guy when it comes to that.

He's not really a FB and I don't think after seeing Clutts knock some guys on their butts last year that he'll be working as a FB. As long as Clutts is healthy he owns that spot now. I think he's seen as more of a backup to Bush as a power back. If Forte isn't there for whatever reason and he can play ST maybe he makes it as a 3rd RB but if Forte is still a Bears I don't see us carrying a 4th RB.

The kid runs north/south and has some power and as far as the NFL is concerned he's still a first year guy so they can always shuffle him over to the PS if they like his potential. Even if Forte plays in 2012 this may end up being his last year. I don't see us franchising him a second time as long as the other pan out. At some point in time we'll need another RB and they thought enough of him to use a supplemental pick on him so they must believe he has some promise, especially if they're letting him return from sabbatical.

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Interesting comments Soul. So if Forte does play for us this year and just has a banner year, you really think CHI wouldn't franchise him again? I find that hard to believe man.

http://youtu.be/9_p7sqVA0VY

Funny story... my uncle and I were watching one of those pre-season games last year together, and saw Unga push the pile on a run. Well that started a whole fit of laughter as we put on our best caveman voices and spoke as Unga in the first person.

"Unga want contract!"

Never thought I'd hear his name again, but this story brought back the memory. We were laughing like crazy for the rest of the game.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by synthetic67

Funny story... my uncle and I were watching one of those pre-season games last year together, and saw Unga push the pile on a run. Well that started a whole fit of laughter as we put on our best caveman voices and spoke as Unga in the first person.

"Unga want contract!"

Never thought I'd hear his name again, but this story brought back the memory. We were laughing like crazy for the rest of the game.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIRiLlzmZMs

Yep, that's the play that started all the madness. Thanks for sharing :)

Edit: Okay, I didn't check the video title. Stupid me. But it was something very similar to that lol

Re-Edit: Okay, I must've been tired when posting this, because I only saw the BYU video afterwards, forgetting that it was the Bears one originally that spurred this response.