Thread: Gore Another RB With A Similar Situation to Forte..................

This situation is far more similar to the Bears situation with Forte than the situation the Titans are in with CJ. Much like Forte, Frank Gore has one year remaining on his contract but unlike Forte he's not coming off his rookie contract. Gore was given an extension in 2007 that has paid him a little more than $28 mil over 5 years including the $4.9 mil in salary and bonus he's getting this year. In a nutshell Gore is far better off and a lot more protected against a major career ending injury than Matt Forte is at the moment yet he's still looking for an extension before his deal is done too.

The article says that Gore (who I believe falls into a similar category talentwise to Forte) is looking for a deal equivalent to the deal that DeAngelo Williams just got. Sorry Frank, it ain't happening for you and it's not gonna happen for Matt Forte either. Why? Because neither of you is an UFA yet so you won't be getting offers from other teams that help set your value in the market and your own team isn't gonna bid against itself. It's not open season for competitive bidding for either of you and that's what happens when you want an extension before your old deal is up.

I'm sure the 49er's and the Bears are willing to make a decent offer to keep their guys but if either of them are thinking they can get a DeAngelo Williams kind of deal right now they're only kidding themselves.

Just a thought. But, maybe they are trying to get something they couldn't get through the new CBA.

Originally Posted by Riczaj01

Again, I get what the Teams are saying; but next year, in FA that contract goes up w/the next big signing bonus if Forte/Gore stay healthy. if they are worth it( gore has shown injury concerns not sure if he is/Forte has not shown those issues) better to pay upfront now then pay more next year or face the chance of losing them in FA.

I agree w/you though, Forte/Gore much more similar to CJ, who is being ridiculous in his asking price.

For years now the Bears have approached their core players with offers for an extension in the last year of their contracts but none of those guys has been a RB. That makes it just a bit different because of both injury concerns and the fact that the NFL has gone pass happy which is why WR's now get better deals than RB's. It wasn't always that way.

I think they'll get a deal done as long as Forte and his agent don't hold the deal that DWill was given by the Panthers as the standard by which they want to negotiate. DWill isn't worth that kind of money but the Panthers need him and he was UFA so if they didn't pay him someone else would have. The Broncos were very interested in getting him.

Bears players who have gotten extensions in the past have always been offered and accepted somewhat less than top dollar with the consideration that they improved their pay one year earlier and added several more years of financial security to their careers. What Matt and his guy need to accept is that they are not in a bargaining position to demand top dollar money. What the Bears need to accept that in this offense Matt Forte is a top ten back and needs to be paid like one. If they can both wrap their arms around those facts I think they can get it done.

Matt Forte is not a top five RB and never will be but he provides a lot of offense firepower because of his flexibilty and abilities to produce in both the running game and the passing game. He's the ideal back for this offense. He reminds me a lot of a guy the Vikings used to have, Chuck Foreman. Never a leading rusher but always near the top in total yards.

Originally Posted by Riczaj01

You keep saying he's not a top 5 rb, but outside the top 3-4 I cannot say there are clearly better rb's. You also keep thinking he's not a workhorse for an O; but he's been a large part of our O, and has carried us since his rookie year. He's a stud, and a special RB, and if he gets to FA the Bears will regret it.

Well in the process of my battle with the "never compare any other back with Walter Payton" forces I did some looking into the current RB's and their combined stats and I'd stick by what I said about being somewhere in the top 10 but not the top 5. Forte compares most favorably with guys like Gore, Jamaal Charles, Ray Rice, Jones-Drew as guys who are dual threat backs. I think Matt Forte is a very productive back in the Bears offensive system but what limits him from being a top 5 back is that he's not an elite runner in the truest sense of the word. Unlike some he can't make something out of nothing with his elusiveness and he lack true power. He has to have the blocking to succeed.

I don't disagree necessarily w/what your saying; but I think you currently have a top 2-3 running back's as a top tier, where 1-2-3 are hard to state; and same goes w/the next 4-8 guys, in which Forte falls. I don't think he is hands down a top 5 back, but I don't think you could easily name 5 better then him either.

He is still the best running back we've had since Neal Anderson, and could possibly end up being better then Neal. And Forte has had a lot up against him that many of the "elite backs" don't have, namely a HORRID OL, and a questionable O around him; outside of Olsen(no longer here) and Cutler, who is not clearly better at his position then Forte is at his, There is no one else on this team to take the pressure off him.

Also, just saw an article that says Gore got a good feelilng from Drew the Devil that things are going well in his negotiations, w/his injury concerns, Forte should easily be in the same boat w/Chicago.

Originally Posted by Riczaj01

I don't disagree necessarily w/what your saying; but I think you currently have a top 2-3 running back's as a top tier, where 1-2-3 are hard to state; and same goes w/the next 4-8 guys, in which Forte falls. I don't think he is hands down a top 5 back, but I don't think you could easily name 5 better then him either.

He is still the best running back we've had since Neal Anderson, and could possibly end up being better then Neal. And Forte has had a lot up against him that many of the "elite backs" don't have, namely a HORRID OL, and a questionable O around him; outside of Olsen(no longer here) and Cutler, who is not clearly better at his position then Forte is at his, There is no one else on this team to take the pressure off him.

Also, just saw an article that says Gore got a good feelilng from Drew the Devil that things are going well in his negotiations, w/his injury concerns, Forte should easily be in the same boat w/Chicago.

Yeah I'm not saying Forte is #10 but to me he's not #1-5 either. He may have the potential to climb higher and he's in an offense that should certainly allow him to do that. That's the question he can answer with another great season and if he can ever put up 2000 yd seasons in total offense there's no doubt he'd be a top 5 back but that hasn't happened...........yet. I don't think it's at all out of the question though.

I think Riczaj was the one who laughed at my proposal that Forte get a 4 year 28 million dollar contract w/ 17 guaranteed.

Based upon what Gore got (3 yr. 21 mil w/ 14 guaranteed), I think I was being pretty realistic. Not saying he doesn't want more, just saying that is what the value is.