23 replies to this topic

[Matt Mueller]

Schefter: Forte extension likely by July 16

ESPN's Adam Schefter believes unsigned franchise player Matt Forte and the Bears will come to terms on an extension prior to July 16.
July 16 is the deadline for teams to extend players who were assigned the franchise tag. Forte said Friday that he won't sit out regular season games, but would still prefer a long-term extension. He's believed to be seeking LeSean McCoy and Arian Foster money, which would include over $20 million guaranteed.

http://www.rotoworld...kely-by-july-16


I think this guy gets into camp soon. The holdout I'd be concerned about is MJD.

[ralphster]

I desperately hope this guy gets into camp soon because I drafted him as my RB1 in the Zealots league. The holdout I'd be concerned about is MJD.

Fixt. Also agree with you about MJD - He's officially on all my dnd lists unless he signs and reports in time for training camp.

[IGotWorms]

If Forte DOES get a big payday, what are the chances that he loses some of that competitive fire? RBs coming off big contracts have had a pretty spotty track record of late.

[Frozenbeernuts]

If Forte DOES get a big payday, what are the chances that he loses some of that competitive fire? RBs coming off big contracts have had a pretty spotty track record of late.

Zero. Forte is not that type of person.

[Pogs23]

Zero. Forte is not that type of person.

Are you guys BFFs? Ride bikes together on weekends?

[jgcrawfish]

Are you guys BFFs? Ride bikes together on weekends?

He knows for a fact that Forte likes pina coladas, and getting caught in the rain...you can't get that kind of insight ANYWHERE but here!

[Frozenbeernuts]

Well i listen to a ton of bears coverage and have held forte in high regard since he came into the league. Guys like CJ i expected a drop off from, but more because he missed training camp.

My estimate was zero percent and he is not the type of peraon to lay down on his team. He even said that he was going to play this year. That may be to get another years credit toward pension, or to at least get some pay check, but I believe not letting his team down had at least something to do with it.

And if you must know Forte is one of my best friends.

[Bishop82]

[Joey Gladstone]

Guy is an awesome value in the 2nd round.

[knuckleballah22]

no doubt he will play this year

[Matt Mueller]

'Bears, Forte make 'considerable progress'
CBS' Jason La Canfora reports there has been "considerable progress" in long-term talks between the Bears and unsigned franchise player Matt Forte.
League sources tell La Canfora the sides have an idea of how a five-year deal might look, but remain at odds over how to structure the first three years. Nevertheless, La Canfora is now on the same page with ESPN's Chris Mortensen, who predicted Wednesday the sides would reach an agreement before Monday's deadline. La Canfora had previously characterized the chances of a deal getting done as "weak."'

[thesitedoc]

Forte is on my DND 'do not draft' list for this year. The addition of Michael Bush is going to hurt his numbers more than people think. Bush was a potential Heisman before his injury and so he slid down the draft board. He showed just how capable he is as a smash mouth runner with some moves.

I expect he will get the goal line carries.

I also expect that Marhsall and the TE will be a focus in the red zone now that Martz is gonzo. Forte is going to be solid, but I now that we will go a bit too early for me given the added weapons in Chicago.

[Matt Mueller]

Forte is on my DND 'do not draft' list for this year. The addition of Michael Bush is going to hurt his numbers more than people think. Bush was a potential Heisman before his injury and so he slid down the draft board. He showed just how capable he is as a smash mouth runner with some moves.

I expect he will get the goal line carries.

I also expect that Marhsall and the TE will be a focus in the red zone now that Martz is gonzo. Forte is going to be solid, but I now that we will go a bit too early for me given the added weapons in Chicago.

Valid opinions. Running backs this year have a ton of questions marks and I can see staying away from anyone you are unsure of.

I'm more on the pro Forte bandwagon b/c in each of Forte's 4 seasons he has produced over 925 rushing, 50 +receptions and 470+ receiving. There's just aren't many running backs that you can 'pencil in' for 1,400+ total yards and a handful of tds. He hit hit those marks while missing 4 games last year and was on pace for more.

I like Bush a lot, he is one of the best backup rbs in the league and he will take the majority of the goal line and probably get more work than the lesser talented Barber,ect did, but the goal line hasn't been where Forte has gotten his fantasy value.

'Although it is easy to pin the Bears’ recent red-zone woes on Matt Forte (3-for-33 inside the 5 over the last three years), his “struggles” have often been due to the complete lack of urgency (and push) Chicago’s offensive line displayed for much of the time former OC Mike Martz was running the show. Be that as it may, the Bears’ offensive braintrust cannot be happy that Forte has scored just seven times in 60 red-zone attempts over the last two years while his complements over that time (Chester Taylor and Marion Barber) have combined for nine rushing scores on 40 attempts'

Forte just has scored just a few times from the goal line each season so IMO if Bush takes most of those in he really hasn't lost anything. I kind of think of Forte a bit like Jaamal Charles, in that he moves the chains, is a great pass catching back and occasionally hits some home runs. He has proven to have stable fantasy production in those roles, especially in PPR leagues.

Lastly, I kind of view the Marshall and Jeffrey additions as a plus. The Bears ranked #24th in yards per game last year. That was worse than Miami, Tampa, Minnesota and Arizona. I think adding some talent around Forte, will stop defenses from game planning solely for him and will help a Bears offense that is starting to realize that defense and special teams isn't going to beat Green Bay and Detroit.

P.S. I'm gonna throw out a terrible analogy but I couldn't help but think of Foster a bit here. 'Competing' with one of the best backups in the league and likely having the best WR, aside from Calvin and Fitz, back healthy to 'steal' red zone targets. I don't really see anyone concerned with those things. I'm not sure we should be selling Forte based on them either.

[RoadLizard]

Forte is on my DND 'do not draft' list for this year. The addition of Michael Bush is going to hurt his numbers more than people think. Bush was a potential Heisman before his injury and so he slid down the draft board. He showed just how capable he is as a smash mouth runner with some moves.

I expect he will get the goal line carries.

I also expect that Marhsall and the TE will be a focus in the red zone now that Martz is gonzo. Forte is going to be solid, but I now that we will go a bit too early for me given the added weapons in Chicago.

+ 1,000,000. If you are in one of those communist leagues where guys get points for breathing then Forte will be decent. If you are in a league where TDs count for something and yardage brackets are normal-sized then you are gonna be pissed. Even with the useless Barber there last year Forte lost plenty of short TDs which RUINS an RBs value. Bush is a deal-killer. He'll get ALL of the short yardage work and will rotate in more than you think. Ask McFadden owners. Forte owners will need prescriptions for high blood pressure meds this year for sure.

Fock that.

[Bishop82]

Lastly, I kind of view the Marshall and Jeffrey additions as a plus. The Bears ranked #24th in yards per game last year. That was worse than Miami, Tampa, Minnesota and Arizona. I think adding some talent around Forte, will stop defenses from game planning solely for him and will help a Bears offense that is starting to realize that defense and special teams isn't going to beat Green Bay and Detroit.

No more 8 or 9 guys in the box, for Forte to deal with. B. Marshall WILL draw double coverage creating running lanes and open field for screen passes.

[Matt Mueller]

+ 1,000,000. If you are in one of those communist leagues where guys get points for breathing then Forte will be decent. If you are in a league where TDs count for something and yardage brackets are normal-sized then you are gonna be pissed. Even with the useless Barber there last year Forte lost plenty of short TDs which RUINS an RBs value. Bush is a deal-killer. He'll get ALL of the short yardage work and will rotate in more than you think. Ask McFadden owners. Forte owners will need prescriptions for high blood pressure meds this year for sure.

Fock that.

Not trying to argue just trying to understand your point better. I totally agree that Forte isn't as valuable in TD heavy or non PPR leagues. That said he finished as the #9th best running back in PPG according to FFtoday stats. McFadden finished as the 7th best in PPG. How did Bush hurt McFadden last year?

[Matt Mueller]

Also, although I think Bush is a talent, I think Oakland's offensive line is better. Chicago's was one of the worst last year.

Yet Forte averaged a career high 4.9 yards per carry while Bush put up a 3.8 yearly average, a career low, due to being overworked late in the season. He only broke 4.0 YPC once in his final 7 games. McFadden averaged 5.4 behind the same line.

That won't be the case next year as Bush should be fresh but I'm just trying to point out that Bush is probably best utilized in a specific role and all the 'talk' from Bears camp is to keep him in that role.

Trust me I'll be the first one if that isnt' the case and Bush crushes Forte's production.

[RoadLizard]

Not trying to argue just trying to understand your point better. I totally agree that Forte isn't as valuable in TD heavy or non PPR leagues. That said he finished as the #9th best running back in PPG according to FFtoday stats. McFadden finished as the 7th best in PPG. How did Bush hurt McFadden last year?

We just play in a league where TDs are worth a little more since we do NOT do PPR and our yardage brackets are 1pt ever 20 yds rush/rec. Makes a big difference versus PPR and pt per 10 yard leagues which is too much IMO.

I guess Im just sick of RBBC and goal loine specialists. Its a new trend thats only getting worse and its irritating. Hardly ever happened before - remember Emmitt Smith, Eddie George, Shaun Alexander, Priest Holmes, etc, etc? Those guys punched it in from 2 yards out AND got 25 carries per game. I just hate it and Forte is a fringe-keeper for me next year. Meh.

[Frozenbeernuts]

We just play in a league where TDs are worth a little more since we do NOT do PPR and our yardage brackets are 1pt ever 20 yds rush/rec. Makes a big difference versus PPR and pt per 10 yard leagues which is too much IMO.

I guess Im just sick of RBBC and goal loine specialists. Its a new trend thats only getting worse and its irritating. Hardly ever happened before - remember Emmitt Smith, Eddie George, Shaun Alexander, Priest Holmes, etc, etc? Those guys punched it in from 2 yards out AND got 25 carries per game. I just hate it and Forte is a fringe-keeper for me next year. Meh.

1 pt per 20 yards is too much? I understand that you want to keep the point totals from being 210-185 but that is 19 yards wasted. In one of my leagues it was 2 pt for 20 yards and it really sucked when any of your players were at that 1-3 yards away from another 2 points. It was needless waste so we make it 1 pt per 10 yards. Now if they get 89 yards it doesn't bother me since there is much less waste.

I know you didn't ask for any advice about league rules but have you ever considered breaking down the points to be .05 per yard? You will still end up with 1 pt per 20 yards but there isn't that huge amount of waste when some one barely misses the next point threshold.

I could say an example is player A rushes for 81 yards and player B rushes for 99 yards. They both get the same amount of points even though there is an 18 yard difference in their totals.

Maybe it's the end of the game and player A is done for the day with 81 yards. Player B has 80 yards and on the last play rushes for 18 yards. It would be very frustrating as an owner to see all that wasted effort that could have gotten me 1 more point to push the game from a tie.

[thesitedoc]

Valid opinions. Running backs this year have a ton of questions marks and I can see staying away from anyone you are unsure of.


P.S. I'm gonna throw out a terrible analogy but I couldn't help but think of Foster a bit here. 'Competing' with one of the best backups in the league and likely having the best WR, aside from Calvin and Fitz, back healthy to 'steal' red zone targets. I don't really see anyone concerned with those things. I'm not sure we should be selling Forte based on them either.

Good post and info. Specific to the part that I left quoted here, I think that most everyone can agree that Houston had/has one of ,if not the best Olines in the league. Now, I have heard that some pieces moved around in the off-season but Foster and Tate, as great as they are, benefited greatly from a tremendous Oline.

Chicago needs a good deal of help at Oline. I think Cutler was the most rushed/sacked QB 2 years running?. I don't think that stat directly correlates to run blocking, but just how poor their line is in general.

[Matt Mueller]

Good post and info. Specific to the part that I left quoted here, I think that most everyone can agree that Houston had/has one of ,if not the best Olines in the league. Now, I have heard that some pieces moved around in the off-season but Foster and Tate, as great as they are, benefited greatly from a tremendous Oline.

Chicago needs a good deal of help at Oline. I think Cutler was the most rushed/sacked QB 2 years running?. I don't think that stat directly correlates to run blocking, but just how poor their line is in general.

I agree the Houston offensive line is among, if not the best, offensive lines in the league. I almost think any back would have at least moderate success behind them.

According to this ESPN roundtable video on Forte, he ranked 2nd best in the league in 'good blocking yards per attempt', which means what your rushing average was when the line produced at least good blocking. He did that behind 'the worst run blocking team in the league. I mean it was terrible.'

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8073403

Forte has proved to be so productive for the Bears, despite some bad blocking/being the only offensive threat to game plan for, that I don't necessarily think adding in Bush-who managed 3.8 YPC on a better offensive line and looked to wear down being 'the guy'-or Marshall to unstack the box-is a bad thing for him. I also think the move away from crazy Martz to former offensive line coach Mike Tice, could mean more of an emphasis on running the ball and improving those blocking lanes.

Certainly touches will correlate to production and if he doesn't get his usual amount his numbers could suffer but if the offense improves, which ranked 24th in total offensive yards per game-partly b/c of Hanie last year, I think Forte can be right where he has been the past few years.

[RoadLizard]

1 pt per 20 yards is too much? I understand that you want to keep the point totals from being 210-185 but that is 19 yards wasted. In one of my leagues it was 2 pt for 20 yards and it really sucked when any of your players were at that 1-3 yards away from another 2 points. It was needless waste so we make it 1 pt per 10 yards. Now if they get 89 yards it doesn't bother me since there is much less waste.

I know you didn't ask for any advice about league rules but have you ever considered breaking down the points to be .05 per yard? You will still end up with 1 pt per 20 yards but there isn't that huge amount of waste when some one barely misses the next point threshold.

I could say an example is player A rushes for 81 yards and player B rushes for 99 yards. They both get the same amount of points even though there is an 18 yard difference in their totals.

Maybe it's the end of the game and player A is done for the day with 81 yards. Player B has 80 yards and on the last play rushes for 18 yards. It would be very frustrating as an owner to see all that wasted effort that could have gotten me 1 more point to push the game from a tie.

Its been discussed - I dont mind the suggestions. Weve just been doing it that way for like 10+ years and its mainly the same guys so we try to avoid messing around with whats worked. I get that the NFL is changing though and with more spcialty players we may have to adjust.

When I said "too much" I was referring to the 1pt every 10 yards. I dunno - 60 yards is equal to one TD then? Seems out of whack. 20 yards does mean 19 yards can be thrown away though. I get that too. No scoring system is perfect.

[IGotWorms]

Is it just me or did Forte's and Rice's extensions seem really cheap? I knew RBs weren't valued very highly anymore in the NFL, but damn...

[420allstars]

Is it just me or did Forte's and Rice's extensions seem really cheap? I knew RBs weren't valued very highly anymore in the NFL, but damn...

I think they gave up some salary to get more Gaurenteed money..still very cheap though..