Forte having grand time
Rookie isn't surprised that he's near 1,000 yards rushing
November 25, 2008
BY BRAD BIGGS bbiggs@suntimes.com
Bears coach Lovie Smith carefully avoided the word ''surprised'' when analyzing running back Matt Forte a day after the rookie's top performance of the season -- 132 yards and two touchdowns at St. Louis -- vaulted him to fifth in the league in rushing with 909 yards.
As much work as goes into a season, coaches don't like to deal in surprises. They believe success is found at the intersection of opportunity and preparation, and too much planning is involved for them to have happened upon Forte's season unexpectedly. There has been too much opportunity for it to be anything but planned, as well, with Forte fourth in the league with 225 carries.
''Any time you have a rookie come in and do the things he's done, that's saying a lot,'' Smith said. ''You can't really predict that, but we've had a good feeling about Matt since Day 1, and each game seems like he does something else to confirm what you're thinking.''
He has confirmed that the Bears are getting further from the two-back approach they hoped to make work with Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson, then with Benson and Forte. The second-round pick from Tulane is on pace for 327 carries, which would be the most by a Bear since Walter Payton's 381 in 1984. He doesn't appear to be losing steam, and when you break it down, it's only 20 carries a game.
Third in the league with 1,245 yards from scrimmage and with nine touchdowns (six rushing, three receiving), Forte appears locked in a three-man race for offensive rookie of the year with Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson. He's 91 yards shy of becoming the Bears' first rookie rusher with 1,000 since Anthony Thomas captured rookie of the year honors in 2001.
''It's a great accomplishment to be a rookie running back and gain 1,000 yards, and it definitely means a lot,'' Forte said. ''It's something I want to achieve. I did it one time in college -- I went over 2,000 yards -- but over four years, I only did it one time. To come in my first year and gain over 1,000 would be exceptional.''
But none of it has caught him off guard, either.
''Obviously I have the talent to be out there,'' he said. ''I just have to make things happen and practice hard every week, and I do that. If I do that, nothing will surprise me.''
Forte's open-field moves might still be replaying in the mind of Rams free safety O.J. Atogwe, who was juked for two touchdowns. Following pulling left guard Josh Beekman on a Power-O run, Forte scored on a 13-yard run in the first quarter, freezing Atogwe near the goal line.
On his 47-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, left tackle John St. Clair pulled through the hole, right guard Roberto Garza sealed off middle linebacker Will Witherspoon, and Forte was off to daylight, crippling Atogwe with a move and shedding strong safety Corey Chavous. It's the kind of elusiveness that separates him from average between-the-tackles runners.
It's not like Forte isn't accustomed to the workload. He carried 361 times in 12 games at Tulane last season.
''That's why I condition in the offseason,'' he said, ''to prepare for a lot of carries.''
He's understandably uncomfortable with the notion the team has hitched its wagon to him in the division race.
''Nobody carries the team,'' he said. ''I can't do anything without the offensive line or the receivers catching the ball, or they'll just stack the box and things like that.''
Forte is soft-spoken, so you often need to seek out others to talk about him. They're running out of things to say, too, at this point. He has passed every test, improving as a blocker in the passing game and proving to be an accomplished receiver.
Perhaps the biggest challenge awaits Sunday at Minnesota (7:15 p.m., Ch. 5, 780-AM). The Vikings, buoyed by tackles Kevin Williams and Pat Williams, have the league's second-best run defense, allowing just 70 yards per game.
''He's done it all for us,'' Smith said. ''We'll need him in this next push.''
