Bears Re-open Contract Talks With Forte

[nwfisch]

https://twitter.com/#!/AlbertBreer/status/173043247579533314/embed

The Bears and RB Matt Forte will open contract talks in Indianapolis, per a league source.




Good to see Phil Emery has a brain.

[Senser81]

Its interesting how Bears Management/Jerry Angelo received public support for NOT signing Forte to a new contract at the beginning of the year, and this inaction cost the Bears the use of Forte for the last few games of the year because Forte didn't want to risk further injury without being under contract for next year. In turn, the lack of Forte for the last part of the year contributed greatly to the Bears missing the playoffs.

The Bears have already screwed up these contract negotiations beyond belief.

[nwfisch]

Its interesting how Bears Management/Jerry Angelo received public support for NOT signing Forte to a new contract at the beginning of the year, and this inaction cost the Bears the use of Forte for the last few games of the year because Forte didn't want to risk further injury without being under contract for next year. In turn, the lack of Forte for the last part of the year contributed greatly to the Bears missing the playoffs.

The Bears have already screwed up these contract negotiations beyond belief.

I would have supported Forte holding out if it would have gotten Angelo fired.

[FirstTimer]

Its interesting how Bears Management/Jerry Angelo received public support for NOT signing Forte to a new contract at the beginning of the year, and this inaction cost the Bears the use of Forte for the last few games of the year because Forte didn't want to risk further injury without being under contract for next year. In turn, the lack of Forte for the last part of the year contributed greatly to the Bears missing the playoffs.

The Bears have already screwed up these contract negotiations beyond belief.

Who supported that?

[FedEx227]

I'm not sure most of the public supported it.

I personally supported it, but that's just my thoughts on the RB position in the NFL. It seemed most people wanted the Bears to do everything they could to re-up Forte.

[FirstTimer]

I'm not sure most of the public supported it.

I personally supported it, but that's just my thoughts on the RB position in the NFL. It seemed most people wanted the Bears to do everything they could to re-up Forte.

I think there's a difference between thinking Forte shouldn't get paid and people seeing the logic behind what Angelo was doing.


I didn't support them not extending Forte but I saw the Angelo thought process and it made sense(vomit)

[MrBill]

Wasn't Forte responsible for something like 45% of the Bears offense when healthy? Pay the man.

[spiker]

Wasn't Forte responsible for something like 45% of the Bears offense when healthy? Pay the man.

They offered him a lucrative long term deal but he declined it because it wasn't on par with what DeAngelo Williams got.

I'm firmly against a high priced Forte LTC. I believe Forte benefited from Martz's system similar to what Marshall Faulk did with the Rams. Combine that with his recent injury, the amount of carries his had from his days at Tulane until now, the way the league uses RBs these days, and the capability of his backups. All of these factors are working against Forte.

I don't want to see the Bears invest too much money in the RB position. At worst, the Bears should offer Forte a second chance at their original offer and if he doesn't like it, then let him test free agency. Let him get paid somewhere else. Running back is a high turnover position in the NFL now. A good, cheap replacement is easy to find.

[FirstTimer]

I believe Forte benefited from Martz's system similar to what Marshall Faulk did with the Rams..

Forte had his best season as a pro under Ron Turner

[spiker]

Forte had his best season as a pro under Ron Turner

Yeah but I was referring to what MrBill said about Forte accounting for a large portion of the Bears offense, which was true when Martz was OC.

[FirstTimer]

Yeah but I was referring to what MrBill said about Forte accounting for a large portion of the Bears offense, which was true when Martz was OC.

It was as true when Turner was OC. I think his rookie year was around 40%.

Just looked. He was around 37% his rookie season. Over 1/3 of the Bears TD's on offense were his.

He was the teams leading reciever(receptions wise)(3rd in yards)

[spiker]

It was as true/maybe more true when Turner was OC.

It still doesn't remove the fact that Forte was the main beneficiary from Martz's system, similar to Marshall Faulk.

To take it one step further, Tice may favor a RB who is better between the tackles like Barber, so Forte may not even see the success that he has in the past. But I'm just taking a stab at that one since I don't own a crystal ball.

[FirstTimer]

It still doesn't remove the fact that Forte was the main beneficiary from Martz's system, similar to Marshall Faulk..

I don't think that's really true as Forte showed two seasons before MArtz even showed up he was an all around threat to a pretty great extent. Martz maybe capitlaized on it more but it's not as though Forte's all around game came out of nowhere when Martz showed up.

[FirstTimer]

As far as Tice preferring bigger RB's..there's nothign to really show that. His most successful runner in Minnesota was Michael Bennett.

[spiker]

I don't think that's really true as Forte showed two seasons before MArtz even showed up he was an all around threat to a pretty great extent. Martz maybe capitlaized on it more but it's not as though Forte's all around game came out of nowhere when Martz showed up.

I'm not saying that he isn't talented but paying him a ludicrous amount of money because he benefited from OCs who were feeding him the ball half the time isn't a good idea. Emery and Tice know better than we do how they plan to use Forte moving forward.

Plus, you haven't even disputed any of the other points I mentioned. I'm assuming you agree with those? There's too many good reasons to let Forte get paid somewhere else.