Bears Blitz

Published by Timothy Rapp on October 1, 2012
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Go ahead and return Matt Forte to your fantasy lineups… in Week 5. You should be avoiding him on Monday night against the Dallas Cowboys.

For one, while Forte is expected to play, it isn’t definite. So he could give fantasy owners who took the risk of starting him, despite the Monday night game, a big ol‘ goose egg on the scoreboard.

And even if he does play, the Chicago Bears still have Michael Bush, who should see the lion’s share of the carries. 

Oh, and one more thing—the Dallas Cowboys have a really good defense. Yes, they’re just 18th in the NFL in rushing defense and 18th in fantasy points allowed to running backs, but they’ll look to stop the run on early downs so they can turn their dangerous pass rush loose on Jay Cutler. 

This game feels like it could be a defensive struggle, with a whole lot of interceptions thrown by Cutler and Tony Romo. In other words, it looks like the sort of week that would limit Forte’s value even if he was fully healthy.

But fret not, all ye faithful Forte owners, for next week he gets the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars, who were 29th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed coming into the weekend. And we all know that Forte gains a lot of value as a receiver, and Jacksonville is 21st in pass defense, too.

In other words, this one should be another one of Forte’s 150 yards from scrimmage specials. Sure, we would all love more touchdowns, but those yards still do the trick.

Everything screams “wait until next week” when it comes to Forte’s fantasy status. Another week to heal his ankle. A more favorable matchup. A much earlier guarantee in the week he’ll play.

I really, really hope you aren’t in the position where you are relying on Forte for this evening. I think you’re going to be very disappointed if you are.

At least until next week, that is.

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