Matt Forte Embracing Leadership Role for Overlooked Chicago Bears
Published by Matt Eurich on September 8, 2015
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
After finishing the 2013 season with an 8-8 record, the Chicago Bears appeared poised to take the next step in 2014. The Bears struggled on both sides of the football last season, and they finished the year with a disappointing 5-11 record.
Chicago made changes in the front office by hiring general manger Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox, but many in the media believe the Bears will struggle again in 2015.
Bleacher Report’s Mike Tanier lists the Bears as the 24th-best team in the league, while ESPN.com has them ranked at No. 25 in its first power rankings of the regular season. Chicago has been overlooked this offseason, but running back Matt Forte has embraced a leadership role as the team heads into its regular-season opener.
Chicago is set to open up the 2015 regular season this Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, and Forte knows any game against the Packers is more than just a “game.”
“It is a game against a division opponent, so it is always important,” Forte told Bleacher Report on Tuesday. “But I do look forward to playing them twice a year—sometimes three times.”
Since the Bears drafted Forte in the second round of the 2008 draft, they have mustered just a 3-12 record (including the playoffs) against the Packers, and they have not beaten Green Bay at Soldier Field since September 2010.
Green Bay has had a lot of success against the Bears over the course of the last decade, and Packers head coach Mike McCarthy made headlines last week when he spoke about his team’s upcoming matchup against Chicago.
“These guys are working very hard to conclude this final lap of the preseason, tomorrow night against the Saints,” McCarthy said at Green Bay’s Welcome Back Luncheon last Wednesday, per CSNChicago.com. “We will proudly stand as the 95th team in the history of the Green Bay Packers when we kick Chicago’s ass.”
The quote from McCarthy spread on social media over the weekend, but Forte said he does not concern himself with what others say about him or the team.
“It goes in one ear and out the other, I don’t really pay attention to that,” Forte said. “Personally, I let my play talk for myself. I don’t have to go out there and trash talk.”
In 14 games against Green Bay in his career—he missed one game against the Packers in 2011 due to injury—Forte has carried the ball a total of 241 times for 946 yards with four touchdowns. He has also hauled in 65 passes for 619 yards with one touchdown.
In addition to letting his play do his talking on the field, Forte admitted he has taken on a bigger leadership role in the locker room now that veteran linebacker Lance Briggs and cornerback Charles Tillman are no longer with the team.
“I’ve always led by example, but now I’ve gotten that much more of an opportunity to be a vocal leader,” Forte said when asked about the departures of Briggs and Tillman. “I’ve become a leader in both what I do and what I say.”
Forte carried the football 266 times and caught 102 passes last season, but Chicago opted to add more depth to the position this offseason by signing veteran Jacquizz Rodgers and drafting Michigan State’s Jeremy Langford in the fourth round of this year’s draft. Despite the team adding more competition to the position, Forte has embraced his new teammates.
“I think last year I played 92 percent of the plays,” he said when asked about the additions of Rodgers and Langford this offseason. “I won’t have to play every single snap throughout the entire year. It will help keep me healthy and fresher in games this season.”
According to FootballOutsiders.com, Forte played 975 snaps on offense last season, while backup running back Ka’Deem Carey played just 98 snaps on offense.
Forte said the team plans on having a more balanced offense this season after placing a bigger emphasis on the passing game under former head coach Marc Trestman, and he knows a strong running game will help starting quarterback Jay Cutler.
“Every time I see [Cutler] at practice and in the meeting rooms, he looks focused,” he said. “As a teammate and as a running back, I just want the running game to be able to help out the passing game. [Offensive coordinator] Adam Gase is going to do a great job of putting him in the best position to make the best plays possible and keep him away from 3rd-and-long.”
Even though the media has low expectations for Chicago this season, Forte said he and his teammates have tuned out all of the criticism.
“We don’t talk about that at all,” Forte said. “All we can do is control how we play individually and as a group on offense. We are really just focused on how we are going to approach the game each week and not worry about what people say and how they think we are going to do this year.”
The first game of the season between the Bears and the Packers is always one that fans and players look forward to, and Forte noted Bears fans are not afraid to show their allegiance to their team—particularly when the Packers come to town.
“There is this guy they always show on the Jumbotron at Soldier Field who wears a full bear costume,” Forte said. “His face sticks right out of the bear’s mouth. The fans are always into it.”
In addition to his work on the field, Forte has teamed up with Tide off the field this season to celebrate fans and their passion for wearing their team colors. He—along with 31 other players—will be serving as a photojournalist this season, capturing fans and their team colors by using the hashtag #OurColors.
Chicago will square off against a difficult opponent on Sunday in the Packers, but if Forte’s attitude and leadership qualities can rub off on his teammates, the Bears have a chance to make a statement in the regular-season opener.
All quotes obtained firsthand by the author unless otherwise noted. Statistical information courtesy of NFL.com.
Matt Eurich is a Chicago Bears featured columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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