Chicago Bears Week 8: What To Look For

FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING HOLY, GIVE MATT FORTE MORE TOUCHES LATE IN THE GAME!!!

Here is the top five receivers in the NFL in terms of catches:

[table id=5 /]

Do you notice something on that list that isn’t like the others? If you said that Matt Forte is the lone running back in that list, you get a pat on the back.

Forte also ranks sixth in the league in carries. The man wants the ball and has proven he deserves to get the ball.

For some strange reason, the Bears have gone away from Forte late in games. Against the Buffalo Bills in the season opener, Forte was running all over the Bills defense. He was getting five, six, seven chunks of yards per carry consistently. On a third-and-one in the red zone in the fourth quarter, instead of running a play for Forte, the call was for a pass, which was subsequently intercepted.

Against the Green Bay Packers, Jay Cutler and Aaron Rodgers got into a shootout. That was not a good sight. While Cutler was trying to fit in tight passes to receivers who were double covered and not getting the ball to Forte, Rodgers was burning the Bears’ secondary on a consistent basis.

Giving the ball to Forte more relieves the pressure off of Cutler. Cutler is a gunslinger and thinks he can get a pass through anything with his rocket arm. Having the offense go through Forte more, a lot of bad decisions can be spared.

I keep saying to look at the Dallas Cowboys. They took the ball away from Tony Romo a bit and gave it more to DaMarco Murray. Romo has cut down on the dumb mistakes, and the Cowboys are 6-1 this season.

Give Forte the ball, and cut out some of the decision making by Cutler, and the offense will run smoother.