By Paul M. Banks
This fall #22 Matt Forte will try to continue the legacy of Chicago Bears tailbacks such as Walter Payton, Gale Sayers, Red Grange and Neal Anderson. You’ll notice that last year’s starter, 2005 #4 overall Draft choice Cedric Benson isn’t on that list.
Cedric the Entertainer’s less-than-entertaining off the field antics led to his dismissal from the Monsters of the Midway and opened the door for Forte, a second round pick (44th overall) out of Tulane. I had an exclusive chat with Forte after Wednesday’s night’s practice in Bourbonnais and asked him how his running style has been described. “I would say it’s unique. It has a lot of stuff to offer, quickness, speed, power, agility and the toughness to pound the ball out every game,†he responded. “Once we get these preseason games under our belt, we’ll be ready to go,†Forte added.
His back up will be the familiar veteran Adrian Peterson. (No, not that Adrian Peterson, the Minnesota Vikings’ NFL record setting rusher nicknamed “Purple Jesusâ€) Behind Peterson will be the man who put on quite an amazing show at this particular practice, the diminutive Garret Wolfe, who is entering his second year out of Northern Illinois University. Last year’s Bears unit ranked 30th out of 32 NFL teams in rushing yards per game. So there is obvious reason to believe that the autumn of 2008 should see a tremendous improvement. Benson was a colossal bust when you consider how the last running back drafted that high by the Bears was “Sweetness†himself, Walter Payton.
Perhaps Forte can make the fans forget about Benson and remind them of the glory days instead. “They have a great history of running backs here, Hall of Famers, and hopefully I can add to that,†Forte concluded.
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