Matt Forte - Page 2

FUNBUNCHER · 03-23-2012, 05:02 AM

No respect for Forte.
Sad when a contending team can't recognize who their stars really are.
Juice his bonus and sign him.

Michael Bush ain't Matt Forte.

What's worse it's not even like the Bears don't have the stacks. They're trying to get a 'fair' deal instead of locking up a weapon on offense very few playoff contending teams possess nowadays.

I hope Shanny/Bruce are making phonecalls.

HeavyLeggedWaistBender · 03-23-2012, 10:28 AM

I'm not a cap guy, not down to the cent specifics anyway. But we've spent a good portion of our cap this off season. So that big deal Forte feels he deserves is in no way coming this year.

I like Forte, how could anyone not? But he's, in my opinion, a 6'2 220lb Reggie Bush (eh, maybe Brian Westbrook isn't as insulting). A better weapon than a running back. Which is cool! He's best on screens and broken field runs. Not the "T" formation Adrian Peterson type. That's a 'workhorse' type. Matt's meant a lot to our offense but he, and this was the point of the Michael Bush signing, would work best in a dual backfield.

And my God, if Matt is dumb enough not to realize this signing will save him the ability to walk when he's 40 than we should just trade him away. We've been running him into the ground.

jrdrylie · 03-23-2012, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FUNBUNCHER

No respect for Forte.
Sad when a contending team can't recognize who their stars really are.
Juice his bonus and sign him.

Michael Bush ain't Matt Forte.

What's worse it's not even like the Bears don't have the stacks. They're trying to get a 'fair' deal instead of locking up a weapon on offense very few playoff contending teams possess nowadays.

I hope Shanny/Bruce are making phonecalls.

A lot of people are playing the no respect card. First off, the Franchise Tag pays him $7.74 million. They must also be forgetting that the Bears offered him a multi-year contract with $14 million guaranteed. For everybody screaming "Pay the Man!" the Bears tried to pay him and he declined. It is no one's fault but his own that he doesn't have a long term contract with a bunch of guaranteed dollars.

Monomach · 03-23-2012, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FUNBUNCHER

I hope Shanny/Bruce are making phonecalls.

Yeah? I hope so, too.

Hankerson and a third would bring a smile to my face.

FlyingElvis · 03-23-2012, 11:06 AM

Bush is nowhere even close to a viable replacement for Forte. IDK what Forte is thinking if he's refusing good offers and holding out for a DWill type deal. I guess he doesn't realize that everybody laughed at Carolina when they gave Williams such a huge offer and the laughed harder at the final production they got for it. Not to mention the Panthers had truckloads of room under the cap at the time and that deal looked like a big $$$ dump in expectation of salary floors.

I understand guys wanting top $$$, but Forte is going to shoot himself in the foot on this one if he refuses good money and gets hurt.

FlyingElvis · 03-23-2012, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monomach

Yeah? I hope so, too.

Hankerson and a third would bring a smile to my face.

I still believe, Hank!

Splat · 03-23-2012, 07:31 PM

It must suck making 7 million for one year of work.

MetSox17 · 03-23-2012, 07:35 PM

It must suck getting injured making 7 when you got shafted out of making ~30-40 over the course of your career.

Rosebud · 03-23-2012, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetSox17

It must suck getting injured making 7 when you got shafted out of making ~30-40 over the course of your career.

If he blows out his knee he's not getting 30-40 over the course of his career, long term deal or no. He'd get his guaranteed money, around 15 mil, plus one year's salary. So he'd really loss closer to 8-10 mill depending on what his first year salary would be, which is just one more franchise tag. So if he makes it through one year on the tag he's already made up the money he was risking playing on the tag. And that's assuming the Bears don't just let him go to some team that'll give him a long term deal on top of that one year of 7.7 mil.

MetSox17 · 03-23-2012, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rosebud

If he blows out his knee he's not getting 30-40 over the course of his career, long term deal or no. He'd get his guaranteed money, around 15 mil, plus one year's salary. So he'd really loss closer to 8-10 mill depending on what his first year salary would be, which is just one more franchise tag. So if he makes it through one year on the tag he's already made up the money he was risking playing on the tag. And that's assuming the Bears don't just let him go to some team that'll give him a long term deal on top of that one year of 7.7 mil.

The market value for a good RB is 18-22M guaranteed so i'd say your numbers may be a little off. He's still risking a lot of money by playing, while the Bears risk nothing.

Splat · 03-23-2012, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetSox17

It must suck getting injured making 7 when you got shafted out of making ~30-40 over the course of your career.

So being tagged guarantees he will get hurt?

MetSox17 · 03-23-2012, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Splat

So being tagged guarantees he will get hurt?

Not sure if you're acting dumb on purpose for the sake of being sarcastic. Playing without the assurance of guaranteed money carries RISK. All of the risk is being put on Forte, and none on the Bears. How difficult is that to understand?

Nalej · 03-23-2012, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetSox17

Not sure if you're acting dumb on purpose for the sake of being sarcastic. Playing without the assurance of guaranteed money carries RISK. All of the risk is being put on Forte, and none on the Bears. How difficult is that to understand?

Well put. If it's not understood yet, it never will be.

Rosebud · 03-23-2012, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetSox17

The market value for a good RB is 18-22M guaranteed so i'd say your numbers may be a little off. He's still risking a lot of money by playing, while the Bears risk nothing.

The Bears are offering him 15 mil guaranteed if he wants the long term deal, so if he plays for just one year on the franchise tag before signing that long term deal, he makes probably around twice as much for one season while still getting to sign that big deal. So that's the reward for that risk to Forte and having to pay him that extra money is the risk to the Bears.

Splat · 03-23-2012, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetSox17

Not sure if you're acting dumb on purpose for the sake of being sarcastic. Playing without the assurance of guaranteed money carries RISK. All of the risk is being put on Forte, and none on the Bears. How difficult is that to understand?

And if the Bears drop 30-40 million on him and he blows out a knee that is all well and good?

Sorry Bears you have no RB but at least he got paid.

Maybe if he would stop crying about it something would get done.

WCH · 03-23-2012, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Splat

Maybe if he wasn't crying on Twitter I would have more sympathy for him.

I'm guessing that he's crying on Twitter because he's already requested the ability to negotiate a trade with another team, and the request was declined. That's just a guess, though.

Or maybe he just really likes living in the Chicago and bitching on Twitter (no snark intended, we all know people who like bitching on twitter/facebook).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Splat

And if the Bears drop 30-40 million on him and he blows out a knee that is all well and good?

Obviously, that would suck. I'm guessing if you were his agent, though, you wouldn't be advising him to sign the franchise tender.

I don't have a horse in this race, and I can understand why Forte wants market value right now, and also why the Bears would rather have him play for two years under the franchise tag. I'm just glad GB doesn't have a RB who's worth all of this drama...

Splat · 03-23-2012, 08:07 PM

I just don't like the way he is handling it. He isn't helping his case at all by taking it public.

WCH · 03-23-2012, 08:38 PM

If the Bears use the Franchise Tag on Forte for the next two years (as a lot of people have suggested), then they'll end up paying him roughly $17 Million. The math is roughly: 7.74 + [7.74*1.2]. Think about that: $17 Million, for two years, from Matt Forte. But $20 Million guaranteed over four years...that is too much money?

Assuming that they don't know something that we don't know (in regards to Forte's health, specifically), this is a really idiotic strategy. If they force him to play under the franchise tag and they're "unfortunate" enough to see him stay healthy, then they'll have probably made a pretty stupid mistake.

nobodyinparticular · 03-23-2012, 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiFan24

The Bears just signed Michael Bush, and the implication is that they're more than willing to play hardball with Forte since Bush has an every down skill set. According to his Twitter, Matt is pretty upset about the lack of respect. Was wondering what everyone thought about the situation.

Also, what could the Bears get in a trade? Would Cleveland give #22? Would Denver give #25? I'm not a running back guy, so I'd probably take either deal now that Bush in on the team (and then supplement him with a Pead/Turbin type), but I have no idea what the perception is on Forte.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mufasa

He had 256 carries last year, so he's definitely capable of carrying the load. I do get what you're saying though. But I don't get wanting Ryan Grant. There's a reason the Packers have shown no interest in re-signing him. He's 29 and hasn't been the same since coming back from his injury. He won't get paid a lot, but it'll still be more than he's worth. Drafting a change of pace back to pair with Bush would be a much better option.

As a Raider fan, I don't agree with this sentiment at all. Michael Bush cannot be the man in a backfield. He gets worn down and he's one dimensional. He is at his best when he is a secondary back who can come in and pick up chunks of yards up the middle when a defense is tired. Bring him in at the tail end of a long drive and let him run in the 4th quarter and you will see great success.

Go into a season without another tailback and you will get a few good games out of him, but you will get a lot of dirty old ground and pound with not enough pound.