LAKE FOREST, Ill. — There is a bit of a mystery this time, something of an unknown, that awaits the Chicago Bears, and Matt Forte isn’t quite sure what to make of it.
It’s the Green Bay Packers’ new 3-4 defense.
“We don’t have a lot of tape to watch of them running the 3-4, except for preseason,” he said.
As mysteries go, it doesn’t conjure up the suspense of an Agatha Christie novel or the excitement of, say, a Jay Cutler arrival.
It’s just a new wrinkle, a different look from an old rival. How the Packers wear it is something of an unknown, which is what Forte was this time last year.
“I think it was just unknown to everybody else,” Forte said.
“I was pretty confident that I could go in and be effective in the running game and also catch balls.”
Which is exactly what he did.
Amid a cloud of questions, he emerged as one of the NFL’s top young running backs while setting several club records as a rookie. Now, the Bears are counting on another solid season from him as they try to get back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2006 season.
Expectations are high after a 9-7 finish last year, and while much of that optimism centers on the arrival of Cutler, the Pro Bowl quarterback, the Bears are also counting on another solid season from their versatile running back who put up numbers that rivaled the franchise’s greats like Walter Payton and Gale Sayers.
He set rookie records with 1,238 yards rushing and 1,715 from scrimmage, and his 63 receptions set Bears marks for a running back and a rookie. He was also just the eighth rookie since the NFL merged with the AFL in 1970 to lead his team in yards rushing and receptions, and he was the second along with Edgerrin James to run for more than 1,000 and finish with more than 60 catches.
It was a loud statement from a player who rarely shows emotion in public unless he’s celebrating a touchdown and is rather quiet around teammates, although he is known to pull the occasional joke.
Actually, his arrival in Chicago was a loud message.
The Bears made it clear they were running out of patience with Cedric Benson after watching him struggle as the featured running back in 2007 and declared there would be a competition when they drafted Forte. That never happened.
Benson had two alcohol-related arrests and was waived. Just like that, Forte had the top spot.
“Matt was given the opportunity, and he did a good job of securing himself in a great situation,” backup running back Garrett Wolfe said.
