[CBFF] Matt Forte - RB

Sat Apr 26 18:26:00 MDT 2008

It's only 2 rounds, but I'm liking this draft so far. I'm guessing the 
goal if this draft is to improve the running game in particular. I'll be 
real excited if we grab Zuttah in round 3.

More power!!!

Kenny Claxton wrote:
> Ran a 4.47 during the combine
>
> On Sat, Apr 26, 2008 at 6:43 PM, Steve Behrens <steve.behrens at gmail.com> wrote:
>   
>>  Matt Forte
>>  Height: 6-1 | Weight: 224 | Position:RB | College: Tulane
>>
>>   Overview
>>
>>  The Green Wave boasts one of the elite tailbacks in college football. Much
>>  like his predecessor, Mewelde Moore (2000-03), Forte' is a multi-talented
>>  athlete who must be accounted for by the opposition, as he can break free
>>  for a long run, take the ball up the middle for tough yardage, catch the
>>  ball coming out of the backfield, deliver the big tackle on the special
>>  teams coverage unit or utilize his strong arm to complete the option pass.
>>
>>  A creative open-field runner, Forte' has drawn comparisons to Arizona
>>  Cardinals standout Edgerrin James, as he shows the same balance, body
>>  control and burst to gain valid yardage after the initial hit. He ranks
>>  second on the school's career-record lists with 808 rushing attempts for
>>  4,145 yards on the ground, while his 38 scoring runs established the Tulane
>>  all-time record. Forte' also became the 11th player in NCAA Subdivision
>>  (1-A) history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season during his
>>  senior year.
>>
>>  After leading the nation in rushing for a good part of 2007, Forte
>>  eventually finished second with 177.3 yards per game. He was also second in
>>  scoring with 11.67 points per game and fourth with 201.7 all-purpose yards
>>  per game. His five 200-yard games tied the single-season NCAA record held by
>>  three players (Marcus Allen of Southern California in 1981, Barry Sanders of
>>  Oklahoma State in 1988 and Jamario Thomas of North Texas State in 2004).
>>
>>  In 2007, Forte' gained 620 yards in a two-game span (vs. Southern Methodist
>>  and Memphis), the most by a Division 1-A runner since Ricky Williams of
>>  Texas gained 668 yards in 1998 (318 vs. Rice and 350 vs. Iowa State). His
>>  2007 three-game span of 829 yards (vs. Southern Methodist, Memphis and
>>  Alabama-Birmingham) are the most gained by a Division 1-A runner in three
>>  consecutive contests since Sanders totaled 937 yards in 1988. His four-game
>>  streak of 1,031 yards (vs. Southern Methodist, Memphis, Alabama-Birmingham
>>  and Army) is the most in Division 1-A history since Sanders piled up 1,152
>>  yards in 1988.
>>
>>  An Honor Roll student at Slidell High School, Forte' earned The St. Tammany
>>  Parish Player of the Year Award and was named District 5-5A Offensive Most
>>  Valuable Player as a senior. The All-Metro selection added second-team
>>  All-State honors his final year and was a two-time All-District and
>>  All-Parish choice. He also served as team captain and garnered squad MVP
>>  honors his senior season.
>>
>>  Forte' amassed 2,432 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns in his career while
>>  also catching 48 passes for 618 yards and five scores. He gained 1,375 yards
>>  as a senior while averaging 6.7 yards per carry, scoring 23 touchdowns on
>>  the ground. He also made 18 catches for 253 yards and a pair of scores. He
>>  totaled 1,057 rushing yards with eight touchdowns and caught 30 passes for
>>  365 yards and three scores as a junior. He also lettered in track.
>>
>>  Forte' became the third member of his family to play college football and
>>  the second to suit up for Tulane. His father, Gene Forte' played for the
>>  team from 1975-77, serving as team captain as a senior. His brother, Bryan
>>  Forte', played football at McNeese State in 2004, where he competed as a
>>  reserve linebacker, recording 20 tackles (12 solos) with 3.5 stops for
>>  losses, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.
>>
>>  The talented youngster made an immediate impact during his first season at
>>  Tulane, earning Conference USA All-Freshman Team honors. He shared tailback
>>  duties with Jovon Jackson, starting the team's final three games. He
>>  finished second on the team with 624 yards and four touchdowns on 140
>>  carries (4.5 avg). He added 180 yards and a pair of scores on 20 receptions
>>  (9.0 avg) and gained 804 all-purpose yards. He also registered three solo
>>  tackles on the punt coverage unit.
>>
>>  Forte' and Jackson would again share the brunt of the rushing load in 2005.
>>  Forte' would go on to lead the team with 169 attempts for 655 yards (3.9
>>  avg) and four touchdowns, as he started the first four and final two
>>  contests. He ranked fifth on the Green Wave with 23 catches for 163 yards
>>  (7.1 avg) and a score, finishing with 818 all-purpose yards.
>>
>>  Forte' received All-Conference USA third-team honors and was named to the
>>  Louisiana Sports Writers Association All-State second-team in 2006. He
>>  started the first nine games, but suffered a torn meniscus and posterior
>>  cruciate ligament in his left knee, missing the Green Wave's final three
>>  contests. He still led the team in rushing with 163 rushes for 859 yards
>>  (5.3 avg) and eight touchdowns. The team's fourth-leading receiver caught 28
>>  passes for 360 yards (12.9 avg) and two scores. He attempted one pass,
>>  recovered an onside kickoff and recorded seven tackles on special teams. He
>>  totaled 1,219 all-purpose yards, ranking third in the conference with an
>>  average of 135.44 yards per game.
>>
>>  Held out of spring drills as he continued to recover from his knee injury,
>>  Forte' was primed for a banner senior campaign and certainly surpassed even
>>  the wildest of expectations. He reeled off five 200-yard efforts, including
>>  four in a row, with two of those performances compiling at least 300 yards.
>>
>>  He rushed 361 times for 2,127 yards and a school season-record 23
>>  touchdowns. He added 32 receptions for 282 yards and returned one kickoff 11
>>  yards. He completed one of 10 passes for four yards.
>>
>>  In 43 career games, Forte' started 30 times. He finished as Tulane's career
>>  leader with 99.2 rushing yards per game, 39 rushing touchdowns and 44 total
>>  touchdowns. He is second with 5,261 all-purpose yards, 4,265 rushing yards
>>  and 833 rushing attempts.
>>   Analysis
>>
>>  *Positives:* Has a well-built frame with thick thighs and calves, V-shaped
>>  upper torso with muscular arms, tight abdomen and broad shoulders … Shows
>>  good initial quickness and adequate elusiveness for a rare sized halfback …
>>  Has the ability to take a hit and keep his feet to break arm tackles … His
>>  catching ability is above average, as he is sudden out of his breaks and
>>  shows good hand extension to catch outside his frame … Has an adequate burst
>>  of speed, but is precise in his cuts and hits the holes aggressively,
>>  squaring his shoulders to execute through trash … Shows good vision and
>>  field awareness, as he is developing into an efficient cut blocker … Does a
>>  good job being patient and waiting for blocks to develop and has the vision
>>  to easily locate the cutback lanes … Is very decisive through the holes,
>>  picking his feet well while displaying the body lean to fall forward and
>>  gain additional yardage after the initial hit … Is very alert to stunts and
>>  blitzes, doing a nice job of facing up to the defender in pass protection …
>>  His effort and drive is good taking the ball up the middle and also
>>  demonstrates the second gear to elude along the perimeter … Runs hard and
>>  ends most of his carries going forward … Is an adequate in-line blocker, but
>>  shows good effort to sustain and control, keeping his hands active and with
>>  proper placement … Hard worker on and off the field and is the type who
>>  plays until the whistle … Not a real vocal guy, but is very good leader by
>>  example … Can be relied upon to get his workouts done without being watched
>>  and usually does extra work in the training and film rooms … Shows good
>>  ability to hit the hole hard and getting up to full speed in a hurry once he
>>  clears the line … Runs with good balance and does a fine job of setting up
>>  his blocks … Does a good job of seeing the field and locating coverages to
>>  settle underneath in passing situations … Has good strength and power and
>>  has become more of a bruiser when running the ball during his senior year …
>>  Consistently finishes his runs going forward and shows the ability to
>>  consistently break tackles, even when he has to power through the pile … Has
>>  vision and quickness to make first person miss and builds his acceleration
>>  nicely, reaching full speed when turning the corner … His body control and
>>  balance are evident by his ability to make hard cuts and get defenders off
>>  balance … Had some fumble issues in 2007, but generally does a good job of
>>  protecting the ball in traffic … Used mostly on controlled routes and
>>  screens, but has the moves and route running ability to go up the seam for
>>  the long throws … Doesn't shy away from contact and is very good at squaring
>>  up to mirror defenders or make cut … Has steadily improved his ability to
>>  create separation between him and the defender as a senior, keeping his pads
>>  low and showing very fluid cutback agility, showing no ill effects from 2006
>>  knee surgery … Comes out of his stance with good hip snap, doing a nice job
>>  of locating the cutback lanes … Is a load to bring down in isolated coverage
>>  (had to be brought down by multiple defenders on 99-of-314 non-touchdown
>>  runs in 2007 and on 53-of-155 carries in 2006) … Has also become an
>>  efficient in-line blocker, keeping his hands within his framework to latch
>>  on and sustain … Drives hard with his legs in limited attempts as a lead
>>  blocker, squaring his shoulders well to widen the rush lanes.
>>
>>  *Negatives:* Does a good job hitting the hole and reading his blocks, but
>>  isn't the type of player who can suddenly explode past the smaller defenders
>>  (better moving the pile than trying to elude. Does have the hip swerve to
>>  quickly redirect to the cutback lanes) … Lacks the sudden burst to hit the
>>  corner, but builds his acceleration nicely, using his power rather than a
>>  second gear to break long runs … Has very good hands as a receiver, but the
>>  system does not call for him to be split out, nor is he expected to run
>>  wide-out routes, but you can see on film that he has the vision and hand
>>  extension to catch outside his frame.
>>
>>  *Compares To:* EDGERRIN JAMES-Arizona … Like James, Forte' might lack
>>  explosive speed, but his lower body strength, balance and body control allow
>>  him to shift his weight, sink his pads and drive through arm tackles. He is
>>  an efficient receiver out of the backfield and adds to his resume as a
>>  gunner on special teams. Like James, he quietly goes about his job and is
>>  slowly developing into a solid cut blocker. He seems to get stronger as the
>>  game wears on and has made steady progress recovering from late 2006 knee
>>  problems.
>>  _______________________________________________
>>  CBFF Homepage and Blog:
>>  http://chicagobearsfanforum.com
>>
>>     
>
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