LeGere: Bears' Forte heats up against Panthers
Coming off his best game of the season, Bears running back Matt Forte seems primed for an encore performance Sunday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The two most productive rushing games of Forte's illustrious career have come against Carolina, both Bears victories. In four career games against the Panthers, he has rushed for 533 yards, 4 touchdowns and a 6.3-yard average per carry.
In Week 4 of the 2011 season, Forte ran for a career-best 205 yards on 25 carries against Carolina at Soldier Field. Fifty-one weeks earlier, in Charlotte, Forte picked up 166 yards on 22 carries with 2 touchdowns.
But the two-time Pro Bowl selection insists he's not preoccupied with his own statistics.
"I think to be motivated by stats is a little bit selfish, and I'm not a selfish player," Forte said. "I want everybody on the offense to succeed. What motivates me are … my family, being out there and working hard to provide for them. Just this opportunity God has given me to be in the NFL gives me motivation."
Forte had a season-high 28 touches last week - 23 carries for 122 yards and 5 receptions for 49 yards - but no one is worried about overworking the seven-year veteran.
Quarterback Jay Cutler can't ever remember seeing the 28-year-old Forte tired.
"We're all getting a little bit older, Matt included," Cutler said. "(But) the way he prepares in the off-season he really sets himself up for being able to stay not only healthy but so durable and able to be a three-down back.
"Whenever we do take him out, he seems to be sitting on the sideline just waiting to come back in. You never see him go over and look for oxygen or sit down and (look like) he's completely gassed."
Forte has only missed five games in his career, four in 2011 with a sprained knee and one in 2012 with a sprained ankle. His 363 touches last season were his most since his rookie season, when he had 379.
That's a heavy workload, but Forte does so many thing so well it always has been a struggle for coaches to take him off the field.
Marc Trestman is no different.
"He's a very smart player, as smart a player as you can coach," the Bears' head coach said. "Reading the proper keys of defensive linemen, reading hats. He's a patient runner. He knows how to set up blocks. He's of very high football intelligence.
"He's not blindly running into space. He knows what to do with the football and the courses to take and the footwork. He's got great instincts and great eyes, plus his ability to catch the ball in space and make plays in space. It affords you a lot of different avenues to utilize him."
In most meaningful running back categories, Forte's career totals are second only to Hall of Famer Walter Payton in Bears history. In average yards from scrimmage - maybe the fairest comparison - Payton (111.9 yards) and Forte (105.7) are first and second, and not much separates the two.
But Forte says he wants his career to be about more than piling up impressive numbers.
"I don't just want to be a player who played this game and was a good running back," he said. "When I leave the game, I want (people) to say more than, 'He was a good running back.' (I want them to say) that I was great off the field, I did things in the community, things like that.
"Also to be (thought of as) a hard worker, and people can see that through my play and what I do."
That should be obvious Sunday, as it usually is with Forte, especially when he faces the Panthers.
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