Forte tired of talking about Bears' problems
The down side of a bye week in the NFL — at least for teams that are 3-5 — is the overabundance of analysis and criticism.
It's been almost two weeks since the Bears were pummeled 51-23 by the Patriots, their fourth loss in five games. That has opened them up to the musings of armchair quarterbacks, coaches and psychologists, spewing opinions about self-motivation and leadership.
While the trip north to Green Bay to play the 5-3 Packers this weekend isn't a glamour detail, it at least provides the Bears an opportunity to quiet the noise.
“We could talk about this all day, but there's nothing anybody is going to say that's going to make our record different,” running back Matt Forte said. “We have to go out there and do it. That's what it is.”
Forte had his best rushing day of the season in the Bears' 38-17 loss to the Packers in Week 4, gaining 122 yards on 23 carries. And he figures to be instrumental in Sunday night's game plan against the Packers, who have the worst run defense in the NFL.
It's difficult to blame Forte — he's third in the league with 1,052 yards from scrimmage — for the Bears' woes. He says he gets plenty of questions from fans when he's out in public.
“They usually just say, ‘Thanks for the fantasy points,' or something like that,” Forte said. “But then they say, ‘What's up with the Bears?' I Tell them, ‘There's really nothing I can say that's going to make you understand what's up with the Bears or what's going on or what's going to change,' because to me, talk is cheap.
“So we have to go out there and show everybody. I'd rather show stuff than talk about it.”
Forte's just the guy to do it. He's gone over 100 rushing yards in each of his last three games against the Packers and averaged 5.2 yards (69 carries, 357 yards) with 3 touchdowns. He's also caught 14 passes for 150 yards (10.7-yard average) and another TD.
Unfortunately for Forte and the Bears, they lost two of those three games. The Packers have defeated the Bears in 10 of their last 12 meetings, but Forte refutes the notion that leadership — or what critics consider a lack of leadership — has anything to do with the lopsided rivalry.
“You can talk so much about, ‘Let's do this and let's do that, rah, rah and let's go guys,' ” Forte said. “If you're not motivated yourself at this point, then you don't even need to be in the room.
“So a rah-rah speech at this point isn't going to make me do anything different or make me feel any different. I'm going to go out there and continue to work as hard as I can to turn it around myself, because that's what my job is, and that's what I'm going to do.”
The Bears piled up 496 yards of offense against the Packers six weeks ago but turned the ball over twice and failed to take it away. They also managed a total of just 3 points on two separate drives that reached the Packers' 1-yard line.
Offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer had a simple message for his players when they returned from last week's bye.
“It's fundamentals and techniques, and are you doing your job the way it's supposed to be done within the offense?” Kromer preached. “(It was) making a big point for all 11 guys on the field of saying, ‘Let's make sure we're running the offense and doing our job.' That's been a huge emphasis this week.”
Quarterback Jay Cutler, mindful of the 235 rushing yards the Bears had in the first meeting with the Packers, believes his team will have opportunities on the ground again.
“I think they're going to give us that,” Cutler said. “They're going to give us some stuff underneath. They're going to try to keep the ball in front of them, like they have in the past. We just have to take what's given, and hopefully we'll be able to get Matt going on the ground again and see where it takes us.” Hopefully for the Bears, it takes them out of the NFC North cellar.
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