Forte says he's ready to run with No. 1 role

With the sudden exit of Cedric Benson, rookie Matt Forte will go to training camp as the team's de facto featured running back.

And that's just fine with the second-round pick from Tulane who believes he can handle the responsibility of resurrecting a rushing offense that was the worst in the NFL last season in average gain per attempt.

"I'm not going to sit here and doubt myself or my talent or anything," said the 6-foot-2, 216-pound Forte. "I believe I can come in and play. I have the ability, (but) it's going to take a lot of work."

Forte worked overtime for the Green Wave last season, carrying 361 times for 2,127 yards (second in the nation), 23 touchdowns and a 5.9-yard per carry average. Benson averaged a career-worst 3.4 yards per carry last season for the Bears.

As a team, the Bears averaged a league-worst 3.1 yards per try, so the bar isn't set high for Forte.

Although the Bears have yet to run a single full-speed play in pads and won't until training-camp practices start July 23, offensive coordinator Ron Turner has been impressed with Forte.

"He's been tremendous," Turner said. "He's been here 10 practices or whatever counting OTAs and minicamp, and right now we're not afraid to call anything in our offense with him: first down, second down, third down.

"Sure, he's made some mistakes, and he's got some things to clean up technique-wise and assignment-wise and all that, but we'll continue to work on that. But he's a very bright young man who can do a lot of things."

Part of Forte's allure on draft day was his versatility. He caught 103 passes for 985 yards at Tulane and showed a willingness to stick his nose in as a blocker, making him a reliable third-down option, a designation Benson never achieved.

Forte will encounter a more complicated third-down blocking scheme in the NFL, but he is confident he can be a complete back, even though he's aware it won't happen overnight.

"I'm just a rookie coming in, so it's going to be a long process," Forte said. "That's why we go to training camp; that's why we're out here now in OTAs. (We're) learning the plays, learning the system, and getting used to the speed of the game."

If the Bears don't sign a free-agent running back off the NFL scrapheap to replace Benson, the Bears would be left with only seventh-year veteran backup Adrian Peterson and second-year situational runner Garrett Wolfe behind Forte.

At just 5-7 and 186 pounds, Wolfe's role figures to be primarily as a receiver in passing situations or as a change-of-pace back.

Peterson is one of the Bears' best special teams players and has performed well as a receiver out of the backfield in passing situations. He had a career-best 51 catches last season, second best on the team, and his 420 receiving yards were fourth best.

Peterson's 151 carries last season exceeded his total from his first five NFL seasons, but he averaged only 3.4 yards per carry, and his longest run was for 21 yards.

Forte doesn't see his niche changing much with Benson now out of the mix.

"It's probably the same role they brought me in here for," he said. "I'm a pass-catcher, runner and a pass-blocker."

Without Benson, Forte will have to be fast-tracked to a more significant role than previously envisioned, even though the team made it clear on draft day the rookie would contend for the starting job.

"I see him as a guy who is very talented," Turner said. "He's been in a system similar to ours. They asked him in college to do a lot of things in the passing game, protection-wise and route-wise, that we do. That gives him a little bit of an edge, and that's why, looking at the film, I liked him so much."

Forte seems to embrace the idea of becoming the go-to guy sooner rather than later, although he has been politically correct when discussing his situation.

"I didn't want to sit on the bench and sit back and relax," he said. "Everybody wants to play, so everybody comes in with the mind-set to learn the whole playbook and act you're like a starter and learn behind these veterans and be like them."

The Bears are hoping Forte acts differently, on and off the field, than the player he's succeeding.