Now that Matt Forte is retired, he doesn’t have to worry about angering teams with his words anymore. He’s free to say what he liked. So the former Chicago Bears two-time Pro Bowl running back decided open up for the first time about his excellent NFL career and all his personal thoughts regarding it, his former teams, teammates and the league in general.
Forte was considered by many to be part of a new generation of running backs. A type that fully embraced the multidimensional style of both running and catching the ball. There were greats before him like Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk, but few made look smoother than Forte. He stepped away with 14,468 total yards from scrimmage including 75 touchdowns.
He caught 554 passes in his career including an NFL running back record of 102 in the 2014 season. For a long stretch, he was the Bears offense and there wasn’t a close second. Everybody has their favorite moments with him, but it might be even more interesting to hear what his might be.
Matt Forte reveals his best (and worst) Bears moments
Kaylyn Kahler of The MMQB got a chance to sit down with Forte and talk about his career in great detail. They covered a wide range of topics from his current state of health, the reason why he retired and what the future of running backs in the NFL may look like. Soon she got to asking him about his favorite moment of his career.
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It wasn’t hard to find an answer.
“THE MMQB: What would you say was your career highlight?
There are many highlights, which is why I felt so good about shutting it down. My rookie year, my very first game, being able to come out on a large stage and rush for over 120 yards and have a big long touchdown run in front of my parents, my first touchdown run, that was awesome.”
Forte broke the play down to an incredible level of detail. The Bears had been throwing it on third down all game. So on the play, they decided to run a trap up the middle, knowing the Colts defense had two interior pass rushers on the field. Thanks to a huge cut block by Roberto Garza on a linebacker, he slipped right through the line and into the open field.
He then put a move on future Pro Bowl safety Antoine Bethea and raced the remaining distance untouched for the score. Chicago won 29-13. It was quite the first impression for a rookie who wasn’t slated to be the starter before the season.
That said, not all of his Bears career was joyous
He had his moments of frustration with the team. One that still sticks with him to this day was their signing of veteran running back Chester Taylor in 2010. Many felt he’d be their third down back, but Forte felt the move was pointless and only served to antagonize him.
“THE MMQB: Did you ever have to fight with coaches to stay on the field?
FORTE: No, they left me out there. And that was the thing I was fighting against when I was doing my contract negotiation. My third year going into the league they brought in a third-down back, Chester Taylor. And nothing against Chester, but I played on third down. So I was like, why? And then he was making millions more than me because was still on my rookie contract.”
It’s hard to argue his point. Taylor averaged just 2.6 yards rushing that year and caught 20 passes. He was eventually relegated to a role as a short-yardage back while Forte took most of the snaps in other situations. Taylor was gone by the next season, making one wonder why it was ever a smart idea to sign him to a four-year, $12.5 million deal.
It might explain why Forte gave the team a lot of grief in future contract negotiations a couple years later. Hard to argue his reasoning.
