- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 120,562
Matt Forte: You can’t throw 50 times and expect to win
Posted by Josh Alper on December 2, 2014, 8:37 AM EST
The Jets ran the ball almost exclusively during their Monday night loss to the Dolphins, which meant they joined the Bears in bookending Week 13 with wildly imbalanced offensive game plans.
Chicago was in Detroit to kick off the Thanksgiving triple-header and they marked the occasion by doing the opposite of the Jets. The Bears had Jay Cutler drop back to pass 51 times and called just seven running plays in the 34-17 loss. Running back Matt Forte got five of those carries and said Monday that the team needs to find more balance if they’re going to win again this season.
“It’s of the utmost importance, especially if we’re playing outside, with the weather and stuff. You can’t just sit back there and throw 50 passes a game and expect to win,” Forte said, via the Chicago Tribune. “[The Lions’] front four were pinning their ears back. They didn’t have anything to do but pass rush. They’re not respecting the run, and then if you play fake, they’re not going take the play fake because you haven’t been running the ball. It’s a big part of the play-action game, to keep the defense off of keying on exactly what to do, whether it’s pass rush or trying to stop the run.”
Forte noted the Lions are stingy against the run, but said that the Bears can’t let the opposition totally dictate their commitment to running the ball because of the need to balance the offense. If they are going to let that happen, though, this is a week where the run game should be front and center since the Cowboys were gashed for 256 yards on the ground last week and Thursday night’s conditions at Soldier Field should lend themselves to the ground game.
Posted by Josh Alper on December 2, 2014, 8:37 AM EST
The Jets ran the ball almost exclusively during their Monday night loss to the Dolphins, which meant they joined the Bears in bookending Week 13 with wildly imbalanced offensive game plans.
Chicago was in Detroit to kick off the Thanksgiving triple-header and they marked the occasion by doing the opposite of the Jets. The Bears had Jay Cutler drop back to pass 51 times and called just seven running plays in the 34-17 loss. Running back Matt Forte got five of those carries and said Monday that the team needs to find more balance if they’re going to win again this season.
“It’s of the utmost importance, especially if we’re playing outside, with the weather and stuff. You can’t just sit back there and throw 50 passes a game and expect to win,” Forte said, via the Chicago Tribune. “[The Lions’] front four were pinning their ears back. They didn’t have anything to do but pass rush. They’re not respecting the run, and then if you play fake, they’re not going take the play fake because you haven’t been running the ball. It’s a big part of the play-action game, to keep the defense off of keying on exactly what to do, whether it’s pass rush or trying to stop the run.”
Forte noted the Lions are stingy against the run, but said that the Bears can’t let the opposition totally dictate their commitment to running the ball because of the need to balance the offense. If they are going to let that happen, though, this is a week where the run game should be front and center since the Cowboys were gashed for 256 yards on the ground last week and Thursday night’s conditions at Soldier Field should lend themselves to the ground game.