The offense would be worse without Forte. It makes absolutely no sense to get rid of him when the Bears can control him every year. Signing Bush provides the Bears leverage from the threat of a Forte holdout.

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GO BEARS!!!

You're not going to get anything in return for Forte in a trade since his salary demands are so high.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Yes they would. There are many teams that would be willing to give up a 1st Round pick and more for his production. He's a top 5 back IMO and only haters would put him lower than a top 10 back.

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GO BEARS!!!

They'll give Forte a new contract before the season starts. They want/need a 1-2 punch. It's too easy to get injured in football, you need a good #2 (Hey,Hey!). For once the Bears have a progressive look on the game, they get a #1 WR, they get a 2nd good back, they have a franchise QB. No more meatball "Just run da ball! Just run da ball!" Welcome to the 21st century Chicago!

What do you guys think Forte is worth per year? Or how much guaranteed money should he get?

13-14 million guaranteed.

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A lot of people would say Foster is better and he just got $20M guaranteed. Of course Forte has been productive longer (I believe he's top 3 in yards since he's been in the league). Lynch just got $17M guaranteed too. Forte should be someone in the middle of that or the Bears could bump him to $21M guaranteed as a thank you.

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I get what the Bears are doing and I can't say I disagree. I don't feel good about it for a couple reasons. I might be the only one but I feel pretty bad for Forte.

Just hard for me to work up a lot of sympathy for a guy who turned down at least 10 million guaranteed last year.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

The Bears cannot win with you tho. They are doing the smart business thing here and yet you still bitch. If they overpaid for Forte and did not sign a guy like Bush you would be the first one bitching if he got hurt that they had no back up plan. No matter what they do, you bitch.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I said they were doing the smart thing but I don't know that it is the right thing. Signing Bush was a really good move. My problem is more about not paying Forte. I don't think it'd be overpaying so much as rewarding Forte for the past few seasons. I wouldn't break the bank on him that would hinder other signings and I wouldn't give him a crazy big contract. We don't really know what he's been offered or has turned down, I just get the feeling they are going cheap on him. He deserves something but if it comes out he's being the a-hole I'd have no problem trying to trade him. I've always said I like Forte so there is some follow the heart train of thought going on. I also think the franchise tag is a shitty thing in general especially for RBs.

I don't really get the no back up plan statement as I don't think that is the direction they are headed. I don't think Forte will be easily replaced either.

I didn't complain about the no back up for Cutler.

So you would prefer them doing the dumb thing that would be more in line with your heart?

It has been pretty well known that Forte and his camp have said they expect money in line with some of the other big contracts for RBs. I do not think this is an issue of the Bears trying to go cheap on him, I mean isn't he on pace to make over 7 million this year with the franchise deal? And did not the Bears have a pretty good offer on the table that Forte turned down?

You do not pay someone based on past performance, you pay them based on what they can do from here on out.

If the franchise deal is a bad deal then the players union should not agree to a contract that includes them. If they agree to it, the teams have every right to use it on any position they deem necessary.

I am not going to go searching through all your old Bears posts, but I would almost guarantee you bitched at least once about stupid Jerry and Lovie not having a back up plan for Cutler.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

The RB position in the new Bears Offense will not get anywhere close to being 47% of the Offense like Forte was in the past. If the Bears can get a couple of draft picks &/or an OL for Forte, do it. There are a slew of free agent RB's available & every year they are a dime a dozen. The first thing Forte should do is fire is agent. He should have signed the deal that the Bears offered him.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

I think something like four years, $30 million, $18 mill guaranteed is fair for Forte. Bush is a perfect complement to Forte and them, Cutler, and Marshall make them a really solid offense.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

RB's like Forte aren't a dime a dozen. He's going to make damn near half this year of what the Bears originally offered him last year. Only 2 running backs have been more productive since he's been in the league.

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Forte is obviously very good, but I think his numbers are inflated a bit because it was the Martz offense and because the Bears WRs were so goddam awful, he was the only guy you could depend on. At least now they have a bonafide #1 WR, which only makes Bennett better.

THe Bears have wasted too much $ on the RB position the last 3 years. Invest the $ in getting the OLine top tier, and a middle of the road back will be very productive. The Bears had a long term offer on the table for Forte, and he didn't sign it. At that point, you franchise tag him, offer him that again (with a little higher per year and/or guaranteed) and if he doesn't sign it then, you entertain offers to move him.

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whoa, slow down there..forte is a nice back but there are a few i would put ahead of him, guys like mjd..cris johnson.. A. foster..lashawn mcCoy..a.p. ..mcfadden..ray rice...steven jackson and jamal charles.. he just does not run off tackle as good as those guys or score enough t.d.'s....

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AP and Steven Jackson are closer to 30 to be top tier anymore. AP is also coming off some serious knee troubles. MJD could use to stay on the field as well. Forte is top 5 or 6 back for sure.

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Depending on how he comes off his ACL injury AP is the best RB in the league. He IS the top tier.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Was at THE top for sure. After getting the knee torn up, he needs to prove that he still is top tier.

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A.P. will bounce back from a real bad injury...and jackson had 1100 yards plus last year and caught 42 balls out of the backfield...all those guys face 8 man fronts sometimes 9...forte is fortunate to have cutler to stop teams from loading the box..do you remember fortes' last 3 games last year before he got hurt? he ran for like 50-80 yards per game..teams were loading the box and fortes' numbers plummeted ..those guys run against those fronts every game all season...i would call forte good not great but i am not a fan of his really..i prefer a back who runs better and scores more t.d.'s and less of a receiver.

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I guess so. It's just as easy to say he's the best until proven otherwise, which hasn't happened yet.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

forte is coming an injury too..what is so funny about that costanza?

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I don't agree with Frank's view on AP but you can't compare his injury to Forte's.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Hell, if you could get a #1 or 2 #2s, I would do that in a heartbeat.

I seriously doubt somebody is going to pay that PLUS $25MM guaranteed for a nice but not spectacular RB.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

QB's production goes up in Martz system not RB's. Besides Forte was productive before Martz. Many of you continue to discount the fact that Forte has been the 3rd most productive back in spite of a terrible supporting cast on offense. This would be the first season he would have any real talent around him.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

They would. You guys are insane for discounting Forte impact as a player. Fortunately none of you are the GM or you would get fleeced.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

no team is giving a #1 or two number 2's for forte...of course you make that trade but no team would offer that.not a one...the bears offered forte a fair deal..he turned it down..the bears have finally started to act like a real franchise and treat it so...

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