Tag: Matt Forte

Throwback Thursday: Bears tame Dan Orlovsky, Lions in 2008 blowout

Back on Oct. 5, 2008, the Bears defeated the Lions 34-7 during Detroit’s 0-16 season.

Every Thursday throughout the 2021 regular season, Bears Wire will take a look back at some of the most memorable moments in Chicago Bears history that occurred on or near that given day.

October 5, 2008: Bears defeat Detroit Lions 34-7 during their 0-16 season

The Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions have had their share of notable games over the years, being division rivals and all. But this game during the 2008 season stands out for a couple of reasons.

First, prior to this year, this marked the last season the Lions faced the Bears without quarterback Matthew Stafford on the roster. Two, quarterback Dan Orlovsky played a significant role in this game, who was also in the news this week after blasting the 2021 Bears and head coach Matt Nagy. With it being Lions week, this felt like the perfect game to look back on.

Taking place in Detroit, the Bears and Lions got off to a slow start. Despite the Bears opening their first drive with a field goal to take a 3-0 lead, both teams stalled out quite a bit in the first quarter. The Lions in particular had trouble moving the ball as the Bears defense had quarterback Jon Kitna under siege all first half. He was unable to get comfortable in the pocket, leading to many inaccurate passes.

On the other side, Bears quarterback Kyle Orton had a career day. He went 24-for-34 for 334 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. His first score was a quick strike to running back Matt Forte in the second quarter and in their ensuing possession, Orton found wide receiver Devin Hester for another score to make it a 17-0 ballgame at halftime.

Into the third quarter, Orton led the Bears on yet another scoring drive, this time capped by a touchdown run by Forte to make it 24-0. Things only got worse for Detroit on the next series as Kitna was replaced by Orlovsky due to injury and he had an even tougher time against the defense. Orlovsky was picked off by cornerback Charles Tillman for a pick six to make it a 31-0 game. The Bears defense forced an interception and a fumble on the day and had 4 sacks as well.

The Bears bullied the Lions all day, winning 34-7 and keeping Detroit’s skid going at 0-4 en route to their winless 0-16 season.

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Throwback Thursday: Bears opened 2013 season with comeback win over Bengals

Back in 2013, the Bears rallied from behind to defeat the Bengals in the first game of the Marc Trestman era.

Every Thursday throughout the 2021 regular season, Bears Wire will take a look back at some of the most memorable moments in Chicago Bears history that occurred on or near that given day.

September 8th, 2013: Bears defeat Bengals in first game of the Marc Trestman era

The Cincinnati Bengals are set to make their first trip back to Soldier Field to take on the Chicago Bears since the 2013 season opener. Back then, Andy Dalton (now the Bears quarterback) was considered the franchise savior with the Bengals entering his third season. Meanwhile on the Bears sideline, Jay Cutler was entering his first season with “offensive guru” Marc Trestman as head coach, looking to create an offensive powerhouse for the first time in franchise history.

Chicago wound up striking first, thanks to a Dalton interception to cornerback Charles Tillman. The Bears responded with a touchdown to new tight end Martellus Bennett for the early 7-0 lead, but the Bengals fought back. Superstar wide receiver A.J. Green torched Tillman and the Bears secondary for two unanswered touchdowns to take a 14-7 lead. Chicago did narrow the gap to 14-10 thanks to a field goal from Robbie Gould near the end of the first half, but still trailed the AFC North foe.

Cincinnati expanded their lead again, though, in the third quarter thanks to another long reception from Green, setting up running back Benjarvus Green-Ellis for a short touchdown run to make the score 21-10. Down 11 points, the Bears turned to their biggest playmakers for help.

First, running back Matt Forte punched the ball in the endzone late in the third quarter to once again trim the lead to 4 points. Then, All-Pro wide receiver Brandon Marshall bullied the Bengals defensive backs, eventually catching a 19-yard pass from Cutler to take back the lead.

After an unsuccessful rebuttal from Dalton, the Bears chewed over six minutes on their final drive to preserve the lead and hang on to start the season 1-0. Up until last year’s victory against the Detroit Lions, this was the last season opener the Bears had won.

Now with Dalton on the opposite sidelines, will he be able to find the Bears’ big playmakers for substaintal gains like he did back then? Or will we see another safe gameplan from the coaching staff. The Bears and Bengals kickoff at noon CT on FOX.

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Chicago’s all-time leading rushers in Bears history

Chicago has a rich history of successful running backs. Here’s a look at the all-time leading rushers in Bears history.

While the Chicago Bears don’t have a history of good quarterbacks, they certainly have a rich history at the running back position. Led by some of the greatest to ever do it — most notably Walter Payton and Gale Sayers —

David Montgomery has a long way to go before he starts cracking the top 10, as he currently ranks 20th all-time rushing (1,959 yards) in Bears history. But following a mini-breakout season in his sophomore year, Montgomery could certainly establish himself as a force in this offense and quickly climb the ranks.

Here’s a look at the top 10 leading rushers in Bears history:

*All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference

Matt Forte, Kyle Long wonder what it’s going to take for the Bears to fire Matt Nagy

The Bears fired Lovie Smith following a 10-win season. Matt Nagy has his team on a six-game losing streak for the first time in 18 years.

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Just when you think things can’t get worse for the Chicago Bears this season, they continue to prove everyone wrong. If you thought last week’s 41-25 loss to the Green Bay Packers was bad, Chicago officially hit rock bottom with a 34-30 loss to the Detroit Lions, where the Bears blew a 10-point lead in the final two minutes.

Bears fans and alumni alike were outraged at Chicago’s sixth straight loss following a 5-1 start. At this point, it seems like it’s not a matter of “if” the Bears will clean house with head coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace, it’s a matter of “when.”

Especially considering the Bears have now lost dix straight games for the first time since 2002 — over 18 years ago.

Among those that voiced their outrage on Twitter was former Bears running back Matt Forte, who has seen more than enough of this abysmal offense and thinks both Nagy and Pace should be fired. That, and he feels bad for fans and the product both of those guys have put on the field.

Forte has seen firsthand what has gotten a head coach axed, when Lovie Smith was fired when the Bears failed to make the playoffs with a 10-6 record in 2012. Which has left Forte, like many, wondering what it’s going to take for Nagy to get fired. Although, this Lions loss might’ve just been the final blow.

After all, Smith was fired following a 10-win season while Nagy hasn’t done much outside of 2018’s 12-win season.

Even former Bears right guard Kyle Long, who played under Nagy for two seasons, wondered what it’ll take for Nagy to ultimately get the boot midseason.

Nagy and Pace’s seats — along with president Ted Phillips — have gotten hotter with each passing week, but this loss likely was the final dagger in George McCaskey’s decision to part ways with them at season’s end.

Although, it would likely serve the Bears better to cut the cord now and get ahead of finding a new general manager and head coach heading into what looks to be a rebuilding offseason.

The McCaskey’s aren’t known for firing people midseason, but you wonder if this mess is enough to make an exception.

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Bears, former teammates respond to Brian Urlacher’s comments on Jacob Blake shooting

Brian Urlacher came under intense scrutiny following comments he posted on Instagram following Jacob Blake shooting.

Chicago Bears Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher came under severe scrutiny on Thursday for his recent activity on Instagram following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha. Many fans and media members had immediate thoughts on the activity and now his former teammates, as well as his former team, are speaking their minds on the matter.

Urlacher posted an image criticizing the NBA players for not participating in the playoffs, comparing the walkout to former Green Bay Packers QB Brett Favre playing through the grief of losing his father back in 2003. The 2018 Hall of Fame inductee then “liked” a photo showing support for Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year old who is accused of multiple homicide charges after three people were shot during the protests in Kenosha, two of whom were killed.

Following the activity, the Chicago Bears and Urlacher’s former teammates responded. First, the Bears released the following statement on Thursday evening:

The social media posts in no way reflect the values or opinions of the Chicago Bears organization.

Later on, Urlacher’s former teammate running back Matt Forte, who played with the linebacker for five seasons, shared the following in a series of tweets.

The comment @BUrlacher54 (Brian Urlacher) posted is void of empathy, compassion, wisdom and coherence. But full of pride and ignorance! I pray for those who have been blinded by their wealth, privilege and earthly fame that breeds arrogance in their hearts. And those who refuse to acknowledge racism and injustice but instead choose to place their energy into justifying it by quickly judging the victims life as if they themselves are more valuable because their sins are different or weren’t caught by man… but God sees all. End Racism and injustice #byanymeansnecessary.

Forte then followed up those posts with this series of tweets on Friday afternoon, expanding on his thoughts on the situation:

Now my agent is getting media requests for me to comment on 54. Nah, I’m not talkin to you so you can use it to further the division btw humanity. Just read these tweets and nothing will be twisted to create headlines. The reason I’m continuing to pray for 54 and those who share his perspective is because he can ignore my accountability towards him but he’s defenseless against these prayers. [People] have to realize that we all have something in common with someone who’s a criminal, thug, a racist or someone who’s made bad choices etc… and that is YES my character may be better, my morals and values may be better but as a human being created in the image of God. We are all sinful and have the same value and deserve dignity, love and respect for our lives. No matter what you’ve done. So wether you’re HOFer, practice sq, homeless, addict, sex predator etc. I’m no better and my value is NOT more because of my earthly accomplishments. #truth. 

The reason I kept referring to Brian as 54 is because it’d be a shame for him, as well as me, to only be remembered for our tackles and touchdowns. Right now he and the number 54 are synonymous as 22 with me. But when our days end if that’s all people think of us then we’ve failed to be a public success and a private failure is no life to live. I still have love and respect for 54, as well as all people, and we can lovingly disagree but not when it comes to the oppression of people and racism. It’s evident that you can spend the majority of your life with and around black ppl and still not understand the struggle. Even while playing on the same field and being in the same locker room because true understanding doesn’t come from reading a book about it, watching a documentary or an episode of Black-ish. It comes from the actual experience of racism and injustice or self honesty in saying you know what I’ll probably never understand but I’m willing to listen and humbly with compassion put my feet in the oppressed shoes and walk through it with them, as I try to understand the inequality and mistreatments of black and brown people since the first slaves touched U.S. soil. But battles are surly not won on Twitter. The seeds that birthed America were sown in slavery and watered with oppression and racism and it’s roots run deep. So they MUST be rooted out and extinguished. So don’t justify, rather think Just-if-i would fight against racism how much better this world would be for our children! #EndRacism. M. Forté Out ✌🏿.

Forte’s posts resonated with another former teammate and someone who played with Urlacher more than most; linebacker Lance Briggs. Briggs, who played next to Urlacher for a decade, simply shared Forte’s comments on his Twitter.

Finally, another former teammate receiver Rashied Davis, spoke out on the matter as well. Davis, who was a member of the Bears from 2005-2010, joined Dan Bernstein on 670 The Score to talk about the protests as well as Urlacher’s comments. The former wide receiver has been on the front lines, protesting in Kenosha over the last week and has had personal experience dealing with police brutality in the past. When asked about Urlacher, Davis said the following:

“When I did find out about his statement yesterday, I did reach out to him and he agreed to sit down and have a conversation with me and hopefully we can do that. But his statement, it was tone deaf. It lacked any empathy, lacked all wisdom. There was no equivalent between Brett Favre’s dad dying – which I sympathize with him, I lost my father when I was 8 years old. And I understand that. But that’s not the same courage it takes to stand up and protest against racism and racial inequality and police brutality.

“I personally have family members who have been brutalized by police. One who almost died, had to have emergency surgery. He had no idea that it had happened until he was allowed to make a phone call and call my mom and say what was happening.

“To hear it, it hurts. It hurt me deeply to hear someone that I cared about, or care about, someone I call a friend, someone I went to work with everyday for six-seven years here, playing football. To read those words and have conversations with people, it was painful.”

The comments and social media activity from Urlacher hurt many Bears fans and sports fans across the nation, but they also deeply affected some of the people who knew him best during his playing days.

As of now, Urlacher has not responded following the criticism.

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Jonathan Stewart disappointed by Brian Urlacher’s comments

As for those teammates Stewart mentioned, one came through with an exceptional response.

Crisis reveals character. Sadly, the recent events in Wisconsin have brought out a lot of ugliness in some people. One example is former Chicago Bears linebacker and Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher, who shared some incredibly insensitive thoughts on Instagram regarding the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha and NBA players going on strike after.

When former Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart saw those words, he expressed surprise on Twitter.

Later, Stewart shared another tweet, calling Urlacher’s comments sad and wondering what his former teammates have to say about them.

Urlacher was one of the greatest linebackers to ever play this game. Unfortunately, that doesn’t necessarily make you a great human being. Stewart is right to call him out.

As for those teammates Stewart mentioned, one came through with an exceptional response.

Former Chicago Pro-Bowl running back Matt Forte called Urlacher’s comments void of empathy, compassion and wisdom.

Amen.

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5 things to know about new Bears WR Darnell Mooney

Darnell Mooney, one of the fastest WRs in the draft, gives the Bears a weapon who can take the top off of the defense.

One of the questions heading into the 2020 NFL Draft was when the Chicago Bears and general manager Ryan Pace would take advantage of one of the deepest receiver classes in recent memory and select someone who can fill a need in their offense.

Their answer came about halfway through the final day as they selected Tulane WR Darnell Mooney after trading their sixth-round picks with the Philadelphia Eagles to move up and grab him.

Mooney, one of the fastest wideouts in the draft, gives the Bears a weapon who can take the top off of the defense and will fill the void left by the release of Taylor Gabriel in February.

Here are a few things to know about the newest Bears burner:

1. Mooney ran a 4.38 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine

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Mooney’s key attribute is of course his speed, and he shouldn’t disappoint when he steps foot on the field. The former Tulane standout ran an official 4.38 40-yard dash, tied for third among all wide receivers who participated, according to Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune.

While 40 times aren’t a huge factor in whether or not a player is successful in the NFL, his speed absolutely fills a need in head coach Matt Nagy’s offense.

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Matt Forte, Thomas Jones air grievances about former Bears management

“The Last Dance” shined a light on the dark side of professional sports management, and some former Bears shared their own experiences.

The sports world saw its most excitement in over a month when the ESPN docuseries “The Last Dance” premiered on Sunday evening. The 10-part series details the Chicago Bulls’ final championship run back in 1998 and shows never-before-seen footage of one of the most iconic sports teams of all time.

Naturally, nearly every sports fan tuned to watch the first two episodes and had many thoughts on the Bulls, particularly regarding the mistrust between the Bulls players and their front office. A couple former Bears chimed in as well, then shared thoughts on their own team.

Former Bears running back Matt Forte, who played for the team from 2008-15, reacted to a Tweet from retired NFL receiver Torrey Smith, saying Bulls general manager Jerry Krause “ruined one of the greatest teams in any sport” as he reacted to the docuseries. Forte agreed and said it seems to be a common theme in Chicago.

When asked to elaborate, the former Pro-Bowl rusher didn’t hold back, airing his grievances with former Bears general managers Jerry Angelo and Phil Emery. Forte began with Emery, citing the way head coach Lovie Smith was fired in 2012 following a 10-6 season. He was also displeased with how Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher’s tenure ended with the team, along with linebacker Lance Briggs and cornerback Charles Tillman.

Forte then went on to detail his issues with Angelo, focusing on how his former boss wasn’t faithful in contract negotiations just prior to the 2011 season, Forte’s final year in his rookie deal.

That’s when Thomas Jones, another former Bears running back, entered the conversation to agree with Forte when it came to Angelo. Jones spent three seasons with the Bears from 2004-06 before getting dealt to the New York Jets for a second-round draft pick following the Bears loss in Super Bowl XLI. Like Forte, he has a similar issue with Angelo when it came to negotiating in good faith.

Angelo, who signed Jones as a free agent in 2004 and drafted Forte in the second-round of the 2008 NFL Draft, was fired following the 2011 season. Emery was hired as his replacement and got off to a rocky start with Forte.

The Bears placed the franchise tag on the team’s second all-time leading rusher, before eventually agreeing to a contract extension, giving Forte $32 million over four years with $18 million guaranteed. The two parties avoided a holdout situation heading into training camp. Emery would be fired just two seasons later after a disastrous season in 2014.

Forte apologized for his posts, saying the docuseries reminded him how great his own teams could have been.

Jones also made it clear he has no ill will towards Angelo, saying “it’s just the ugly part of the NFL,” and that he’s grateful for the opportunity he had to play in Chicago.

Getting a peek behind at the curtain at some of the issues that plagued arguably the greatest basketball dynasty ever brings out many emotions. As former players, Forte and Jones brought some of their own issues with team management to light after reacting to “The Last Dance.”

The question is, with millions of fans captivated by the docuseries and still eight episodes to go, what else might be shared by Chicago athletes over the next few weeks?

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Looking back at the Jay Cutler trade 11 years ago today

Let’s take a look at the trade that went down in 2009, and the career that QB Jay Cutler had as a Chicago Bear.

Eleven years ago today, the Chicago Bears traded for quarterback Jay Cutler. Let’s look back at the trade that went down in 2009, and the career that Cutler had with the Bears.

In early 2009, the Bears traded Kyle Orton, a pair of first-round picks and a third-round pick to the Denver Broncos for their hopeful franchise quarterback in Cutler.

By comparison, during Orton’s three seasons with the Bears, he had a record of 21-12, while Cutler had a record of 17-20 in his first three seasons in Denver.

Orton was a proven winner here in Chicago, and Cutler had a bit of an attitude and seemed like he didn’t get along with the coaches in Denver, so maybe the trade was a little questionable at the time.

In his first season in 2009, Cutler threw for 3,666 yards, 27 touchdowns and 26 interceptions, while starting all 16 games. Ouch. It wasn’t the first year in Chicago many hoped for Cutler. The Bears went 7-9 and ended up missing the playoffs, and the Broncos ended up going 8-8 and also missing the playoffs. So you could call it a draw for both teams in the first year of the trade.

In 2010, it seemed like Cutler was a completely different quarterback, as he led the Bears to an 11-5 record, and they ended up winning the NFC North. In 15 games, Cutler threw for 3,274 yards, 23 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. That was a 10 interception drop-off that he had in 2009, which was a huge improvement.

Then in 2011, Cutler suffered an injury that cut short what was playing out to be a magical season when he broke his thumb against the Chargers. In 10 games, he threw for 13 touchdowns and 7 interceptions with a 7-3 record. Instead of a return trip to the playoffs, Chicago finished with an 8-8 record and were left wondering what could’ve been if Cutler had stayed healthy.

The Bears traded for Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall in 2012. Marshall and Cutler played together in Denver from 2006-2008, and they were reunited in Chicago.

Cutler ended up missing the ninth game in 2012 after getting hit hard during the Houston Texans game. The Bears ended up finishing 10-6 and still found a way to miss the playoffs. The 2012 season ended up being the last year for Lovie Smith as Bears head coach after nine years with the team, which included a Super Bowl appearance in 2006.

General manager Phil Emery quickly found a replacement for Smith, hiring offensive guru Marc Trestman in 2013. Trestman was a part of Steve Young and the 49ers’ success in the ’90s and he has won championships in the Canadian football league.

Cutler once again struggled with injury in 2013, where he only played in 11 games. He threw for 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while leading the Bears to a 5-6 record. Entering Week 17, the Bears and Packers matched up for the last game of the regular season, the Packers were 7-7-1 and the Bears had a record of 8-7. The Packers delivered a brutal 33-28 defeat, and the Bears missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record in Trestman’s first year as head coach.

In 2014, Cutler went 5-10 as the starter, he threw for 3,812 yards, 28 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. The Bears missed the playoffs with a 5-11 record. After only two seasons, Trestman would end up getting fired.

In 2015, changes were needed for this Bears’ team. They would find a new general manager in Ryan Pace, a new head coach in John Fox and Marshall and Martellus Bennet would leave the team.

In Cutler’s final two years with the Bears in 2015 and 2016, he started 20 games, throwing for 4,718 yards, 25 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. The Bears ended up missing the playoffs in Cutler’s last two years, with records of 6-10 in 2015 and 3-13 in 2016.

During the 2017 offseason, the Bears held the third overall pick in the NFL Draft, and Bears’ fans know how that turned out as Pace would trade up from the third overall pick to the second overall pick to draft Mitchell Trubisky. Still a questionable move to this day on why Pace traded so many future picks just to move up one spot.

Even before drafting Trubisky, Cutler’s career as a Bear came to an end. He spent eight seasons in Chicago, leading them to a 51-51 record as starter, throwing for 154 touchdowns and 109 interceptions. But during those eight years, the Bears only made the playoffs once.

Seeing Cutler play with guys like Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Devin Hester, and Johhny Knox, to name a few, was exciting.

Cutler was by far one of my favorite Bears. When the Bears traded for Cutler, how did you feel? Did you like the trade? What was your favorite moment?

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Former Jets coach couldn’t remember Raheem Mostert

Former Jets running backs coach Marcel Ship has no recollection of Raheem Mostert even being with the Jets.

The Jets weren’t aware that they had a diamond in the rough with Raheem Mostert.

Now a 49ers playoff hero on his way to the Super Bowl, Mostert was signed to the Jets practice squad for six days in September 2016. The Jets were not the first or last team to cut the running back, but he’s since played an integral part in San Francisco’s Super Bowl run.

Yet, his old position coach in New York couldn’t even recall him being on the Jets roster.

“Wow, I don’t remember him at all,” former Jets RB coach Marcel Shipp told ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “I usually remember those guys. This is bad. I do not remember him being in the room.”

The Jets weren’t the only team who misjudged Mostert. He went undrafted out of Purdue in 2015 and spent time on six different rosters before finding a home in San Francisco in 2016. Mostert didn’t succeed with the 49ers until this year, though. With one of the best offensive lines in the league, Mostert totaled 772 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in the regular season and 278 rushing yards and four scores in the postseason.

While the Jets and several others missed out on Mostert, these types of stories happen all the time in the NFL. Sometimes, it takes a few years and the right set of circumstances for a player to finally make an impact.

Mostert got his opportunity in San Francisco. Now he’s heading to the Super Bowl as a feel-good story after making the most of it.