The Chicago Bears will likely give the starting running back job in 2008 to rookie 2nd round pick Matt Forte out of Tulane.  Forte had an incredible senior season at Tulane as he started 12 games and he carried the ball 361 times for 2,127 yards (5.9 ypc) with 23 TD runs.  He also caught 32 passes for 282 yards (8.8 avg).  Forte is a good power runner as he always seems to be moving forward but he’s not very fast (4.63 40).  Forte will likely be a busy player as a rookie as the depth behind him is very weak.

Adrian Peterson was a decent backup running back but when he was forced into starting duty by the Bears he failed miserably.  Peterson played in 16 games (5 starts) for the Bears last season and he carried the ball 151 times for 510 yards (3.4 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 51 passes for 420 yards (8.2 avg).  Look for Peterson to get a lot of work this season but don’t expect miracles out of him.  Peterson has now played in 77 games (6 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 284 times for 1,132 yards (4.0 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  He also has caught 70 passes for 609 yards (8.7 avg).

Garrett Wolfe is too small to be anything more than a third down back.  He played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Bears as a rookie last season and he carried the ball 31 times for 85 yards (2.7 ypc).  Wolfe also caught 9 passes for 117 yards (13.0 avg).  Look for the Bears to increase Wolfe’s roll on third downs in 2008.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  D

The Bears have waived running back Cedric Benson after he had a second major brush with the law over the weekend.  Benson never lived up to his draft status or alleged potential in Chicago and the Bears will likely be better off without him.  He played in 11 games (all starts) last season for the Bears and he carried the ball 196 times for 674 yards (3.4 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 17 passes for 123 yards (7.2 avg).  Rookie Matt Forte will probably be the everydown back for the Bears and it will be interesting to see how well he does.  Benson finished his career with the Bears having played in 35 games (12 starts) and he carried the ball 420 times for 1,593 yards (3.8 ypc) with 10 TD runs.  He also caught 26 passes for 180 yards (6.9 avg).  This is another blow to the Bears’ offense as this could have been the year that Benson stepped up, but I fully understand that they got sick of waiting for him and were sick of his off field behavior.  It will be interesting to see if anyone is willing to roll the dice and take a chance on Benson or if his career in the NFL is over.

The Bears should have brought in a real QB for the 2008 season.   Neither Kyle Orton or Rex Grossman is the QB needed to lead the Bears anywhere this season as they are both limited players that need a strong running game for support.  That won’t happen this season unless Matt Forte is the real deal because Cedric Benson is more worried about getting drunk than improving as a football player.  Kyle Orton wrestled the starting job away from Rex Grossman late in the year and he did a good job of managing the game.  He’s a smart guy but that’s his best asset as his arm in below average and he’s not very mobile.  Orton played in 3 games (all starts) last season for the Bears and he completed 43 of 80 passes (53.8%) for 478 yards with 3 TD passes and 2 interceptions (73.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 5 times for a loss of 1 yard (-0.2 ypc).  If Orton is the starting QB the Bears will likely have to limit the playbook as he doesn’t have the arm to complete long passes down the field.  He has now played in 18 games (all starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 233 of 448 passes (52%) for 2,347 yards with 12 TD passes and 15 interceptions (62.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 29 times for 43 yards (1.5 ypc).

Rex Grossman has the physical tools to be a good QB but he isn’t the smartest player around.  In the face of a pass rush he often just throws the ball up for grabs resulting in game changing pickoffs.  Grossman does have a strong arm and his strength is throwing the bomb but he isn’t good at throwing the short stuff.  Grossman played in 8 games (7 starts) last season for the Bears and he completed 122 of 225 passes (54.2%) for 1,411 yards with 4 TD passes and 7 interceptions (66.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 14 times for 27 yards (1.9 ypc).  Grossman is a hit or miss QB and he has been that way his whole career.  It does not look like he will improve any time soon as he still makes mistakes that rookie QBs make.  Grossman has now played in 32 games (30 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 489 of 900 passes (54.3%) for 5,907 yards with 31 TD passes and 33 interceptions (70.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 52 times for 76 yards (1.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Shame on the Bears for not trying to change things up at QB this season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  D

Marcus Monk was a big time player in college at Arkansas but some things caused him to slip to the 7th round.  He only runs a 4.6 40 and he has had injury problems in college to his knees.  Positives are that he was very productive in the tough SEC Conference and he has great size at 6’5″, 220 pounds.  Monk played in 43 games (36 starts) in his career at Arkansas and he finished up with 138 catches for 2,151 yards (15.6 avg) with 27 TD grabs.  Monk has upside and he was definately worth taking a chance on in the 7th round.

Kirk Barton was lucky that he had a lot of talented players around him to cover for him at Ohio State.  He is 6’4″, 303 pounds and he runs a 5.3 40 which shows that he’s a tad slow.  Barton has problems with speed rushers and he will see a lot of them in the NFL.  Barton played in 47 games (40 starts) in his career at Ohio State.  If he doesn’t start to get a fire in his belly he will be lucky to even make the practice squad as a rookie.

Joey LaRocque plays much faster than his 40 time (4.85) as he gives an all out effort on every play which is likely what caught the Bears’ eye.  His heart is the reason why he will have a good chance to make the Bears’ roster as he will likely make an impact on special teams from Day #1.  He might eventually get to play some defense based on his effort.

Chester Adams is a big guy at 6’4″, 323 pounds but he plays tall and it hurt him in college as defensive linemen got under his pads and pushed him around often.  He played in 46 games (23 starts) at Georgia and he played a lot of tackle in college.  He will likely have to play guard in the pros however as he’s not the quickest player around.  At least inside he will get some help.  He will need to improve big time if he wants to be anything more than a practice squad player in the near future.

Ervin Baldwin will likely have to move to linebacker in the NFL as he is 6’2″, 258 pounds which might be a tad small to have to deal with offensive linemen at the NFL level.  Baldwin played in 25 games (all starts) at Michigan State and he made 93 tackles, 25 tackles for a loss and he had 12.5 sacks.  It will likely take some time for Baldwin to switch to OLB so the Bears will need to have patience with him.

Kellen Davis has everything you look for in an NFL TE as he runs a 4.7 40 and stands at 6’6″, 259 pounds.  But, he plays soft and lacks the fire needed to succeed.  Lovie Smith and the rest of the coaches will have to stay in Davis’ face to keep him motivated.  Davis played in 43 games (22 starts) at Michigan State and he finished with 60 receptions for 789 yards (13.2 avg) with 9 TD grabs.

Zackary Bowman is a solid prospect.  His main issue has been injuries in his career at Nebraska as he has had one surgery on each knee the last two seasons.  If healthy though, Bowman brings a nice skill set as he stands 6’0″, 196 pounds and he runs a 4.5 40.  Bowman is very physical against both the run and pass.  He could eventually blossom into a starter in the future if he can remain healthy….but that’s a big if.  If nothing else he will likely be a solid special teams player.