24-year old running back Matt Forte took a step back last season and it got the Bears wondering if he can be a true featured back in the NFL.  Look for them to sign, trade for or draft a running back to compete with Forte for carries in 2010.  Forte played in 16 games for the Bears last season and he carried the ball 258 times for 929 yards (3.6 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 57 passes for 471 yards (8.3 avg) last season.  The one thing working in Forte’s favor is that he is a good receiver out of the backfield and new offensive co-ordinator Mike Martz loves running backs that catch the ball well.  Forte has now played in 32 games for the Bears in his two years with them and he has carried the ball 574 times for 2,167 yards (3.8 ypc) with 12 TD runs.  Forte also has caught 120 passes for 948 yards (7.9 avg) with 4 TD grabs in his two years with the Bears.  Forte needs to step up in 2010 and that is the bottom line.

No, Jay Cutler isn’t going anywhere.  But, I do see the Bears trying to upgrade his back-ups as they shouldn’t go into 2010 with either Caleb Hanie or Brett Basanez on the roster.  Jay Cutler finished the season really strong to make his numbers look a lot better than they should have as he stunk for most of the year.  If you would have told me before the year started that Kyle Orton would outplay Jay Cutler in 2009 I would have suggested you to be put in a straight jacket.  But, it happened.  Jay Cutler started all 16 games for the Bears this season and he completed 336 of 555 passes (60.5%) for 3,666 yards with 27 TD passes and 26 INTs (76.8 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 40 times for 173 yards (4.3 ypc) with 1 TD run this year.  Cutler has now played in 53 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,098 of 1,775 passes (61.9%) for 12,690 yards with 81 TD passes and 63 INTs (83.8 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 153 times for 596 yards (3.9 ypc) with 4 TD runs in his career.  The Bears need Cutler to step up because they don’t have anyone behind him.  They have put all of their eggs in his basket.

24-year old Caleb Hanie was awful in his brief time with the Bears this year.  He played in 3 games this season for the Bears and he completed 3 of 7 passes (42.9%) for 11 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (10.7 QB Rating).  The Bears must bring in a new back-up QB as Hanie is clearly not NFL material.

26-year old Brett Basanez is the #3 QB for the Bears and he’s not much of a player either.  He played in 1 game in 2006 for the Panthers and he completed 6 of 11 passes (54.5%) for 56 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (30.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 1 time for 2 yards in his NFL career.  I’m thinking the Bears could sign a undrafted free agent who would be a huge upgrade on either Hanie or Basanez.

If the Bears are going to make a run at the playoffs this season Jay Cutler has to step up.  He has completed 182 of 286 passes (63.6%) for 2,046 yards with 14 TD passes and 12 INTs (83.8 QB Rating).  Cutler has also carried the ball 23 times for 109 yards (4.7 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this season.  Cutler is probably regretting crying like a baby and forcing the Broncos to trade him as there is no Brandon Marshall or Eddie Royal to throw to in Chicago.  Cutler has all of the tools to be a elite QB as he has one of the strongest arms in the NFL he just needs to be smarter when he is throwing the ball.  The Bears will only go as far as Cutler will take them this season so he needs to step up and put the rest of the team on his back and carry them where they want to go.

23-year old Matt Forte has not played well at all this season.   In six games this year, Forte has carried the ball 92 times for 318 yards (3.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 22 passes for 154 yards (7.0 avg) with no TD receptions.  Getting Jay Cutler to play QB in the off-season was supposed to make the Bears have a balanced offense but Forte isn’t doing his part.  What really hurts though is when you see what Cedic Benson and Thomas Jones are going this year.  Benson has played in 7 games for the Bengals this season and he has carried the ball 164 times for 720 yards (4.4 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  Benson has also caught 10 passes for 66 yards (6.6 avg) this year.  Thomas Jones has also been outstanding this season for the Jets.  He has played in 7 games this season and he has carried the ball 122 times for 602 yards (4.9 ypc) wiht 7 RD runs.  He has also caught 5 passes for 21 yards (4.2 avg) this season.  Jones has much better numbers than Forte does even though he was sharing the ball with Leon Washington before he was injured.  The bottom line is that Matt Forte needs to play better and the Cleveland Browns provide him a excellent chance to get his game back on track tomorrow.

The Chicago Bears (3-3) were completely embarrassed by Carson Palmer, Cedric Benson, and the rest of the Cincinnati Bengals (5-2).  Most thought this game was a toss up and could go either way, but the Bears looked more like the Titans and were crushed.  Former Bears’ running back Cedric Benson got his revenge, going for 189 rushing yards and a touchdown on 37 carries (5.1 avg).  They let Bengal’s QB Carson Palmer sit in the pocket pick away at the Bears’ secondary.  He finished with five touchdowns and no interceptions on 20/24 passes (83%).  Jay Cutler played pretty much the exact opposite as the way Palmer played, throwing three interceptions and botching two snaps.  Cutler just got $20 million and a two-year extension from the Bears a few days before this contest, and hopefully for the Bears this was not a sign of things to come from the talented, but erratic quarterback.

The Bears defense was just as bad if not worse than the offense.  The secondary had some key breakdowns, letting guys get wide open, including Chad Ochocinco on a 3rd quarter touchdown where a defender was not even within 10 yards of the cocky receiver.  Matt Forte continues his struggles, getting only 24 yards on six carries, and it looks like his rookie year may have been a fluke.  Forte has been consistently unproductive this year for the Bears.  Other than a 121 yard day against the pathetic Detroit Lions, Forte has had rushing yard totals of 55, 29, 66, 23, and 24 which gives him a 2.4 average (not including the Lions game).  Devin Hester was the only bright spot for the Bears, getting his first 100-yard reception game of his career.  He finished with eight catches for 101 yards and a touchdown.  The Bears looked awful in this game and need to go back to the drawing board and make sure their season isn’t lost.  They take on the Cleveland Browns at home next game.