Factoid
Matt Forte was terrific as a rookie. Only Adrian Peterson and Michael Turner had more total yards. 12 TDs. And he caught more passes than any other running back.
Forte, however, wasn’t as effective in short-yardage situation as you might have thought. Defenses tended to know he was coming, and they were generally able to stop him. I think that’s why you saw the Bears in the second half of the season going to more change-up plays – quarterbacks sneaks and fullback dives.
Based purely on the numbers (which appear below), you can see that Forte was actually the 2nd-worst goal-line runner in the league last year – at least among players with more than 5 rushing attempts from inside the 3. In that part of the field, Forte scored on only 3 of his 9 carries.
I’m not necessarily saying this will be the case in 2009. The Bears have added Jay Cutler and Orlando Pace, changing the dynamics of their entire offense. But Forte struggled in that area last season.
GOAL-LINE RUNNING IN 2008
Running backs who had over 5 carries last year from either the 1 or 2. Stats shown are rushing attempts, scores (it’s listed as “TD”, but it’s actually scores – both TDs and 2-point conversions), and the success rate.
Att TD Pct.
9 8 88.9% Maurice Jones-Drew, Jac.
7 6 85.7% DeAngelo Williams, Car.
9 7 77.8% Marion Barber, Dall.
7 5 71.4% Jonathan Stewart, Car.
10 7 70.0% LeRon McClain, Balt.
16 11 68.8% LenDale White, Tenn.
6 4 66.7% Deuce McAllister, N.O.
11 7 63.6% T.J. Duckett, Sea.
8 5 62.5% Dominic Rhodes, Ind.
13 8 61.5% Michael Turner, Atl.
15 9 60.0% Brandon Jacobs, NYG
7 4 57.1% Sammy Morris, N.E.
13 7 53.8% Tim Hightower, Ariz.
8 4 50.0% Kevin Smith, Det.
6 3 50.0% Michael Pittman, Den.
6 3 50.0% Pierre Thomas, N.O.
7 3 42.9% Mewelde Moore, Pitt.
7 3 42.9% Brian Westbrook, Phil.
12 5 41.7% Thomas Jones, NYJ
11 4 36.4% Steve Slaton, Hou.
11 4 36.4% Larry Johnson, K.C.
9 3 33.3% Matt Forte, Chi.
11 3 27.3% Jamal Lewis, Clev.
—Ian Allan
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