Kyle Long Lone Bear Fan Selected to Pro Bowl

[anotheridiot]

Thought Paea deserved some votes, nobody else has been healthy enough.

Really just the fan voting portion, but the rest of the choices are pretty solid.

2015 Pro Bowl roster breakdown: Offense - NFL.com

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000448878/article/2015-pro-bowl-roster-breakdown-defense

 

[JoeyTourettes]

Thought Forte deserved a shot too.

 

[cubzzzfanincali]

Thought Forte deserved a shot too.

just out of curiosity, why? He's been pretty mediocre running (4.0 average, only one run longer than 20 yards all season), his blocking has been much worse this season, he catches a lot of passes but most of those are checkdowns not routes or screens (as compared to years past) which is a pretty generic skill for any RB.

I would put Forte in the second tier of NFC running backs this year. Certainly behind Murray, Lynch, McCoy, Lacy..even Morris has been better this season and with a worse team.

 

[JoeyTourettes]

Just looking at total yards/ TD's:
Forte: 1772, 10 td

McCoy: 1360, 5 tds
Lynch: 1577, 16 td
Foster: 1540, 12 tds

Yes- he hasn't run the ball as well- I've always said the Bears simply can't run the ball- based on Oline play. I can't fault Forte for "they are just checkdowns" why does it matter if he's a checkdown or in a route? He still caught the ball, still gained yards... Was still a player.
His rushing yards are also hurt by the defense giving up the most points in the league and the team being behind all year...needing to pass to get back in it.

Lynch get's much more chances when they are inside the 5. Forte doesn't get those- He shouldn't- not good at short distance- but either is our oline.

 

[beardown07]

Fuck McCoy.


Could make a case for Bennett, Paea, Forte and even Jeffrey too.

 

[beardown07]

Stats aside, Forte is arguably the best back in football. Certainly, in the top tier...no way, in the second-tier IMHO.

 

[anotheridiot]

I am sure some bears will get in since super bowl players arent eligable and some of the players voted in just dont want to go, I mean that is how Tillman and Jennings were pro bowlers.

 

[cubzzzfanincali]

Stats aside, Forte is arguably the best back in football. Certainly, in the top tier...no way, in the second-tier IMHO.

Not this year he isn't. Many years I agree with you, but he's been pretty off this year. One thing that elevated his game was that he has usually been a really good blocker, but he has been pretty bad this year. Several of the other backs on this list...including McCoy, by the way...have been way better blockers and runners. He almost never breaks off runs anymore. Maybe it is bad luck, I don't know, maybe he has a nagging injury, but this has not been his best year running the football, that's for sure.

It isn't his "fault" that he is catching checkdowns, sure Joey. But it is also hard to ignore that where a lot of his reception yardage is adding up is in such situations. And for RBs, checkdown yardage is a lot more generic than routes and screens. With screens, practically all of the yardage is after the catch, it still amounts to a run more or less, and requires more technique to get 6 yards out of than a checkdown catch. Routes are a different animal entirely, they usually involve better coverage and a lot more yards, and also require skill. Checkdowns are - at the risk of being redundant - safe ways to get a few yards, and you can plug in most backs and get the same situational yardage out of most backs, unless they are breaking tackles out of them (which this year Forte was not).

I think Forte has mostly had a really nice career, maybe the best back over the last 7 years in the league overall. Just saying this year isn't one of them.

 

[cubzzzfanincali]

I would argue this backs up the point:
FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | 2014 OFFENSIVE LINES

So what does this tell us? The Bears run blocking this year has been above average at point of attack (11th), ninth in blocking at second level, and next to last for open field. Now, notice the way they generate these stats is based on yards from the line of scrimmage, and once it hits the tenth yard from the line, the line has zero influence on the ranking. I.e. it is all about the running back at that point.

So the rankings are good for the line and the second level but then become horrible once it is all about Forte. Hmm. I know...they are just stats, take everything statistical with it's grain of salt....but still this is a pretty red blinking light.

The other REALLY striking statistic here is how much better statistically the Bears are running behind the right side as opposed to the left side..I know Bushrod has looked bad this year, but that much different?

 

[noonthirtyjoe]

Ratliff has been a monster, a real game changer.

 

[Naughtymax]

Well, it's good to see that at least one Bears fan was selected to the Pro Bowl. We can all agree the fans on this board were unworthy, and certainly none of the players would rate going based on their play.

We all know the fan selections are just a popularity contest and rarely have much to do with on-field accomplishments. Why worry about it? Worry about being named All-Pro if you want to argue about which players are great in a particular year.

 

[richig07]

just out of curiosity, why? He's been pretty mediocre running (4.0 average, only one run longer than 20 yards all season), his blocking has been much worse this season, he catches a lot of passes but most of those are checkdowns not routes or screens (as compared to years past) which is a pretty generic skill for any RB.

I would put Forte in the second tier of NFC running backs this year. Certainly behind Murray, Lynch, McCoy, Lacy..even Morris has been better this season and with a worse team.

Agreed 100%.

I'm taken off-guard every time I hear Bears fans getting on their knees for Forte this year. Same with the national media, always SO in love with the guy.

What team are they watching? He was simply underwhelming to me this year. And is it just me, or has he lost a bit of a step? The amount of times I saw him tripped up by the ankles from behind was INFURIATING. He looked like he was running with bricks tied to his shoes at times as well.

IMO, they really need to get another back in here that can take on a good sized role next year. I'm not sold on Carey, and I think next year is when Forte hits that inevitable RB wall. He's turning 30, and he has as much mileage on him as any back I can remember at this stage. Him and probably Steven Jackson.

 

[richig07]

Ratliff has been a monster, a real game changer.

Yeah, he was good, but I believe he was hurt a bit too much.

 

[richig07]

I am sure some bears will get in since super bowl players arent eligable and some of the players voted in just dont want to go, I mean that is how Tillman and Jennings were pro bowlers.

???

In 2012 Tillman was easily one of the top two or three CB's in football. Him and Jennings were fantastic.

Jennings was also great last year.

I don't believe they ever got in as alternates, so what are you talking about?

 

[wood20ks]

Fuck McCoy.


Could make a case for Bennett, Paea, Forte and even Jeffrey too.

McCoy has been a disappointment all season.It seemed like Sproles was rather better back a lot of the time

 

[beardown07]

I would take Forte 100 times over before taking McCoy.


Forte might not have had his best season, (even tho he's but a few yards receiving and rushing and a few catches from history) but he's had a better year than McCoy, and is still, arguably the most complete back in football.

 

[cubzzzfanincali]

Forte might not have had his best season, (even tho he's but a few yards receiving and rushing and a few catches from history) but he's had a better year than McCoy, and is still, arguably the most complete back in football.

Forte had a very mediocre season this year, and you are claiming he is arguably the most complete back in football. While I think McCoy even had a better season than him, I'll agree that is at least debatable. But what is not debatable is that a lot of other backs had far better seasons than Forte did. In what way can you possibly conclude Forte is "still, arguably the most complete back in football"? Is he the most complete back, but didn't execute that way? Because he definitely did not perform according to anything approaching that kind of expectation or assessment.