Cedric Benson was all of those things before he had a line in front of him. Shawn Alexander was all of those things. Larry Johnson was all of those things in his prime. There have been a lot of guys that have been successful in that mold. Tedious workhorses can be valuable players when used properly with support.
Please name me 20+ backs who you’d rather have as your starting RB. Forte is an excellent pass catcher, route runner and blocker. He hardly ever fumbles and is extremely durable. These are assets which aren’t terribly common. I wish he was more dynamic or more bruising, of course, but not everyone is Adrian Peterson.
I agree the clock is ticking. Edwards’ rating is just below Cutler’s this year. His career rating is well above all those except for Cassel who was boosted by his Pats stint and they are close. His career rating is similar to McNabb, Hasselbeck, and Ryan’s and significantly better than Eli’s.
I never said he was a top 10 QB. I said I’d rather have him than about 8 other guys, give or take, meaning that I’d rather have him on this Bears team right now. Guys like Favre, Warner, Hasselbeck and McNabb are at the end of their careers and would be gone before the Bears are over the hump. There are a few older guys around that I’d take who still have time left and a few younger guys who seem to be maturing faster than Cutler. There aren’t many guys out there you can build around with similar upside.
I’d rather have a guy who could mature and could get his head right than a guy who will always have a crappy arm, lead feet and be injured half the time. You want to write him off, but it’s just WAY too early for that.
Hester is making a ton of money, too damn much, but I promise you 20 other teams would be willing to pay it to him given the chance right now. That’s what I’m saying. No one would have paid Dante Hall that kind of money. He’s already 5 times the WR Hall ever was. You seem to be under the impression I thought Hester was the next Randy Moss. I’ve always been very clear on what Hester is capable of and I don’t disagree with you and he’s being used all wrong in this system.
I think you have a very misguided opinion of what a average WR is. There are some really good ones but there’s also a ton of really crappy ones. Hester is a long ways from Moss, Johnson 1 & 2, Colston, Jackson and several other guys. But he’s still above average. Have you seen the guys that Oakland, Cleveland, St Louis, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Washington and Miami are trotting out there? Additionally, there are only maybe 5 teams out there where Hester wouldn’t be an upgrade over their #2 WR. He is overpaid and the Bears need another guy to compliment him and they need to use him better but you’re nuts to think he’s below replacement level.
Rinse, lather and repeat regarding Forte and point 3. He’s not elite but most teams in the league would love to have the guy ahead of the guys they are stuck with now. Hell, you could make a case that the Chargers, Saints, Colts and Pats would all be better with him right now. You constantly confuse “not elite” with “sucks” and “below average”.
As for Cutler’s worth, time will tell. It is and was a huge gamble. 10 games into it is too early to judge, especially considering all the other huge issues on this team.
I don’t think I said he was miles ahead of Grant and Smith. IIRC the conversation was that it was something like:
Peterson >>> Forte > Grant = Smith.
And I’d certainly promote Grant based on the way things have played out. Forte’s playing much slower and worse than last year when running between the tackles. His O-line is much worse and Cutler is taking away from his effectiveness in the passing game. But I’m not really to pull up shop and dump the guy yet. I will argue that there are at least 17 teams out there that would probably trade their #1 RB for Forte straight up if given the offer, which is the point I was making.
