For Lions, First Priority Against Bears Will Be Stopping Matt Forte
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
ALLEN PARK (CBS DETROIT) - It surprised Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin that the Chicago Bears gave the ball to running back Matt Forte just five times when the teams last met, and Austin expects the Bears to use Forte differently in Sunday's matchup in Chicago.
"He's one of their top players, if not the top player they have on offense, so they're going to try to get him as many touches as they can because he's so good with the ball in his hands," Austin said. "We can't limit his touches because they're handing it off to him, but limit the big plays he makes, the gains, because he does it both catching and running. So he's a dual-threat guy and we've got to do a great job of taking care of him."
A seven-year veteran, Forte has racked up 932 yards on 230 carries this season. He has rushed for 80 yards or more on six occasions, including three games of 100-plus yards.
"He does everything well," Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said. "He is a very patient runner with excellent speed. Often times you'll find guys that run the ball that lack a little speed so the patience is by necessity, but he has burst, he has speed, he has acceleration, he has vision, he can get his shoulders square, he can run over you, he can sidestep you, and then he's not just one-dimensional in terms of being able to run the ball. He can catch the ball out of the backfield and hurt you route-running but then also on screens and things of that nature. He's a pretty dangerous guy."
Against the Lions in late November, however, the Bears elected to use Forte sparingly, all but abandoning the run game.
Detroit has the staunchest run defense in the league, allowing just 63.8 rushing yards per game, and Austin said he guessed that drove Chicago's decision.
"They just figured that it would be tough sledding that way," Austin said. "They may have an easier time spreading us out and throwing the quick gain and making some gains that way, taking the place of the run. It's a lot easier maybe throwing a little five-yard hitch, if they catch it instead of trying to run five yards on our guys. So maybe that's the mindset. I don't know. I just know we line up every week, and we game planned it. We want to make sure we stop the run and don't allow people to run it. So if they don't do that, then we're okay with that."
How the Bears declined to use Forte then does not mean the Lions will be any less keyed in on him Sunday, however.
"When we looked at these guys, even the first time we played them, the thing that we knew we had to do is, one, you have to make sure you pay attention and try to stop Matt Forte," Austin said. "He's outstanding, and so that was the first thing we did in terms of game plan. The second thing is you want to take care of the receivers and the tight end. That hasn't changed because those guys are still there other than obviously,[Brandon Marshall] is out, but we know going into the game, our number one priority is to take care of Matt Forte. So it wouldn't have mattered who the quarterback was; that'll be our main priority."