Hoge's Notes: Forte Misses Practice But Bears Expect Him To Play
By Adam Hoge-
HALAS HALL (CBS) — Running back Matt Forte sat out Wednesday's practice with a knee injury, but the Bears still expect him to play in Sunday's game against the Vikings in Minnesota.
Forte suffered a hyperextended knee against the Rams, but returned to the game. The injury is not considered to be serious.
"I'm still optimistic," head coach Marc Trestman said Wednesday. "I feel pretty good that he'll start getting some work tomorrow. We'll see where he's at but I'm optimistic about that."
Asked about a contingency plan if Forte can't play Sunday, Trestman said:
"I don't think that's going to happen."
Paea, Ratliff Limited
Given their struggles against the run the Bears could badly use some help at defensive tackle, but it's unclear if they will have the services of either Stephen Paea or Jeremiah Ratliff Sunday.
Both players were limited in practice Wednesday.
"Jeremiah has been a starter in this league and has been a highly effective player in this league," Trestman said. "We don't really know where he's at right now. But we're feeling good in some of the things we're seeing. We feel like he can make a difference for us. He's certainly fitting in with our locker room well. And Stephen we know has been a starter here and has had this lingering issue with his toe. He got some work today and we'll know a little bit more as we proceed during the week."
Notables
- Quarterback Josh McCown said he could have made a better throw on the dump off to Michael Bush on the goal line. The pass was slightly under thrown, but it looked like Bush had a chance to make an adjustment and haul it in. If he had, it would have been a sure touchdown on first down. Instead, the Bears ended up getting stuffed at the goal line three plays later on fourth down.
- Special Teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis said Craig Steltz's holding penalty that brought back Devin Hester's punt return for a touchdown was "disappointing" but "its hard to be really be too upset at him" because he has made so many big blocks for him in the past.
"It's a deal where the guy started to fall down. Craig should have let him go. And he has before, he just didn't on that play," DeCamillis said.
- As expected, Marc Trestman officially ruled out both quarterback Jay Cutler (high ankle sprain) and Lance Briggs (fractured shoulder) for Sunday's game. He said Briggs did some stretching Wednesday, but that was it. It's possible both players return for the Dec. 9 game against the Cowboys on Monday Night Football.
Adam Hoge covers the Bears for CBSChicago.com and is a frequent contributor to 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter at @AdamHoge.
