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The Bears could use help on special teams this season. With Garrett Wolfe’s return to the Windy City considered a question mark, the Bears could be in the market for a veteran special teams guy.
Adrian Peterson, often referred to as the “other” Adrian …
According to league sources, the Seattle Seahawks have released former Chicago Bears running back Adrian Peterson. Oddly enough, the move comes the same day that the Tennessee Titans cut Pete Carroll’s former USC running back Stafon Johnson.
Johnson sustained a dislocated right ankle and broken right fibula against the Seahawks, which caused him to be out indefinitely, and ultimately resulted in his placement on the injured reserve.
Due to the incident occurring in the preseason, Johnson will have to clear waivers before he can be placed on Injured Reserve.
The fact that Peterson was just signed this last Thursday (8/12) could indicate that Pete Carroll is now interested in pursuing an option that was not available when Peterson was signed.
The Seahawks did add Kentwan Balmer, a defensive line project who was a former 1st round pick out of San Francisco, but the team also released linebacker Alvin Bowen to make this addition.The team also signed kicker Clint Stitser, but don’t think for a second that Carroll wouldn’t send him packing as well if the Acquisition of Johnson could materialize.
Johnson was a standout at USC until a freak weightlifting accident abruptly ended his senior season. He promised that he would recover and fulfill his dream of playing football again. Johnson, who dropped a barbell on his throat, took 7 hours of surgery to repair the damage and many months of healing and recovery.
He was well respected at USC and I can’t imagine why Pete Carroll would not want to continue to be a part of this young man’s success story. Wither any breaking news on the Seahawks making a move at Johnson surfaces remains to be seen, but the circumstances of the quick indicate something may be brewing.
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We all know Brian Westbrook has been one of the most versatile running backs in the NFL in his time with the Philadelphia Eagles, but now his time with them is over and he is looking for a new team .
The eight-year back missed eight games last season with an ankle injury and multiple concussions. The Eagles owed him $7.25 million this season and they simply didn’t want to give him that kind of money because of durability issues. LeSean McCoy is going to take over the number one running back position.
So here’s the question: Should the Bears go after a once NFL star, who has serious durability issues or should they stay put with what they have.
I think they should consider going after him because when healthy he is one of the best runners/receivers out of the backfield in this league.
The current backs behind Matt Forte aren’t that great. Garrett Wolfe was a third round pick and hasn’t done anything like his college days showed. Kevin Jones got injured again and he may not be back next season. Kahlil Bell is a surprising young kid who is similar to Matt Forte and Adrian Peterson will not be resigned.
A combination of Matt Forte, Kahlil Bell and Kevin Jones isn’t too bad, but I think if they added Westbrook to the backfield they would be solid. Forte, Westbrook and Bell could be the best trio in the league.
New offensive coordinator Mike Martz doesn’t use the running game very much, but Matt Forte and Brian Westbrook could be a lethal tandem out of the backfield.
So, if the Bears could get Brian Westbrook for a cheap deal and he proves to stay healthy their offense could be set. When Brian Westbrook is right he is one of the best and don’t forget he is only 30 years old.
The Bears should at least consider the signing of Westbrook because it can only strengthen their team.
Jake Perper is the creator of www.BearsBacker.com and also covers the Bears for www.NFLTouchdown.com.
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We all remember how well Matt Forte did in his first season in Chicago, and there was a lot of hope that he would be able to repeat his rookie effort and help the Bears move the ball on the ground.
However, with having quarterback Jay Cutler in Chicago, along with the fact that the Bears often fell behind in games and had to pass a lot, the running game suffered, and clearly wasn’t as good as it had been the previous season.
Following the season, it was revealed that Forte had a knee problem during part of the season, and this may have had some impact on the way that he played in 2009—but overall, Chicago had other reasons (aside from Forte himself) as to why they failed to run the ball effectively.
In 2009, Forte played in, and started in, all 16 games for the Bears, carrying the ball 258 times for 929 yards, and averaging 3.6 yards per rush. His longest run was 61 yards, and he scored four rushing touchdowns.
Forte caught 57 passes for 471 yards for an average of 8.3 yards per catch, and he didn’t have any touchdown catches. He also fumbled six times, losing three of those fumbles.
Forte saw his numbers decrease because of an increase in passing, as well as problems on the offensive line, and Chicago will go back to the drawing board this offseason to see what they can do about making things better in the running game.
However, if tradition holds true (in terms of the kind of offense that new offensive coordinator Mike Martz likes to run), Forte could be seeing his carries diminish even more.
Will the Bears still end up running the ball more in 2010? It will be interesting to see what they do.
Kevin Jones didn’t make it out of the preseason before hurting himself, and ended his season on injured reserve. Reports say that he is right on schedule to make a return, and hopefully he will be able to hold up and last the entire 2010 season, because the Bears could use his help.
Having Jones available to help Forte at times in 2010 is going to be vital for the success of their ground game.
Adrian Peterson has become more of a special teams player than anything else, and 2009 may end being the last time that we see him in a Bears uniform. While he has been stellar on special teams, he is not that good of a backup, and the Bears could use his roster spot for someone who is younger and more capable to play the running the ball behind Forte.
In 2009, Peterson played in 14 games, starting none of those games. He had seven rushing attempts for 51 yards, with an average of 7.3 yards per rush. He also had two catches for 11 yards.
Peterson is a great special teams player but not a good backup. Because of his age, and the fact that the Bears need to bring in some youth (to the running back position), he will probably not be on the active roster in 2010. It would cap a nice but quiet career in Chicago.
Many Bears fans questioned what the Bears were doing when they selected running back Garrett Wolfe a few seasons ago in the NFL Draft. The knocks on him were that he hadn’t played against some of the greater college competition (having played at Northern Illinois), and lacked the ideal size to be an every-down back in the NFL.
Last season, Wolfe played in eight games, carrying the ball 22 times for 120 total yards with an average of 5.5 yards per rush. He had one touchdown run. He also caught two passes for a total of 12 yards.
It will be interesting to see what the Bears decide to do with Wolfe, who may not fit into Martz’s plans. He really hasn’t proven himself as a valuable offensive weapon, although he does very well on special teams, and it may be because of his special teams play that he sticks with the team one more season.
Khalil Bell burst onto the scene in the Bear’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles with a 72 yard run, and after that he saw some action in relief of Forte and didn’t do too bad.
All together, Bell played in seven games with no starts. He carried the ball 40 times for 200 yards and an average of 5.5 yards per rush. His longest was 72 yards and he didn’t have any touchdowns. He did catch one pass for four yards.
Bell should be in the mix for a backup spot during the offseason depending on what the Bears decide to do with bringing in additional help for the position. He needs to get a bigger look this summer so that the Bears can see what they have in him, and whether or not they want him to back up Forte.
Of all of the players mentioned, it is likely that the Bears will keep Forte (of course), Bell, and maybe Wolfe, but it is probably safe to say that Peterson will be gone.
Chicago then needs to look at bringing in a good veteran or rookie running back that can backup Forte and give the offense a bit of a change of pace.
Right now, two ex-Pro Bowl running backs are available—LaDanlian Tomlinson and Brian Westbrook—but it’s tough to tell exactly what the Bears will do.
They need to do something though, because their running game hinges on one player, and if he gets hurt they will end up hurting.
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