On April 2^nd, there was a tectonic shift on what Bears fans thought about offense.  With Jay Cutler in the fold, the possibilities of what a Bears air show would like were endless.  Before the QB spot got solidified, we spent countless years worrying about a ‘franchise load’ Back.  Matt Forte’s rookie season made us not worry about that anymore and in the shadow of ‘cutler mania’ Forte is poised for a terrific sophomore season.

Last season, Forte was special.  He broke the rookie rushing record with 1,238 yards.  He broke the rookie yards from scrimmage record with 1,715 yards. He led the Bears in catches with 63. He was 35% of the offense last year.  If you believe in fantasy rankings, some publications have him as a top 5 back. Yet in camp this year he’s almost the forgotten man.

“It‘s natural we got a new quarterback coming in to talk about.”  Matt told me. “With a guy like Jay (Cutler) our passing game…look at how much it‘s improved.  “I don’t feel like the forgotten man. I’m definitely an essential part of this offense.  We’re gonna run the ball too.”

Beyond the lack of attention, Forte is loving what Cutler’s presence will do for the running game.

“I would think that they (defenses) will have to back someone out of there (the box).”  Matt told me.  “They can’t bring down a Safety every time cause we’re just going to burn them with the pass.  Running against a 7-man front would open up more space for Forte to be more productive.

Even after the accomplishments from a season ago, Ron Turner isn’t lowering expectations for his 2^nd year Back.

“I think he’ll definitely get better.”  Turner told me.  “He can still definitely improve. It’s a matter of experience, speed of the game, understanding what to expect.  He’s a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger and just as fast.”

With a real Quarterback, the Bears don’t want to see Forte at the top of the catches list.  They’re hoping that one of the receivers will emerge and that Greg Olsen will see a lot more balls. What Forte will provide is balance. Defenses will have a hard time keying run or pass with this team if all goes according to plan.

“He certainly hasn’t been forgotten around here.”  Turner told me. “Our running game is where everything begins, where everything starts.  He’s definitely not forgotten here.”

Beyond his regular Running Back duties the Bears have shown a lot more of their versions of the “Wildcat”. The Bears call it “Cane” when Devin Hester lines up at QB and “Cajun” when it’s Matt Forte in the shotgun. He’s even thrown some passes out of the formation. Even with the impact that he had in 2008, Forte wants to do more. He told me that he thinks he can be an even bigger factor this season in conjunction with the pass game.

“I gotta improve on what I’m doing.” Forte said. “As a team, we have to finish games. We had games that we were winning and we ended up losing in the last couple of minutes.”

Not seeing him on the field on Saturday gave a glimpse to his importance to the offense. The Bears are trying to make sure Forte doesn’t wear down before the season begins. They’re being careful with his live reps and a healthy Kevin Jones will help keep Forte fresh all year long. Becaues of his versatility he has become a tremendous weapon for the Bears offense. It’s exciting to see two problem areas (Running Back and Quaerterback) that have plagued the Bears, could finally be solved at the same time.