Matt Forte's Signing Means a New Start in Windy City

When it comes to evaluating talent, the NFL draft can be a crapshoot. For every Walter Payton the Bears have drafted, there comes a Rashaan Salaam. For every Gale Sayers, there's a Curtis Enis or Cedric Benson waiting right around the corner.

Obviously, the last 15 years have not allowed the Bears to find a running back that is a franchise player. Rashaan Salaam, the 1994 Heisman Memorial Trophy winner, never had the speed to be an NFL running back. Curtis Enis, No. 5 overall in 1998, never found his niche in Chicago, or the NFL for that matter.

Anthony Thomas, a second rounder in 2001, helped an attack that propelled the Bears to a 13-3 record and earned him ROY honors. However, Thomas never rekindled that swagger, and he is currently backing up Bills' 2007 first rounder Marshawn Lynch.

And of course, '05 bust Cedric Benson was a spoon-fed punk from the beginning. He held out for nearly all of training camp to get a contract he didn't deserve, and said he would dethrone Thomas Jones—a team leader and great worker—by Week Two.

Mind you, Jones was coming off a 1,300-yard season in 2004. Then, after Cedric had a decent '06 as a backup, he fumbled his only carry of Super Bowl XLI and got hurt on the same play.

That offseason, he complained about not receiving enough playing time and drove Thomas Jones out of town. In '07, he had his chance and was literally handed the job.

Plenty of things added to the equation of his demise in Chicago...his 3.2 YPC, poor pass protection, choppy feet, inability to move the pile, season-ending ankle injury, two alcohol-related arrests in five weeks, and his ability to talk a big game but not back it up.

Now, I'm sorry about all that because this article isn't about Cedric. We're done with him. A new era has dawned upon us. A new source of energy has been added to our lackluster offense.

Yes, I'm talking about Matt Forte, the newest Chicago Bear who agreed to a four-year contract on Wednesday and will compete in training camp for the starting tailback spot.

I've got to be honest. I HATED this pick two months ago on draft day. I thought it was a devastating reach, especially considering that there were two high-profile WRs on the board, not to mention Brian Brohm AND Chad Henne.

I thought to myself, "Why would we reach on a mediocre back when we have the potential to grab a future No. 1 WR or starting QB?"

However, after fully reading up on Forte, I really began to love this kid. He wasn't explosive like McFadden, nor did he possess the wiggles like Jones. But he was the most complete back in the draft, and he produced at a high level on an average football team.

What he could do was everything: Run between the tackles, break a run outside, catch the ball out of the backfield, run over defenders, pass block, and be a team player. When you look that over, how did this guy fall all the way to the second round?

Plus, the thing you love about this kid is his attitude. First of all, he understands how this is a team game, that you can't put yourself before others.

Second, he's playing with a chip on his shoulder. He doesn't want to be handed the job, but at the same time, he wants to make believers out of the people who doubted him, saying that he couldn't play Division I ball, and now, that he can't be an NFL starter. He just can't wait to prove them wrong.

For a guy playing in a huge media market, and filling a big void for the Windy City Bears, one has to wonder what you'll be getting out of Matt Forte. Will he be another Walter Payton, or another Curtis Enis?

Honestly, I'd rather see the kid do his own thing, and maybe people will one day say, "Boy, I'd sure like to play like Matt Forte."

P.S. Bleacher Report, you might want to make a Matt Forte tag pretty soon... :)