Yardbarker: Justin Forsett

The Hardest Theoretical Question I’ve Seen

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:48:18 -0500

Here is a question I brought up on Stamede Blue. If the Colts were completely healthy and not one player on the active roster (so minus Ryan Lilja and Tyjuan Hagler), what 8 players would be inactive for the game? Only 45 people dress, so that means 8 players will not be playing. Taking out special

5 Keys To Winning the Colts-Vikings Game

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:41:01 -0500

Sure, the Colts looked bad in Week 1, but the good thing is that the Vikings didn't look like a contender against Green Bay. I know some of the Colts "fans" are ready to jump off of the bandwagon, and I say good riddance. Make more room for us loyal fans who know that this team is a contender. If

Bye Bye Roby

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:31:32 -0500

Courtney Roby has been cut to make space for new returner Justin Forsett. The Indianapolis Star just did a big story on Roby making the roster. Oops. I feel bad about Roby being cut since he is from Indianapolis and grew up cheering for the Colts, but this is football. You can't fumble kick returns

Minus the big three, Cal receivers will still be tough to catch

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:11:58 -0500

In 2007, the college football world couldn't stop talking about Cal's DeSean Jackson and his highlight reel returns. Going into the season, he was one of the top Heisman candidates and he led what was one of the best receiving groups in the country, arguably THE best group that the Golden Bears have ever assembled...

The Training Camp Compliment Factory :: Volume II

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 02:30:18 -0500

The most interesting aspect to preseason football isn't the meaningless games, it's the barrage of exaggerated praise from coaches and players about their fellow teammates. The guys who are practicing on "such a high level", "really making an impression" and "may just end up in the starting lineup".

As we did last year, we once again enjoy the verbal fruits that describe some under-the-radar talents looking to make a name for themselves. It isn't an attempt to rain on the underdog players' parade; rather, it's to point out that everything NFL coaches and players speak should be taken with a grain of salt (unless Chad Johnson speaks ... then you need pay attention because he's so freaking intelligent).

A scan of last year's column and we realize this here guy was in the right by making fun of ~~Gerald McRaney~~Brad Childress and Minnesota for paying tight end Visanthe Shicancoe more than $5 to catch the football. Shiancoe finished the year with 27 catches and one touchdown. Likewise for Joey Harrington believing his receivers were the best he's ever played with in Atlanta and ditto for the Bears endorsing Kyle Orton. Oddly enough, Orton is the starter this year and didn't begin the '07 season as such. In the interest of fairness, Ken Whisenhunt and the Cardinals did have a much-improved offensive line, so his comments about the O-line gelling in training camp were accurate.

No coach made a bigger splash in last year's compliment factory than the one and only Mike Martz. As he put it ...

"We've spent a great deal of time so far in the running game. I think Tatum's (Bell) really stood out, as has Brian Calhoun. Real pleased with the running game and what we're trying to do."

"Tatum (Bell) right now is a different level. He's better than I thought he'd be. He's the whole package. ... He's got so much juice to him. He can go. He's taken our offense and learned it so well. He doesn't make any mistakes. He's catching the ball extremely well. He's playing at such a high level right now."

"Jon's (Kitna) far enough along, we could start tomorrow. He's playing at such a high, high level. We're trying to be careful with him. When other guys are all (aware) of protections and routes and we're just working through those things ... there's just nothing you can give him that he can't do right now."

I don't even need to explain why those comments are comedy gold.

Naturally, we begin this year's compliments with the new offensive coordinator of the 49ers.

"I have my players give my compliments for me" compliment

Late last week, the 49ers announced JT O'Sullivan as the team's starting quarterback. He's 29 and never started an NFL game. He came with Mike Martz from Detroit, while Isaac Bruce came from Martz's previous home in St. Louis.

"He does have really good accuracy and he fits well into the scheme of things. You have to be doing things really good to be the leader of a Mike Martz offense." - Isaac Bruce

Interestingly, Martz more or less ordained JT as the starter when he was acquired for the veteran's minimum back in March.

"(O'Sullivan) is capable of being a starter in this league. He's not a reliever, if you will. He's not a backup. He'll take full advantage of (the competition). He's a very fierce competitor."

I'm not doubting O'Sullivan's desire, but it's just hilarious that he's the starter. It was nothing, if not predictable. That's not to say he shouldn't be the starter, either. Alex Smith sucks and O'Sullivan's stats have been vastly superior to both he and Shaun Hill this preseason. The fan in me wants to see him succeed and wants Martz to succeed. Even though he blew his "dynastic" opportunities with the Rams, I've always liked Martz, perhaps because I've felt sorry for him. He's his own best friend and worst enemy (for a fun history lesson in Martz quotes, click here).

The 49ers have involved themselves in an epic storyline. The rejected maverick-coach rides into town with a chip on his shoulder and brings with him his angry, castoff quarterback whom he tutored. The two are joined by an aging wide receiver bitter about the way he was let go from his lifelong employer. All three are cut from the same cloth with one goal in mind. This is the last chance for Martz and he's already determined he'll go out with guns blazing - one way or another.

That's certainly more interesting than anything that's transpired in San Francisco the past 6 years.

PS: With no O'Sullivan in Detroit, the Lions have recently signed Drew Henson. BWAAAAAAAAAAAH!
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"I'm on hardcore freebase narcotics resulting in severe delusions of grandeur" self-compliment

Speaking of the Lions, their rookie running back Kevin Smith is dreaming BIG.

"If I can come in and we can win the Super Bowl, that'll mean more than anything thus far in my life up to this point. For us not to have been in the playoffs for a little bit of time now and for us to go straight to a Super Bowl my rookie year? You can't ask for anything else."

Shut up, Kevin. Idiot.
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"We have no other options at wide receiver so I'll talk from my ass" compliment

The Bears had a sour off-season in the field of wide receivers. Bernard Berrian signed a huge deal with the Vikings and Mushin Muhammad returned to Carolina. That leaves, ahem, Rashied Davis as a focal point of the passing game. Lovie Smith is down with that.

"He had an outstanding camp to start with. He just became a new dad, so a lot of outstanding things are happening in his life. It's good to see a guy come up big like that."

Davis has 49 career catches in 44 games, including a balmy 17 last season. While Lovie believes in Rashied, Rashied isn't exactly, um, sure.

"I was told by a couple of the players that I need to be one of the leaders in the receiver room, so that's where my focus kind of changed. If I don't know where I'm going, how the (heck) am I going to help somebody else?"

That's a great sign for Kyle Orton and the rest of the Bears vertical offense. For the record, I'm a leader of this Web site. I was told by a couple of the other writers that I need to be one of the leaders in the laptop room, so that's where my focus is.
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"I'm a believer because he's desperate and I'm smoking some of his ganja" compliment

Ricky Williams is vying for a leg-up on Ronnie Brown in this, his 432nd return from drug suspension or injury. His veteran teammates are confident Ricky will get the job done, especially Vonnie Holliday.

"This year, he's shown me he's recommitted and focused on becoming one of the elite backs again."

"He showed me that recommitment when he packed that bowl air-tight." Since Vonnie kind of looks like Ricky, I'm thinking he might have joined Williams' yoga cult. Agent Leigh Steinberg is pretty sure Ricky will be an All-Pro as well.

"Ricky has found a profound sense of inner peace through his yoga and zen practice. He is a 31-year-old running back with a 25-year-old body that has avoided major wear and tear, and at 231 pounds and sprinter speed. Let the NFL beware."

If his agent speaketh so, Vonnie must be on to something. It's not that I don't believe in Williams' talent, it's just that whole drug thing that will likely pop up. Well that and the fact that Ricky says he has to quiet the "doubts" in his mind. I'd love to hear what those doubts sound like.
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"We have no other options at wide receiver so I'll talk from my ass" compliment II

Much like the Bears, the Seahawks are in a bind with very little at the receiver position. Unlike the Bears, it's due to injuries. Deion Branch and Bobby Engram are both on the shelf, leaving Nate Burleson as the only current starter with more than 15 catches last season.

Luckily, Courtney Taylor and Ben Obamanu are available for a starting role, per Mike Holmgren.

"I want to see Courtney touch the ball, Ben touch the ball. I think they're just as capable. We have to sort that out, so we're going to kind of try and force-feed that just a little bit to see how we're going to line up the first game."

Really Mike? Both "just as capable"? Why don't you save the team some cash and get rid of Branch and Engram and start Courtney and Ben? Then you'll allow people like Chris Berman can make funny jokes about how Ben Obamanu sounds a lot like Barack Obama.
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"If you can't ride a roller coaster, you're better than everyone else" compliment

Sticking with the Seahawks, rookie running back Justin Forsett is built in the mold of Maurice Jones Drew. Since he's not getting any taller, the coaching staff has unleashed some unbelievable mini-hyperbole. Sayeth special teams coach Bruce DeHaven ...

"I told somebody one time, if they started a league called the Backyard League, where you threw a football into the backyard and you let guys choose up teams and make their own rules and play football, the first two guys I would choose on my team are Steve Tasker and Doug Flutie."

Call me crazy, but if I was starting a league called the Backyard league, I'd probably choose LaDainian Tomlinson and Tom Brady before Tasker and Flutie -- but maybe that's why I'm not an NFL coach. DeHaven isn't done with his praise of the short men.

"They know how to play the game ? probably because they are small they have been forced to figure out ways to be good. They don't need somebody to tell them what to do; they would figure it out. They would be inventive, creative, and be two of the best players in that league. And I think Justin is a little like that."

It almost sounds like "they" are their own breed of species. Offensive line coach Mike Solari likens them to the creatures we often kill with RAID.

"In a sense, you can't see them. They are so quick and yet they are explosive."

Look for one of these little creatures to be competing for a starting job with the Seahawks come September ... ...

Seahawks in San Diego for only Monday Night Football Appearance this Season

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 21:54:41 -0500

The Seahawks travel to San Diego to take on the Chargers in their only Monday Night appearance this season, August 25, at 5pm. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN (channel 31 in Seattle). Last week, Seattle improved to 2-0 in the preseason for the first time since 1998, the year before Mike Holmgren became head coach. Charlie Frye started and played the entire game, completing 20 of 35 passes for 209 yards with three interceptions. Rookie running back Justin Forsett put on a show with 261 all-purpose yards, including 52 yards rushing in overtime, to put kicker Brandon Coutu in range for the game-winning 36-yard field goal. Forsett finished with 136 yards rushing on 15 carries with one touchdown.

As camp concludes one thing is certain, 'Best' man will start

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:35:08 -0500

Jeff Tedford is beginning to leak some of the players that he has in mind for starting spots when Cal faces Michigan State August 30th. The Bears will have their final intrasquad scrimmage Tuesday and some of the open roster positions may very well be decided by a broken up pass or a critical third down catch....

One more thing about Justin Forsett

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:24:34 -0500

When we drafted him I did not think he would really make the team since we already had so many running backs, and because Forsett doesn't have breakaway speed, which I believed at the time was necessary for a kick returner. Forsett's performance in these preseason games has changed my mind about that. He has looked way too good to be stashed on the practice squad. The only remaining question is, how real is Justin Forsett? His running has been against 2nd and 3rd string defenses in preseason games, and special teams units such as kick coverage are often very weak in the early preseason. Is he as talented as we think he is? It should be common knowledge that most preseason performances are not the true talent level of the player. For example, Seneca Wallace did a spot on Tom Brady impersonation against the Vikings. While I have been criticized for undervaluing Seneca before, I don't think anyone believes that he is the best quarterback in the NFL. Is Justin Forsett the same way?

Well, according to this ESPN.com article written by Doug Farrar of the website Football Outsiders, maybe not. As the article says, rookie running backs with good YPC have tended to have that performance translate into the regular season. For example, Ahmad Bradshaw, the second year running back from the Super Bowl Champion Giants, had 177 yards on 26 carries last year, a YPC of 6.8. Justin Forsett, in comparison, has so far had 194 yards on 28 carries for a YPC of 6.9. If there is a correlation between the performance of rookie running backs in the preseason and their performance in the regular season, Justin Forsett is way to talented to let go of.

Justin Forsett Is Amazing

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 00:16:47 -0500

That is all for now.

Report Says 7th Round RB Forsett Looks Like 9′ers RB Gore

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:27:50 -0500

From: Pro Football Weekly We hear Seahawks seventh-round RB Justin Forsett, the first Seatttle rookie to sign on the dotted line, has reminded more than a few onlookers of similarly undersized Niners featured back Frank Gore with his impressive burst and quickness. We also hear first-year OG Pat Murray "can lift the gym" in the weight room and has many observers whispering about his brute strength.

Report Says 7th Round RB Forsett Looks Like 9′ers RB Gore

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:27:50 -0500

How Cal Lost in the Rose Bowl, Part II

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 21:02:50 -0500

More examples of how Cal attacked UCLA's Cover 4 defenes, mostly with wide receivers catching balls on the outside and screen passes that allowed for the swing to the inside.

The Golden Bears Are Getting Drafted

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 14:06:41 -0500

Profiles on the California Golden Bears who will be taken in the NFL Draft the next two days.

NFL Draft Analysis: The RBs

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 15:59:44 -0500

Last year's crop of running backs contained only two truly elite prospects, Adrian 'Rookie of the Year' Peterson and Marshawn 'It don't get no better than solid' Lynch. This year's class is much, much deeper, with most of the top prospects juniors. So, start day-dreaming about a few of these top-notch tailbacks dropping below the first couple of rounds, because it's going to happen.

Covaughn Deboskie committs to Cal at US All-American Bowl

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 21:34:19 -0500

Four star running back Covaughn Deboskie committed to the University of California, Berkeley today at the US All-American Bowl. The Bears will now have a backfield full of explosive stars in Jahvid Best, James Montgomery, and Shane Vereen to replace departing senior Justin Forsett. Deboskie chose Cal for its great academic excellence and football prowess, as the senior running back possess a 4.16 GPA. He was choosing between Stanfurd, ASU, Florida, Alabama, Clemson, Michigan, and Georgia Tech. The Bears capped off their disappointing 7-6 season with a 42-36 victory over the Air Force Academy in the Armed Forces Bowl. With Kevin Riley replacing Nate Longshore, the Bears came back from a 21-0 deficit and looked like the dangerous offense that was expected to be seen the entire season, scoring very quickly and looking unstoppable. With Riley's play and expected starting position next season, DeSean Jackson may return for his senior season.