LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte sees the commitment to the handoff and cant help but come away impressed.The only thing that would be better for him would be if he was talking about his own team instead of this weeks opponent. The Bears will see a squad committed to the run when they host DeMarco Murray and the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night.Its impressive to see, said Forte, who made it clear Monday he wants more carries.Last week, he had just five for six yards, and the Bears (5-7) ran only eight times in a loss at Detroit that all but guaranteed they will miss the playoffs for the seventh time in eight years.On Thursday night, theyll see a team that committed to the run by upgrading its offensive line in recent years and putting the ball in Murrays hands. He has played in all 12 games after missing time in each of his first three seasons, and the results so far are jaw-dropping. He leads the NFL in yards rushing (1,427) and attempts (288) and is a huge reason why the Cowboys are challenging the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC East championship.The Bears have been struggling all season in just about every phase, something they did not envision.A team that ranked second in the NFL in scoring last season has taken a big step back in Year 2 under coach Marc Trestman, with the Bears failing to produce more than 28 points in a game.Only three times this season has Forte attempted more than 19 rushes. In four games, he has finished with 13 or fewer. And the five carries against the Lions matched a career low he set against Arizona in 2009 and Kansas City in 2011.Forte said the Bears cant afford a repeat this week.Its of the utmost importance, especially if were playing outside, with the weather and stuff, Forte said. You cant just sit back there and throw 50 passes a game and expect to win. Their front four were pinning their ears back. They didnt have anything to do but pass rush. Theyre not respecting the run and then if you play-fake, theyre not going to take the play-fake because you havent been running the ball.The Bears were facing the leagues stingiest run defence last week. Even so, Forte said thats no reason to completely abandon the run, and they need to stick with it to open up the passing game.He and offensive co-ordinator Aaron Kromer said the game plan last week called for Chicago to go with some quick screens early on and then move to the run. But it didnt quite unfold the way the Bears envisioned.Kromer would not say how many run plays the Bears called, only that there were more than what showed on tape.It didnt help that the Bears again fell into an early hole and trailed at halftime for the eighth time this season. They trailed the Detroit 24-14, and for the season, theyve been outscored a whopping 223-117 over the first two quarters.Even so, Kromer said the Bears still could have run the ball down 10 at halftime.And I think in the future, that will happen, he added.Meanwhile, Trestman reiterated that the Bears need more balance. But the struggle to find it continues.As I look back, theres a lot of different things that go into that, he said. The only thing I could say is we didnt run it enough. We would have liked to run it more. It didnt happen that way, and weve got to move forward to Dallas. We could have that discussion forever. We need to run the ball more than we did.NOTES: DT Jeremiah Ratliff practiced on a limited basis after missing the Lions game because of a knee injury, while S Chris Conte sat out after injuring his eye against Detroit. TE Martellus Bennett (foot), WR Alshon Jeffery (hamstring) and CB Tim Jennings (groin) were also among the limited participants.___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Bobby Tolan Jersey . -- The defending Canadian womens curling champions squandered an opportunity to take sole possession of first place in the standings Tuesday at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Ted Simmons Jersey . The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists detailed in a report how Russian and international journalists have been harassed and prevented from covering sensitive stories in Sochi such as the abuse of migrant workers and environmental issues. https://www.cheapcardinalsonline.com/ . After not scoring 40 points in the opening quarter in the last five seasons, the Rockets have done it five times this season and twice in the last three games. Miles Mikolas Jersey . Behind the talents of rookie Johnny Gaudreau, the Flames will look to keep pace Thursday night when they face the Minnesota Wild in the second of a six-game homestand. Bruce Sutter Jersey . The 26-year-old Redditch, England, native played three of his past four seasons under Rennie with the Carolina RailHawks of the North American Soccer League.THE FORMATIONS: Montreal Impact started the 2014 season in Dallas and their starting XI featured few surprises as new coach Frank Klopas stuck to the 4-3-3 shape his team adopted in pre-season. Klopas had a number of suspensions and injuries to deal with, including star man Marco Di Vaio, so he named Andrew Wenger up top and pushed Houssoun Camara into the centre-back position. First round draft pick Eric Miller got his first MLS start at right back. Collen Warner joined Hernan Bernadello in central midfield with Felipe playing as the attacking central midfield. FC Dallas had a number of injuries themselves with goalkeeper Raul Fernandez and key defenders George John and Zach Loyd missing. New coach Oscar Pareja also adopted a 4-3-3 system that he was familiar with in Colorado. THE GAME: This was a very entertaining match full of tactical adjustments and questionable referee decisions that played a significant impact on the final result. Montreals 4-3-3 turns into a 4-2-3-1 on the counter attack but also, importantly, when they press and this was the theme of the game early. Klopas had his front four press intelligently and the young backline of Dallas, combined with opening day nerves as Pareja later admitted, made it a very difficult opening 15 minutes for the home team. Montreal started on the front foot, causing many turnovers deep in their opponents half. The wide players of Dallas can be electrifying in attack but have little will to defend their flanks, putting pressure on the central midfield pair to carry the load. This works well if the playmaker, in this case Mauro Diaz, cuts in and takes away Hernan Bernadellos distribution but this didnt happen. With Bernadello free, Felipe had license to move forward and this is how Montreal opened the scoring in the 10th minute. Justin Mapp, rightfully so, got the headlines for the goal, cutting in brilliantly on the right, beating three defenders, and supplying scorer Sanna Nyassi at the back post, but it was Felipes run forward that forced the back four to shift over and leave Nyassi unmarked. Montreals dominance continued after the goal, with Bernadello running the show. The Argentine DP sent a long ball over the top for Andrew Wenger to run on to and his cross found Felipe who should have made it 2-0. Bernadello is a very important player for Montreal in this system, and as they play on the counter he is very good at supplying long-range passes to feet, rather than an easy square ball that keeps possession but does nothing for their attack. With Montreal in control, Dallas rocked them back with an equalizer that was their first real threat on goal. A simple ball over the top wasnt cleared by Matteo Ferrari and Fabian Castillo got in behindd to tap home.dddddddddddd It was the goal Dallas needed to calm down and for all of Montreals good play to open the match they were now level. THE TURNING POINT: Diaz will be an interesting player to watch for Dallas this season. With David Ferreira gone, he is now their playmaker. At 1-1 he started to get more touches on the ball and drift away from Bernadello. In the 23rd minute, he shuffled out to the right side and dribbled his way towards the box, facing up with Jeb Brovsky. The left back showed him inside, a route Diaz accepted and as he got in front of Brovsky, the Impact man touched him and he went down. A penalty was awarded and it was very harsh. Blas Perez stepped up and blasted home. Montreal would spend the rest of the game behind. The deficit was increased to 3-1 shortly after half-time when Diaz scored a brilliant free kick just outside the area after Bernadello had been deemed to handle the ball when he was turning away blocking a shot. Once again, the decision seemed very harsh. THE POSITIVES: Impact would make it 3-2 later in the game when Wenger scored an outstanding header from a Felipe cross. It was a goal out of nothing and that is exactly what Montreal will need this season from Wenger, whether Di Vaio is playing or not. Tactically, the midfield central three will cause opponents many problems this season if Bernadello and Felipe play at a high level all season. This is where they will be able to dictate a matchs style. They can counter well and maintain possession, while also protecting the back four. The introduction of new signing Santiago Gonzalez, at 3-2 after 68 minutes, was an exciting one for Montreal and showed some flexibility from Klopas. The Uruguayan was immediately pushed up front, to play just off Wenger, and the midfield turned into a diamond. It made the visitors narrower but this took away the desire of FC Dallas to stretch the game. Once again, Montreal dominated this stretch of the match but the score line within it failed to show that. THE NEGATIVES: Both Dallas and Montreal faded badly last season after starting well so it is difficult to know just how good Dallas are this season but they certainly caused Montreals back four some problems. The left side of Brovsky and Nyassi defensively were often exposed and Klopas had to put Miller there late in the game, bringing on Calum Mallace to play right back. THE STAR MAN: For Dallas, it was, unquestionably, Diaz although Castillo had a very good game. Mapp was Montreals best player and his pace and ball control caused Dallas issues throughout. It was no coincidence that both Castillo and Mapp played on the same flank, allowing each other to attack the full back in one-on-one situations. ' ' '
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