Daily Madden: Forsett's Redemption
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - Justin Forsett, the former Cal Bear cut by Jacksonville in March, rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Ravens to a 34-27 win over the Saints in New Orleans Monday night.
"He has great feel," John Madden told the KCBS Radio morning crew, noting you can't appreciate his skill by watching him practice. "If you don't watch him in scrimmage or in games, you'd never see him... Just being able to read the flow of the defense and then cut back and have a little patience there, and patience through the hole, bursts through the hole -- he does those things perfectly. And you wouldn't know it unless you're playing live."
Forsett is third in the league in rushing through 11 games.
"A lot of (his success) is instinct and feel and reading the defense, and then being able to do something about it quickly. A lot of people can read -- I mean they can see what the defense is doing. But they can't react to it quickly."
Forsett, playing on his fifth team in his seven seasons, said his NFL future looked bleak before he was picked up by Baltimore in April. Madden said it's made for a more exciting Ravens team, now 7-4.
"You just kind of have the feeling that if he doesn't break one, he's going to any time... (A lot of running backs) can get two or three or four five yards. But when you can get two, three, four, five yards, and then 30 more, that's a big thing." (7:45)
(Listen to the John Madden segment live weekday mornings at 8:15 and Monday and Friday mornings at 9:15 on KCBS All News 740 AM/106.9 FM.)