LAKE FOREST, Ill. – With a talented backfield tandem of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew, the Jaguars didn’t need a running back in this year’s draft. But that didn’t stop coach Jack Del Rio from receiving phone calls urging Jacksonville to pick Matt Forte.

“I’ve got a lot of family and friends that live in Louisiana, so I’m aware of some of the things he did at Tulane,” Del Rio said during a Wednesday teleconference in advance of Sunday’s Bears-Jaguars game at Soldier Field.

Running back Matt Forte leads the Bears with 10 touchdowns and ranks fifth in the NFL in rushing.

“A lot of them were telling me how good he was going to be coming out. Of course we weren’t in the market for a back, but I thought he was a good back coming out and [the Bears] have got a good player there.”

Forte has enjoyed a breakout rookie season in Chicago. He ranks fifth in the NFL in rushing with 1,012 yards and third in total yards from scrimmage with 1,370.

The second-round pick leads the Bears with 10 TDs, tops all NFL running backs with 48 receptions and has accounted for a higher percentage of his team’s yards from scrimmage (35.67 percent) than any other player in the league.

“I don’t want to get carried away, but I see some Marcus Allen-type vision and balance with him,” Del Rio said. “He’s a taller guy. He runs with good pad level. He’s got good vision and balance. He does a nice job following his blocks and setting up his blocks. He’s a good football player.”

Back for now: A Minnesota judge on Wednesday blocked the NFL’s suspensions of Vikings defensive tackles Kevin Williams and Pat Williams by issuing a temporary restraining order.

The two Pro Bowlers had received four-game suspensions Tuesday for violating the league’s policy on steroids and related substances apparently when they ingested a diuretic that contained a banned substance. The NFL could take the issue to federal court in Minneapolis to get the suspensions reinstated.

“There is no merit to this lawsuit and we will promptly seek to have the order reversed,” the NFL said in a statement. 

Nothing to celebrate: Before news of the temporary restraining order broke late Wednesday afternoon, Bears players discussed the suspensions of Kevin Williams and Pat Williams.

When asked whether he would have liked the suspensions to have started a week earlier so the Bears wouldn’t have had to face the Williams Wall Sunday night, left tackle John St. Clair said: “No, we have pride, man. You want to play the best, so that’s the way it is. You hate for them to get suspended. But we’ve got to focus on ourselves.”

Another Bears veteran had a similar reaction on the eve of the Vikings game, saying Saturday night that “we didn’t come up here to face the University of Minnesota.”

Let it snow: The Bears started practice outdoors Wednesday but moved inside the Walter Payton Center when snow began to intensify.

“It was slick out there and I didn’t feel like we were getting a lot done then,” said coach Lovie Smith. “We needed to get out there for part of the practice. We were able to do that. As much as anything, you want to get a good practice in. We realize what it feels like to play [outside in inclement weather]. As a general rule, we’ll make sure we get one day in outside no matter what and go from there.”

Health beat: Defensive tackle Anthony Adams (foot), linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer (Achilles), fullback Jason McKie (quadriceps) and defensive end Adewale Ogunleye (shoulder) did not practice Wednesday. Linebacker Lance Briggs, safety Mike Brown, defensive tackle Tommie Harris and center Olin Kreutz were rested.

For the Jaguars, cornerback Rashean Mathis (knee) has been ruled out of Sunday’s game; running backs Taylor (not injury related) and Greg Jones (ankle), defensive tackle John Henderson (illness) and tight end Greg Estandia (foot) did not practice; and defensive tackle Tony McDaniel (toe) was limited.