The Chicago Bears are hoping to bounce back from an ugly 5-11 season. Despite a plethora of offensive talent, that side of the ball ranked just 19th in scoring (19.9) and 21st in yards (327.1). But those underwhelming finishes can't be put on running back Matt Forte's shoulders.
Forte has been one of the most consistent backs in the league since being drafted in the second-round in 2008. As a result, he ranked 59th among all NFL players in a recent Top 100 list composed by ESPN. Seventy panelists - including NFL analysts, reporters, statisticians and former players/front office executives - were asked to rank players on a scale from 1-100. Forte earned an average grade of 83.21.
"Here's a good trivia question: Over the past seven seasons, which player has led the NFL in yards from scrimmage? Ok, so maybe we already gave it away, but remarkably, no players has more than Forte's 11,431 combined rushing and receiving yards over that span. Good but not incredible rushing totals obscure facts like the 102 catches Forte had in 2014, more than every NFL player not named Julio Jones, Demaryius Thomas or Antonio Brown - and a single-season record for RBs. 'So smooth, with deceptive speed and quickness,' said one voter. Forte's whole career has been deceptive.
"Forte has had at least 200 carries in seven consecutive seasons. Frank Gore is the only player with a longer active streak (nine)."
To go along with his record-setting 102 receptions, Forte also posted 808 receiving yards and 1,038 rushing yards last season. He scored 10 total touchdowns.
While Forte posted his lowest yards-per-carry average (3.9) since 2009, much of that had to do with Chicago's shaky offensive line. But new head coach John Fox wants to re-emphasize the ground game which means Forte will be in line for a lot of work if he can stay healthy.
Forte's workload over the years and approaching 30th may be red flags, but he's likely got one more season in the top 100 left.
