FanPost

Does Matt Forte belong in the Hall of Fame?

Does Matt Forte belong in the Hall of Fame? His years of solid play, sprinkled with intermittent greatness beg us to ask the question. Does he? I think the argument could be made either way.

It might depend entirely on your thoughts on admittance. Should the standard of it's members set the mark for it's inductees, or should that of the league, the player's peers, set the bar? Forte, while consistently in the league's upper echelon of running backs, has never been the rushing champion, but his stats do compare favorably to those of Hall of Fame rushers. Can a player who has never been the best at his position in his time playing earn a spot among the leagues' all time greats?

If you are of the former's thought, that you have to be as good or better than current Hall of Famers to get in, then Matt Forte's odds getting in look great. Of all recent inductees at his position (RBs enshrined since 2005, Floyd Little omitted), only Curtis Martin (83.8 yds/g) and Emmitt Smith (81.2 yds/g) totally outshine Forte on the ground. He would rank 3rd out of 6 in rushing yards per game with a respectable 72.0 yds/g, ahead of Jerome Bettis (71.2 yds/g), Marshall Faulk (69.8 yds/g) and Thurman Thomas (66.3 yds/g). In terms of receiving, only Faulk averages more yards per game (39.1 yds/g vs 34.8 yds/g).

I'm not suggesting that simple statistics like yards per game should determine who in the NFL is the better player, but when you compare 22's to that of runners already in the Hall of Fame, Forte looks like he belongs. The numbers he's put up legitimize his claim to the Hall if you believe that's what it takes to get in.

What's wrong with Forte's claim, though, is that he has never been the best. Since entering the league in 2008, 6 different runners have claimed the league's rushing title, but never Forte (I question it's importance. Walter Payton has as many rushing titles as Tuffy Leemans, but I digress) in that 7 year span. His 808 receiving yards in 2014, the best of his career, were only good enough for second place, behind Le'Veon Bell's 854. In terms of total yards from scrimmage in a single season, where Forte shines, the highest he has ever ranked in a single year is 3rd (2013 and 2014).

At the very least, Matt Forte has been a top 10 running back his entire career. He's never lead the league in rushing yards or receiving yards (for running backs), but he's gained the most yards from scrimmage since entering the league. And though he's gained the most yards of any non-QB since 2008, but he's not the greatest at any one thing. Even to a casual fan, a player with that description doesn't sound unequivocally deserving of admittance into the Hall of Fame.

If you were to ask me, a not-so-casual Bears fan what I thought, I would not put Matt Forte in the Hall of Fame. As a football fan, you romanticize the greatness of players that wear your colors. Looking just at fact and not at the value Forte holds among Bears fans, he doesn't belong, He was never the best of his generation. He has yet to lead the league in any major statistical category. How do you put someone who has never been the best among the greatest of all time?

I'm not saying he has no chance to get into the Hall of Fame, in fact, I think he gets in if he keeps doing what he's been doing for the next half decade, I just don't trust his chances. He has been as consistent a runner as anyone in the league and he takes great care of himself, giving him a legitimate chance to play for at least a little while longer. Even though there's still hope, I do not believe he should get in if his career ended today.

This Fanpost was written by a Windy City Gridiron member and does not necessarily reflect the ideas or opinions of its staff or community.