MF2k Update Through Seven Games

The race for history continues! Matt Forte's solid week seven performance in jolly ole England against the Bucs gives him 1,091 yards from scrimmage so far this year, ahead of Freddy "Tito" Jackson by over two hundred yards. But how did it affect the man with no nickname's journey towards 1,000 rushing and receiving. Jumpin' Jack Flash hit the jump, jump, jump.

 Forte's rushing day in London helped him immensely in his race towards 1,000 rushing yards for the season, and at this pace he'll actually be closer to 1,600 than 1,000. His relatively quiet receiving day in London (2 catches for 38 yards) didn't help his cause too much, but at this point one game isn't going to drastically impede his chances for a 1,000 receiving season (last week's look can be found here). So let's take a look at his yardage totals and averages compared to the only two men in NFL history to break the 1k mark on the ground and in the air in the same season.

Forte's well above both Roger Craig's and Marshall Faulk's rushing yardage pace through seven games, and the man is averaging over 5.4 ypc, which is terrific. In fact, in only game (Green Bay) this year has #22 averaged less than 4.0 ypc, which is amazing considering his previous three years featured yards-per-carry averages of 3.9, 3.6, and 4.5, respectively. At this point it seems incredibly unlikely that hitting 1,000 yards rushing is going to be a problem, but hopefully his great performance on the ground continues to help vault Chicago back into the playoffs.

As for receiving yards, compared to Faulk and Craig, Forte's doing just fine; 39 yards behind the man with two first names and 32 ahead of the OMF (Original M.F.). He has fallen behind the 62.5 yards per game average he needs to have in order to hit 1,000 yards for the season, but he's at 60 rec. yards per game, so he's not far behind the pace. His usage rate in the passing game is obviously at career high levels, with his previous three year receiving yard totals being 477, 471, and 547.

If he would maintain his current averages, Forte would end the season with 1,536 rushing yards and 960 receiving yards. So if we're gonna keep hope alive that the man with no new contract can reach hallowed ground, he's going to need a good receiving game against Philly to get back on his record-setting pace.