So far this season, the Bears offense has been completely ineffective. Coach Lovie Smith stands by his claims that the Bears are a “running football team,” yet the Bears rank dead last in the NFL in team rushing. Given the horrible play of the offensive line, it seems the only person running anywhere with the football is quarterback Jay Cutler, when he flees opposing defenders.
Running back Matt Forte isn’t doing much to help the cause after accounting for nearly half the Bears offense last season. For the first time in Forte’s young career, his average yards per carry (3.3) have slipped well below his college GPA at Tulane (3.7).
The month of November has been particularly rough on Forte, as he’s barely averaged three yards a carry. He’s rushed for 100 yards in a game only once and has only broken the 50-yard mark three times all season.
“You gotta go easy on me here,” said Forte when approached with the grim statistic. “Everybody knows that NCAA football players don’t go to class and still get A’s. Just because I set the bar high academically doesn’t mean I’ve been dogging it this season. You try running behind Frank Omiyale or Old Man Orlando [Pace].”
From the November 2009 issue by Drew Adams
