We start our look at each team's secret star with the Chicago Bears, who have some pretty big names on defense but not so many on offense.
But Matt Forte quietly had a phenomenal season for the Bears, obscured a bit by a relatively low rushing yardage total (1,072 yards) and just nine total touchdowns. Not the kind of stats that get you on the cover of fantasy magazines or onto the breathless teleprompters of TV broadcasters.
You had to look beyond the numbers to see that this team fairly clearly wouldn't be where they are without their starting halfback.
Last season, Forte did not have a good year. As a rookie, he ranked 12th in our halfback grades thanks more to his receiving and blocking than his running, but he fell to earth hard in 2009.
He was visibly struggling for much of the season, and finished the year ranked dead last of qualifying HBs in our grades, and was buried near the bottom of our Elusive Rating rankings that measured a back's ability to break tackles.
It turns out that Forte was carrying injuries all through the season and it clearly hurt his performance. The Bears noticed it too, and went out and brought in former Viking Chester Taylor to help Forte carry the load.
Many people expected those two backs to share the workload in a fairly even split, but such has been Forte’s performance, especially down the stretch, that it hasn’t even been close. Forte finished the year as our 6th-best graded HB, and saw more than double the snaps of Taylor (706 to 312). That disparity went to touches as well. Forte carried the ball 237 times in the regular season compared to the 112 that Chester Taylor managed. Forte added another 51 catches to Taylor’s 20 during the regular season, clearly establishing himself as the lead back in the Chicago backfield that was supposed to operate as a tandem.
Forte’s 10.8 yards per reception were only bettered by one other HB with more than eight receptions on the season, and that HB (Danny Woodhead) had the benefit of being split out as a legitimate wide receiver for many of his receptions, something that wasn’t the case for Forte.
A look at his grades for the season show just how good Forte has been, especially in the second half of the season:
Forte was only ranked No. 15 as a pure runner, but he was the second-best all-around back in the league behind Cleveland's Peyton Hillis (with zero fumbles to Hillis' six). Forte graded No. 3 as a blocker and No. 5 in the passing game.
Against a Seahawk front with some pretty stout run defenders (not to mention plenty of de-facto 5-man defensive line looks), Forte was able to notch 80 rushing yards, 52 of which came after contact. He also added another 54 yards receiving on three catches, taking him well over 100 total yards for the day.
Much credit is being given to Mike Tice and the job he has done with the offensive line, but truth be told the Bears are finding creative ways to make their O-line look better as much as the line is helping them out with improved play. But they have been clearly one of the worst units in the league this year, making Forte's success all the more impressive.
While comparing running backs on the same team isn't always fair, given that they usually fill different roles, it's also worth noting that Taylor averaged just 1.9 yards after contact, well behind Forte's 2.6, and only 2.4 yards a carry overall.
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