Running back Forte's figures positively fabulous

You know how Star Wars geeks dressed like their favorite character and rushed to theaters to inhale the series' latest chapter?

When the Bears hired Mike Martz as offensive coordinator, Matt Forte did everything but strap on his navy blue Bears helmet as he rushed to see video of the Greatest Show on Turf.

Marshall Faulk! Kurt Warner! Torri Holt! Isaac Bruce! All chewing up yards and scoring touchdowns while carrying out every idea and whim in Martz' mind!

"It really just gets you excited to see what they did," Forte said. "I know the kind of talent that's on this team is just like that."

Well, there's one talent on the Bears who's already maximizing his time under Martz's direction.

When Forte caught 151 yards worth of passes in last week's opener against Detroit, he became the first NFL running back to gain so many yards through the air since Philadelphia's Brian Westbrook on Dec. 5, 2004.

When Forte finished with 201 yards from scrimmage, he became the first Bear to crack the 200-yard barrier since Neal Anderson on Dec. 17, 1989.

But this statistical study isn't about comparing Forte to former Eagles and Bears.

It's about seeing whether Forte stands up to Faulk, who ought to be enshrined in Canton next summer.

Obviously we don't have much data on the Forte-Martz marriage, so let's put it in context of Martz's first long-term NFL relationship.

Martz and Faulk enjoyed 98 games together - including 10 in the playoffs - as primary actors in the Rams' remarkable offense.

Only once did Faulk deliver more receiving yards than Forte produced in the Bears' win over Detroit.

Only nine times did Faulk post more than 200 yards from scrimmage, which Forte accomplished in his first game with Martz pulling the Bears' strings.

Faulk's longest touchdown with the Rams was a 72-yard reception from Warner.

Forte eclipsed that last week when he snagged a Jay Cutler screen pass, cruised patiently as Olin Kreutz neutralized a defender and then raced down the east sideline for an 89-yard score.

"I've always wanted to get a 90-yard something," said Forte, before being reminded he didn't get such a thing.

"Well, 89 is almost 90. I didn't even get that in college. My longest was 75 or something like that."

The Bears' media-relations types have sorted out other ways to measure Forte's prowess.

Since he entered the league in the 2008 draft, Forte owns 3,326 yards from scrimmage. Only Tennessee's Chris Johnson (4,147) and Minnesota's Adrian Peterson (3,805) have amassed more.

Since they're considered the standard-bearers for this generation of running backs, that's hardly shabby company.

While we're using numbers to gauge Forte's potential place in the running back pantheon, let's wrap it up by taking a turn for the heretical.

As mentioned above, Forte owns 3,326 yards from scrimmage in his first 33 NFL games.

Guess how many yards Walter Payton, the standard-bearer for any generation of running back, produced in his first 33 games?

Payton posted 3,168 yards with 25 touchdowns through Week 6 of the 1977 season.

So Forte's on pace to be more prolific than Payton, right?

Well, Payton piled up 205 rushing yards in his 34th game (fitting, somehow, considering his uniform number).

Three weeks after that, Payton unleashed his 275-yard afternoon on the Vikings.

Let's see whether Forte, blessed with the chance to catch passes in Martz's offense, can approach those prodigious feats as a dual-threat back.