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Trevor reached out during Tuesday's SportsNation chat:

Trevor (De Pere, WI)

Kevin! We need a ForteWatch up in this blog! He's on pace for over 2,000 yards from scrimmage! LOUD NOISES!

Kevin Seifert (2:16 PM)

I can see that. I need four arms to keep up with all of my Watches....

Trevor must be an experienced NFC North blog reader. Any Will Ferrell movie reference gets you points with the blogger, especially if it's a Brick Tamland line. And if anything, Trevor undersold Forte's season to this point.

Forte isn't just on pace for 2,000 combined rushing and receiving yards, a feat accomplished on 58 occasions in NFL history, according to Pro Football Reference. He has given himself a shot at producing one of the best seasons ever for a running back.

Check out the -- yes -- ForteWatch chart. At his current levels, Forte would finish the 16-game season with 2,493 total yards (rushing and receiving). That total would put him just 16 yards shy of the record set in 2009 by the Tennessee Titans' Chris Johnson.


(An aside: If there were ever a time for the Bears to break team policy and re-enter contract negotiations during the season, isn't it now? The Bears are in their bye week, and Forte's market value continues to rise.)

Obviously we still have more than half of the season remaining. Sometimes projecting 16-game performance is a silly exercise at this point in the season, but I think it's worthwhile to note that we have some NFC North players who are off to historic starts. Forte has joined Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson (10 touchdowns) and Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen (11.5 sacks) in deserving their own Watches so far this season. We'll obviously add and subtract as needed. (Still trying to decide how to handle Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers' sizzling start.)

For those who are curious how Forte's performance compares to the best seven-game starts since 1960, Pro Football Reference's outstanding database has the answer.

Forte's 1,091 yards ranks eighth on a list that includes some pretty important names. Jim Brown totaled 1,193 yards in the first seven games of the 1963 season. Also appearing on the list are Marshall Faulk, O.J. Simpson and Terrell Davis. (Full list here.)

Related: Forte ranks fifth on NFC West blogger Mike Sando's MVP Watch this week.

I've always been the first to admit that I've never paid much attention to "Madden" or any other video game, but I've been surprised at how passionate many of you are about NOT wanting Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers or Minnesota Vikings tailback Adrian Peterson to win ESPN.com's bracket-style competition for the cover of "Madden 12." Both players have advanced to the second round of the event.

"The Curse" is in your head.

Nevertheless, wrote @TeeJayV via Twitter, "Just no reason to chance it. Keep @AaronRodgers12 off of it!"

Rodgers, for his part, tweeted last week that it is "hard not to want" the Madden cover.

I suppose this will become a bigger issue for us if Rodgers and/or Peterson advance to the finals next month. But courtesy of ESPN Stats & Information, via NFC South colleague Pat Yasinskas, here are the basics of the so-called "Madden Curse."

• Madden 11: Drew Brees: Threw for 4,620 yards but also set a career high with 22 interceptions. Started 16 games despite persistent reports of a knee injury.
• Madden 10: Troy Polamalu/Larry Fitzgerald: Polamalu only played five games because of knee injuries, Steelers missed playoffs; Fitzgerald wasn’t affected much (97 receptions, 1,092 yards, 13 TDs, Pro Bowl).
• Madden 9: Brett Favre: Feuded with Packers, traded to Jets, horrible down the stretch (lost 4 of last 5).
• Madden 8: Vince Young: Missed 1 game with quad injury; led Titans to first playoff appearance in four years.
• Madden 7: Shaun Alexander: Fractured foot, missed six games; fewer yards and TDs in '06 AND '07 than in '04 OR '05.
• Madden 6: Donovan McNabb: Sports hernia in first game, missed seven games; feuded with Terrell Owens all year; had been to five straight Pro Bowls, hasn't been since.
• Madden 5: Ray Lewis: Broke wrist, missed one game; first season without interception; missed 10 games next year with thigh injury.
• Madden 4: Michael Vick: Fractured fibula one day after video game was released, missed 11 games; Pro Bowl next 2 seasons; obvious issues since then.
• Madden 3: Marshall Faulk: Ankle injury, missed two games, never rushed for 1,000 yards.
• Madden 2: Daunte Culpepper: 4-7 record before season-ending knee injury.
• Madden 2001: Eddie George: Career season, but fumbled in playoffs as top-seeded Titans lost first game to Ravens.
• Madden 2000: Barry Sanders: Retired one week before training camp.

MIAMI -- Former St. Louis running back Marshall Faulk was a popular guy Tuesday at Super Bowl media day. Now an NFL Network analyst, Faulk has some special insight when it comes to Chicago’s new offensive coordinator.

Indeed, Faulk played seven seasons for the Rams when Mike Martz was either the offensive coordinator or head coach. I asked Faulk what advice he would give Bears players as they prepare for the transition.

“Just be in shape,” Faulk said. “You’ll actually practice harder than you play in a game.”

The dynamic everyone wants to know about, of course, is Martz’s relationship with quarterback Jay Cutler. They seemed to hit it off well enough during a weekend meeting in Tennessee, but Faulk said there is no way Cutler can be prepared for what Martz is about to throw at him.

“I’m not sure how [former Denver coach] Mike Shanahan coached him,” Martz said. “And I don’t know how [former Bears offensive coordinator] Ron [Turner] coached him. But this will be eye-opening for him. He’ll never have as much on his plate as he has now. He’ll never complain about throwing the football. Trust me. This will be an experience for him. Last year, he looked like he was bored in the Bears’ offense, maybe a little frustrated.

“If he’s frustrated next year, it won’t be because he is bored.”

We have yet to hear from Cutler on the Martz hire. If he’s smart, he’ll wholly embrace it. More often than not, Martz has elevated the play of the quarterbacks he’s coached.

My corporate cousin Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com spoke with Faulk about other aspects of the Martz’s offense, including how it might change the roles of tight end Greg Olsen and tailback Matt Forte.