What is wrong with Chicago

There is trouble in the windy city.  The Chicago Bears are having a rough year.  Today's loss to the Patriots was just plain ugly.  The defense could do nothing to stop Tom Brady and company.  The offense didn't really get started until they were almost 40 points behind.  Brandon Marshall probably had a meltdown in the locker room.  Jay Cutler does look to Matt Forte an awful lot.  Forte has 58 receptions this year almost double Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall with 38 and 34 respectively.  Instead of hitting one of his two star receivers downfield he's dumping the ball short to Forte.  Either he's not getting enough protection from his offensive line or he's just running scared and making bad decisions. 

It's not just the offense that is having problems.  The defense gave up 487 yards and 51 points to the Patriots, anyone will have trouble digging out of that kind of hole.  The defense isn't what it was last year and that's not saying much.  Last year the Bears finished 30th in the NFL in points allowed, 30th in yards allowed, 28th in sacks and were by far the worst run defense in the league, allowing 5.3 yards per carry.  They lost Julius Peppers but gained Jared Allen this year.  Something has to give someone has to step up and take charge of this team.

Marc Trestman in his second season as head coach has his hands full.  The offense is struggling, the defense is giving up yards like water through a sieve.  The Bears are 11-13 under his leadership and the team has no direction.  There is no discipline and sloppy play.  Stupid mistakes that just makes things harder.  Defensive end Lamarr Houston will undergo an MRI on Monday after hurting his right knee while celebrating a sack of Jimmy Garoppolo during the fourth quarter.  The fourth quarter, when there was no chance of winning on the backup quarterback none the less.  No discipline, stupid mistakes.  Something has to give.

Trouble in Seattle

The defending world champion Seattle Seahawks are having some trouble this year.  On the field they've started 3-3 and off the field there's locker room drama.  

Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman wrote earlier this week about the ongoing drama in Seattle in the wake of the Percy Harvin trade. Apparently some Seahawks players think quarterback Russell Wilson is too close to the front office, and doesn't always take blame for his mistakes.

"There is also an element of race that needs to be discussed," Freeman wrote. "My feeling on this -- and it's backed up by several interviews with Seahawks players -- is that some of the black players think Wilson isn't black enough."

On Thursday's SportsCenter, Kenny Mayne added this to Freeman's story:

“Two sources one inside the team, one outside of the underachieving 3-3 Seahawks tell me that much of what was written in Mike Freeman’s Bleacher Report column is true,” Mayne said, via PFT. “(Freeman) wrote of turmoil involving since-traded Percy Harvin and the quarterback Russell Wilson that led to a more widespread internal battle pitting those for Russell Wilson and those against.

"And Freeman surmised on his own an issue among some teammates regarding Wilson that quote, 'he isn’t black enough.' A certain expected behavior based on color, apparently. One of the sources told me, quote, I don’t know how he got all that stuff, but it’s pretty much true. We do have a divide. We’re working on it. Thursday that notion was not presented to Wilson, but over and again, questions came about Harvin’s departure.”

These issues are coming out as Seattle is struggling this year.  We didn't hear this last year as the Seahawks were on the way to the Super Bowl, it's easier to ignore the problems when you're winning.  However the idea that Wilson is not 'black' enough is absolutely stupid.  To think that a man is supposed to act a certain way because of the color of his skin is not only stupid but also racist. 

Insurance For Your Fantasy

Insurance for your fantasy football team, now I've heard it all.  Apparently this isn't a new thing.  I first saw this a few weeks ago when Adrian Peterson was indicted on a child abuse charge.  Fantasy owners were calling their insurance companies wondering if they could collect on their policies.  The idea is you take out an insurance policy on your top players, if they get hurt and can't play a certain percent of their games then you can file a claim to recover some of the money you pay into your league.  This goes along with NFL teams that take similar insurance policies on players to recover contract money if they can't play. 

Insurance companies will apparently sell a policy on anything.  Home insurance, car insurance, life insurance, sure most people have these but fantasy insurance?  This is too much.  Well I guess if there is a demand then someone will supply the goods. 

By the way from what I understand the insurance companies wouldn't pay on the policies.  They're not paying because Peterson is missing the season because of the criminal charges against him and not from injury.