Bears' Matt Forte Says Brandon Marshall Didn't Hold Himself Accountable
Brandon Marshall claimed that he was the only member of the Chicago Bears to hold quarterback Jay Cutler accountable.
But Bears running back Matt Forte is pointing the finger at Marshall, saying the former Bears wide receiver and current New York Jets wideout didn't hold himself accountable.
"I don't think that was the case where everyone was held accountable [last year]. I don't see how he can say that," Forte said on The Rich Eisen Show, as reported by ESPN. "Sometimes Brandon didn't hold himself accountable."
Forte added that former Bears coach Marc Trestman's willingness to allow Marshall to fly to New York City to film Showtime's Inside the NFL during the season caused friction within the Chicago organization.
"I didn't have an issue with it as long as he got back in time or took care of his body and came to play every Sunday," Forte said. "I guess a lot of people had issue with that and thought his mind wasn't on football first. I think if a coach didn't like that [Marshall was going to New York], his best bet was to come out and say that and be able to express that to him.
"And at that point, I don't think it was really expressed to him to not do that or continue to do that," he added. "That's a tough call on that one. I don't think coach [Marc] Trestman held him accountable either on that aspect, so we had a lot of accountability issues going on last year."
Forte's strong words come after Marshall said last week that he was the only person in the Bears organization that would call Cutler out for his poor play.
"There is a culture in the league that you keep everything in-house," Marshall said. "But for me last year, I felt like, when we are going on 10 years, nine, 10 years in the league — it's time to get it. I felt like I was the only one in the organization that had the 'huevos' to hold [Cutler] accountable. It didn't go the way I wanted it to go."
The Bears wound up finishing the 2014 season with a dismal 5-11 record. Both Forte and the Bears and Marshall and the Jets will look for better 2015 seasons, beginning next month.
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(Photos from left: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images, Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
