Cedric Benson Cut!

by Adam T on Jun 9, 2008 11:09 PM CDT Comment 15 comments

I don't know if recently drafted Matt Forte was the answer for the Bears, but it appears he is at least Mr. Right Now.

Coming off of his second alcohol related arrest in the past month the Bears cut Cedric Benson after sending him home from OTAs earlier in the day.

For Benson I'd like to say this could be a wake up call, but I doubt it. Some other team will pick him up and give him a chance. Maybe he has to wait until the middle of the season for somebody to get hurt, but as long as the league continues to give more chances, why should he straighten up.

This move was a long time in the coming. After being drafted 4th and then being handed the starting job without having to actually earn it, Benson followed it up with a sub par 2007 campaign, though some blame falls elsewhere.

As I have said in the past Benson's attitude would catch up with him. He sports a hefty ego and sense of entitlement and add to that either an air of invincibility or he has horrible judgement.

It obviously weakens our running back corp, but I think we will be fine.

It remains to be seen who will get the most reps at the #1 spot, but likely it will become more of an open competition between Forte and Peterson and possibly Garrett Wolfe, but I don't see them handing him the reigns.

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As My Brother put it in a text message to me

“Awesome. Good for them. No one wants to be the NFC Bengals. Bring on that Forte kid!”

Lovie Smith-isms:
"We get off the bus running"
"Rex Grossman is our quarterback."
"...and we'll go from there."

by GallopingGhost on Jun 10, 2008 2:02 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

i know

people like to ask: “what’s wrong with benson” and then not stick around for the answer, but here’s a good article about it.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-080609-chicago-bears-cedric-benson-haugh,0,3247255.column

Benson was bugged that Jerry Angelo decided to draft him despite Benson’s representatives making clear in a last-minute phone call that they and the Bears weren’t on the same page regarding fundamental contract demands.

i never heard that story, good riddance.

by mike b on Jun 10, 2008 9:34 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I guess

that’s why he cried so much on draft day.

Official Windy City Gridiron Contributor

by Doctor Chicago on Jun 10, 2008 10:19 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

This is what really amazes me

“He wasn’t crying because he was overcome with joy or pride.

He wasn’t crying over the honor of running in the city where Walter Payton ran or playing for a proud franchise that reveres its football stars or any other reason he has offered the past three years.

No, Cedric Benson cried on the day of the NFL draft in 2005 because he was upset the Bears took him with the fourth overall selection.”

The press made it sound that he was crying because he was happy that he was drafted by the Bears and that he proved the naysayers wrong, now if this is true it really shows how selfish Cedric really was, now we need a post on everyones favorite Benson moment.

by beardown on Jun 10, 2008 10:20 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

ah

I hadn’t even read the article Mike linked to before I made that comment. But yeah I remember watching him cry and thinking, “Uh oh.” And then he kept expounding on how he wasn’t like Ricky Williams and blah blah blah. Just a bad fit from the get-go.

Official Windy City Gridiron Contributor

by Doctor Chicago on Jun 10, 2008 12:42 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I disagree

I think he cried because he was so happy to be getting paid. Not to be in the NFL, not to be a Bear, just the money.

His interview right after being drafted though was telling. He was asked if he would be there for training camp, and he basically said he would let his agent get him the best contract he could and he’d show up when it was done.

DEJESUS!!!

by tomas21 on Jun 10, 2008 7:26 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Addition by subtraction

They will use this as a example case with this is taught at your local colleges and universities.

by beardown on Jun 10, 2008 10:12 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Arrested

I’m sure most players are getting drunk during the offseason. What no one mentions is how hard it is to get arrested in a college town. I know they have cabs in Austin. Put the cab number in your cell phone. It’s that simple!

by Guancous on Jun 10, 2008 11:03 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

its cool

this team needed more uncertainty anyways.

Looks like im the 12% of the population who wanted him to stay.

I thought with the bases of our offensive system being the run game, there was a chance he could have stayed but looks like this had very little to do with football….. or does it?

If cedric benson had put up 4th pick numbers the last couple of years, does that survery on the homepage look a little different?

and Eli cried too when he got drafted and look how it turned out for him. Anyone calling him a punk. What makes you think Eli doesnt get cut in San Diego.

by rahulsriram on Jun 10, 2008 1:21 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

there is nothing

benson did that forte or anyone else can’t do. whether that was because of the line mostly or not, its doesn’t matter. the guy didn’t produce, he is of no loss whatsoever.

by mike b on Jun 10, 2008 2:09 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nobody is calling Eli

a punk right now, but they have been for every moment up until about week 12 of this season. Eli has to be one of the more unpopular super bowl mvps ever.

And the only certainty Benson brought to the offense was that he was going to get way too many reps for such a medicore rb, and he was oging to get them only because he was drafted high and was paid lots of money. If he wasn’t a high pick or paid a huge signing bonus he’d have been cut after his second year.

DEJESUS!!!

by tomas21 on Jun 10, 2008 7:42 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bad Timing

Benson is a victim of poor decision making and bad timing. I believe the whole boat arrest was exxagerated and the cops were at some fault there, but this was all on him. Sad thing is, he probably only had a few drinks with dinner, with is something I do all the time and drive home (wake up call). Its not like he had machine guns in his house or making it rain in Vegas, this kid made pretty bad decisions and got caught plain and simple. I for one do not agree with this because of the even larger hole we have at RB now. Expect the Bears to sign a veteran in the next couple of weeks to take Forte and Wolff under his wing.

I guess I am the only one who feels a little bad for Benson, he was no saint, but either are half his teammates.

by PieFan08 on Jun 10, 2008 7:02 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

He is not a victim

He was lazy, apathetic, a poor runner, blocker and pass-catcher, was injury prone, wouldn’t play through pain, didn’t get along with his teammates, and DECIDED to drive at 3am despite being under the influence.

He is not a victim. Having bad things happen to you does not make you a victim if the bad things are all consequences of your own poor judgement and attitude. He is getting everything he deserves and nothing more.

DEJESUS!!!

by tomas21 on Jun 10, 2008 7:30 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

you know

tomas 21, it must be hard to go around and defend one opinion.

you’re basing his future on his past which i guess is acceptable but hardly correct when looking at a back in his 2nd full year. I agree with the off the field issues. he signed his fate. but being concerned with this team not loosing this year, i felt its was in the best interest of the team for him to stay. whether you want to admit it or not, benson was starting to improve before he got hurt. He recovered from a bad injury and came back with less weight. And lets not forget the end of 06. He accepted his role and performed at high level going into the playoff run.

by rahulsriram on Jun 11, 2008 1:05 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Point by point

1. Benson has been in the league 3 years. You can throw out the first year if you want, but he played over half the year, and would’ve played more if he didn’t hold out. It does not take over 3 seasons to evaluate a running back. Perhaps for a qb you could make the argument that he is learning the position, but a running back is what he is by his third season.
2. In what way is it in the best interests of the Bears for Benson to stay? He is disliked in the locker room, he doesn’t block or catch well. He doesn’t play through injuries. He averaged under 4 yards per carry for his career with the Bears, and he has had numerous off the field problems. How does that help?
3. Improving? In the games prior to getting hurt in 2007, here are his game by game yards per carry numbers: 2.2, 4.2, 2.9, 3.3, 2.4, 3.7, 2.7, 3.8, 2.6, 8.1
Do you see a trend of improvement there? The 8.1 came against Oakland, the worst run defense in football. Saying he was starting to improve is factually incorrect. He was a poor running back all year.
4. There is no information that he recoevered from his injury. The only reports we had this off-season are that he looked lighter, and that he looked out of shape (one person reported that he didn’t look like a football player).
5. In the playoff run in 2006 Benson averaged 3.8 ypc in the first game, 2.4 ypc in the second game (despite 24 carries), and left the Super Bowl after 1 carry for negative yardage and a fumble.

You are wrong about Benson. Learn to accept it and move on. He is a bad NFL running back with bad judgement.

DEJESUS!!!

by tomas21 on Jun 12, 2008 10:42 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs