[CBFF] Running backs know painful truth

Mon Aug 7 06:21:44 MDT 2006

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Running backs know painful truth 

August 7, 2006

BY MIKE MULLIGAN Staff Reporter 

Oscar Wilde once famously said ''football is all very well a good game for
rough girls, but not for delicate boys.'' He was talking about soccer, of
course, not the gridiron version of the same name -- which is recommended
for neither rough girls nor delicate boys.

Still, the issue of fragility or frailty is an important one in the NFL,
where injuries are so much a way of life they're expected every Sunday.
Toughness is measured not on the pliancy of a man, but rather his ability to
play while damaged.

No player has to be tougher than an NFL running back. Not because the
position is the most injured in the league -- that designation is held by
tight ends, who battle against larger players at the line of scrimmage and
then get blown up by smaller, faster opponents in the middle of the field. 

But running backs take such vicious beatings with such regularity that
they're required to play in pain. That's why teams never want to use them up
in the preseason.

The ability to avoid injury or to play hurt is as important for a running
back as ball security. Only seven NFL running backs started all 16 games a
year ago. Edgerrin James almost made the list but was rested for a game
after Indianapolis' strong start. The Bears' Thomas Jones nearly made it but
missed a start in Week 9 with a rib injury.

It was thought at the time that the injury would leave Jones out for weeks
and that Cedric Benson would take over the starting job for good. Benson
produced 50 yards on 12 carries in two quarters against San Francisco before
his right knee buckled under the weight of 332-pound defensive tackle Isaac
Sopoaga and he missed the next six games with a sprained medial collateral
ligament.

Jones was back the next week and eventually finished as the NFL's
ninth-leading rusher with 1,335 yards. Impressive as that number may be, the
more impressive statistic is the 314 carries Jones managed last season to
become only the second running back in team history to surpass 300 rushing
attempts in a single year. Walter Payton carried more than 300 times in 10
seasons, including a team record 381 in 1984.

Keeping Jones is a must

The Bears understand the importance of durability at every position on the
field, including running back. That's why they haven't traded Jones despite
rumors that he was on the block. That's why Lovie Smith and offensive
coordinator Ron Turner keep repeating that a team needs two running backs,
if not three.

The point was driven home on the morning after Jones reported to training
camp and suffered a hamstring injury while going through a fitness test
before the first practice. It became even more obvious Friday when Benson
suffered a left shoulder injury. A source said the shoulder was slightly
dislocated, that it popped out of the joint on the practice field and
immediately popped back in.

Benson will be out for a couple of weeks, but the team insists it isn't the
kind of injury that will threaten his season. At least it isn't until it's
determined how he reacts to the next hit he takes. The tricky thing about
joint injuries is that they just keep popping up, or rather out.

Former Bears linebacker Rosevelt Colvin suffered from a condition known as
chronic subluxation, a partial joint dislocation where his shoulder would
pop out two or three times a game. He learned how to pop it back in and play
through the pain, which he said lessened as the dislocations became more
frequent. Colvin eventually needed surgery to repair the shoulder, and that
was one of the reasons the Bears allowed him to test the free-agent market.

New England paid Colvin big money, in part because the Patriots were
impressed by his ability to play through pain.

The Bears aren't the only NFL team to battle injuries early in training
camp. Houston running back Domanick Davis, who started just five games last
season because of a knee injury, has been held out of workouts with swelling
in his surgically repaired knee. It's a potential public-relations nightmare
because the Texans picked defensive end Mario Williams over USC running back
Reggie Bush.

Jacksonville's Fred Taylor, like the Bears' Jones, suffered a strained
hamstring while taking a fitness test before the start of training camp.
Taylor, who has two years left on his contract, upset the organization by
opting to work out down in Florida in the offseason. He reportedly is
seeking a contract extension. Not surprisingly, Taylor is represented by
Drew Rosenhaus, the guy giving Jones advice these days.

Benson bounced back in college

If the misery of others isn't a comfort, then maybe the Bears can take
solace in the fact Benson carried the ball 1,112 times in college with no
injury problems in his final three years. He's in great shape and put on
about eight pounds of muscle in the offseason to ready himself for the
pounding of the NFL. At 5-11, 228 pounds, he's almost the same size as
Seattle's Shaun Alexander and slightly bigger than Jones, who's listed at
5-10, 215.

Benson didn't rush back from the knee injury last season -- he made sure he
was OK before playing again. That is to be expected sometimes with players
who aren't used to being hurt. Maybe getting knocked around in training camp
will just toughen him up for the regular season.

mmulligan at suntimes.com

SWEET SIXTEEN 
What does it take to remain healthy in the NFL? Only seven starting running
backs on 32 teams managed to line up for every game last season. The Bears'
Thomas Jones, Baltimore's Jamal Lewis and St. Louis' Steven Jackson came up
one game short, as did Edgerrin James, who was rested for the final game of
the year by Indianapolis. He's now with Arizona. Note: F/L = fumbles/lost. 

Name Ht. Wt. Att. Yds. Avg. Long TD F/L 
Shaun Alexander 5-11 225 370 1,880 5.1 88 27 5/1 
Tiki Barber 5-10 205 357 1,860 5.2 95 9 1/1  
Clinton Portis 5-11 212 352 1,516 4.3 47 11 3/2 
LaDainian Tomlinson 5-10 221 339 1,462 4.3 62 18 3/1  
Warrick Dunn 5-9 180 280 1,416 5.1 65 3 3/1 
Willis McGahee 6-0 228 325 1,247 3.8 27 5 5/3  
Reuben Droughns 5-11 220 309 1,232 4.0 75 2 6/1 

All that is human must retrograde if it does not advance.
            -- Edward Gibbon