[CBFF] ST - Time still on injured Benson's side

Wed Aug 9 07:39:19 MDT 2006

Time still on injured Benson's side

August 9, 2006

BY BRAD BIGGS Staff Reporter

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- The business side of professional football was a
wake-up call to Cedric Benson last summer. Now he is learning about
another of the game's cold realities -- injuries. Benson was a model
of production during his college career at Texas when he carried 1,112
times and never missed a game because of injury.

A badly sprained MCL in his right knee forced him to miss six games
late last season, and Benson took a cautious approach. He didn't want
to be back on the field until he was 100 percent. He's got the same
thing in mind now when it comes to his left shoulder. Benson said he
will not worry about dislocations becoming a recurring problem if it
is given the time to properly heal.

When strong safety Mike Brown hit Benson's left elbow from behind in
practice Friday, it jerked his arm up and popped the shoulder out of
joint briefly. It went back into place on the field, and now he's
expected to miss another 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 weeks, although there isn't a
real rush to get him back with the regular season still more than four
weeks away.

''[The toughest thing] is probably just accepting it, knowing that you
have an injury and there's nothing you can do about it but let it
heal,'' he said.

''I think that might be the hardest part, just dealing with it.

''The good thing is that it is preseason and not the season, so
there's no rush to get out there, and I think as long as we don't rush
things and let nature take its course, we won't have this problem
again.''

Former strong-side linebacker Rosevelt Colvin suffered from frequent
dislocations, a condition called chronic subluxation that eventually
required him to undergo surgery before hitting free agency and signing
with the New England Patriots.

In the meantime, Benson is working with the training staff, doing some
range-of-motion work and getting ice and stimulation. The rest of the
time, he wears his arm in a bulky black sling.

''I think it's high-tech,'' he said. ''Everybody says I look like
Robocop walking around with this thing, so I've been having a little
fun with it.''

REHAB BEAT: Defensive tackle Ian Scott said he expects to be fully
ready for the start of the season after having arthroscopic surgery to
clean out his left knee. He was back on the field in a week and a half
after a similar procedure while playing at Florida. Reserve guard
Terrence Metcalf had the same surgery performed on his right knee and
should be back on the field in a little more than a week.

Tank Johnson did individual work with trainer Tim Bream during the
morning practice and was hitting one-man blocking sleds. The defensive
tackle, who is on the non-football injury list rehabilitating his left
quad, could be promoted to the active roster soon. Safety Brandon
McGowan, who suffered a torn ACL in the final regular-season game last
season, worked on doing drops in coverage after practice.

GOOD NEWS: Everyone feared the worst on the right hamstring pull by
Bryan Johnson, but he got about the best news possible. The hamstring,
which is torn behind the knee, did not come off the bone. His right
leg is still immobilized in a brace because of the pain, but the
recovery time is six to 10 weeks, meaning as early as Week 2. Whether
the Bears would carry him on the 53-man roster is open to debate. They
would have to be relatively healthy overall to carry him.

''I haven't heard any talk [about injured reserve],'' he said. ''My
main goal is to get back healthy and strong. It already feels better
than it did a few years ago. I'm treating it as great news.''

BAGS PACKED: Cornerback Alfonso Marshall, a seventh-round pick in
2004, was placed on waivers. He missed all of last season with a knee
injury and was mired on the depth chart behind a group that has more
capability this season with the additions of Ricky Manning Jr., Dante
Wesley and Devin Hester.

bbiggs at suntimes.com

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