[CBFF] CT: 1 of Bears' ballcarriers must prove he deserves starting job

[Victor Waldron]

1 of Bears' ballcarriers must prove he deserves starting job
By K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporter

September 4, 2006, 9:26 PM CDT

They've swapped jobs and exchanged words that, if not cool, certainly 
aren't gushing toward one another.

And now, finally, the tailback battle can begin between Thomas Jones, 
the starter, and Cedric Benson, the challenger.

That Benson said Monday he would play on Sunday in the season opener 
against Green Bay seemed fitting for a Bears team slowly finding its 
form on health issues.

Pro Bowl safety Mike Brown, who missed the entire exhibition schedule 
with a strained Achilles', eased back into practice and said he could 
play "at a high level" Sunday.

Pro Bowl cornerback Nathan Vasher, who missed all but the first quarter 
of the first exhibition game with a bad back, followed suit, declaring 
himself 100 percent.

Defensive end Alex Brown, a Pro Bowl alternate, hedged his bets a little 
on his dislocated right shoulder. But the league's stingiest defense is 
getting closer to 100 percent.

And that's how coach Lovie Smith chooses to view the tailback situation. 
Asked how he planned to handle the competition now that both backs 
finally are healthy, Smith, of course, accentuated the positive.

"We're as strong as we've been," Smith said. "That's how I'm going to 
handle it. I feel real good about it. Thomas is our starter. Cedric 
hasn't played in a while. He got good reps in [Monday]. We'll just see 
how it plays out. We would like that position to be as strong as 
possible. We'll need all three [running backs] this week."

Adrian Peterson will take a back seat to the competition that will 
determine who between Jones and Benson is the long-term starter, based 
on practice and game performance.

Benson assumed Jones' job when the latter failed to show for voluntary 
off-season workouts. He held a firmer grasp when Jones strained his 
hamstring on the first day of camp.

Then Benson injured his left shoulder on Aug. 4 and missed all four 
exhibition games. The anticipated competition never materialized.

"I accept it," Benson said. "I'm sure time will work itself out. I don't 
know how it's going to turn out. But I'm not mad or upset about 
anything. I'm just really happy my shoulder feels a lot better and I can 
get back in the mix."

Benson, as is his nature, then flashed perceptiveness and honesty to let 
anyone reading between the lines understand he's aware of the competition.

"I've got another exciting year and a couple hurdles to jump," he said. 
"We'll get over them."

This isn't as brazen as Benson declaring he'd be starting by Week 2, as 
he did last season when the contract holdout that cost him all of 
training camp ended. Benson's shoulder injury forced him to go without a 
single carry for the second straight preseason.

"It would definitely have helped if I did get some carries," Benson 
said. "But I thought about this last year when I was coming in [from the 
holdout] and the season was already going. I got thrown right into the 
game. And I thought that was a pretty neat challenge."

Benson always has met challenges. He acknowledged some lingering pain 
would accompany him onto Lambeau Field but then talked about playing 
with cracked ribs, turf toe and a pinched nerve in his neck while at Texas.

That's why he expects to get carries on Sunday. How many? Benson doesn't 
know. And nobody's saying.

The only thing for sure is that it's Jones' job for now and the game is on.

"We're less than a week away," Smith said. "We need to get our best 
players out there."

Whether that's Jones or Benson long-term will be interesting to monitor.