[CBFF] Bitter end as Benson limps into off-season

[mom2iancal]

Bitter end as Benson limps into off-season
1-2 punch is derailed; running back tandem in question for 2007

By David Haugh
Tribune staff reporter

February 5, 2007, 2:06 AM CST

MIAMI -- Cedric Benson's star-crossed Bears career continued Sunday night at 
the Super Bowl.

Benson left the game against the Colts for good with 1 minute 33 seconds 
left in the first quarter after twisting his left knee at the end of a 4-yard 
run. He walked off the field under his own power and tested the knee on the 
sideline by trying to cut on it before the Bears' training staff ruled him out.

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It ended a bad night for Benson, who carried twice for minus-1 yard and lost 
a fumble on his first carry when Colts safety Bob Sanders jarred the ball 
loose and Dwight Freeney recovered.

"It's just a little sprain," said Benson, who had the leg immobilized after 
the game. "I don't know what happened. I just remember coming off the tackle 
in a bad way, falling sideways and someone (Cato June) diving in it. It 
hurts, especially to have that happen so early when you worked so hard to get 
here. Had I not got put out so early, it might have made a difference."

The loss changed the Bears' running game and prevented them from using the 
one-two punch of Benson and Thomas Jones that had been so effective in the 
postseason. Without Benson to wear down the Colts' defense as he did in the NFC 
championship game against the Saints, more pressure fell on Jones.

"Losing Cedric hurt us, but [Jones] ran well," Lovie Smith said. "We missed 
Cedric later in the ballgame. We never got into any rhythm running the 
football. You would like to think that having a runner like [Benson] available to 
you would help, but he wasn't available."

The impact his loss had on the running game serves as a reminder how 
important Jones is to the Bears' big picture.

That will be a factor when trade rumors start heating up involving Jones, 
entering the final season of a contract scheduled to pay him $2.25 million.

Jones' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has a history of trying to negotiate contracts 
for players in the final year of their deals and nobody would be surprised 
if Jones wanted to do so.

The Bears invested $16 million in a signing bonus for Benson in 2005 and 
that has led to speculation he will be the featured back next season.

But a knee injury in the final game might give pause to some people at Halas 
Hall.

Has Jones, whose 52-yard run in the first quarter Sunday was the Bears' only 
big play from scrimmage in the first half, done enough the last two seasons 
to earn an extension? Can the Bears afford to risk going into next season 
counting heavily on Benson without Jones if concerns linger about Benson's 
second knee injury in two seasons?

The Bears have two months to answer those questions. But they had no answer 
Sunday when they needed a power-running component to set up Jones' shiftiness.

dahaugh at tribune.com

Tribune staff reporter John Mullin contributed. 

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