[CBFF] [Fwd: Bears should not be anxious to let Benson go]

[Tom Shannon]

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  chicagotribune.com


    Options running out for Benson, Bears


      Arrest appears to give Bears every reason to let troubled Benson
      go, but he still could be of value to team

David Haugh

On the Bears

May 5, 2008

It is understandable to think that whether it was on May 3 or on 
third-and-1, Cedric Benson was bound to disappoint the Bears again.

It is reasonable to jump to the conclusion that a Bears team that wants 
to get off the bus running the football must know by now it can't rely 
on a guy who got off the boat running from the law.

It is even logical to suggest that if Benson ever carries the ball again 
for the Bears, maybe the team has learned even less than the running 
back in the last three years.

But take a deep breath, Windy City cynics. Just because Benson has done 
nothing to earn the benefit of the doubt during his tumultuous Bears 
career doesn't mean he should be deprived it.

Fairness dictates being deliberate when deciding whether the Bears 
should get rid of Benson after he was arrested Saturday night near 
Austin, Texas, on charges of boating while intoxicated and resisting 
arrest. Knowing the Bears and Lovie Smith, don't be surprised if that 
ship doesn't sail after all — at least not because of this incident.

Especially after Benson, in an interview with the Tribune, maintained he 
was innocent and said he was considering a lawsuit, claiming he was 
mistreated.

Benson says he didn't resist arrest and wasn't drunk when police stopped 
his boat. His description of the sobriety test sounds fishy, but Benson 
also disputed other details in the police account and accused the 
officers of kicking his legs and ankles out from under him.

Is it really that hard for anyone in Chicago to believe that Benson 
would go down that easily?

Sorry, but that is just one example of the type of cynicism Benson is 
fighting. He has been such a colossal disappointment as an NFL player 
and a professional that it sounds plausible he would make such an error 
in judgment.

Plausible to assume, yes. Fair to conclude, no.

In a story people all over town will be quick to categorize as black and 
white, gray could be the dominant color. Expect it to be the shade 
through which Smith and thus the Bears see it too.

Smith grew up in Texas and probably doesn't have to go too far in the 
recesses of his mind to imagine an overzealous police officer using 
excessive force on an African-American suspect. According to Benson, 
Smith was initially supportive when they spoke Sunday, so that implies 
the Bears coach will be more willing to listen than some of his NFL 
peers might when handed the same news about their No. 1 running back.

But if Smith and the Bears believe even a portion of Benson's version of 
the story, they both did a lousy job of sticking up for their player. 
About 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Smith typically stonewalled when asked about 
the situation.

That's fine given the limited information available at that time. But if 
Smith and Benson later had a conversation that convinced the Bears even 
a little that their troubled running back might get portrayed 
inaccurately by the reports coming out of Austin, they should have 
issued a statement or encouraged Benson to do so.

The truth is Benson's NFL career already was adrift before he was 
arrested on Lake Travis.

After the Bears drafted Matt Forte in the second round out of Tulane, 
Jerry Angelo used words to describe Benson that closely followed the 
definition of bust in any general manager's dictionary. Almost on cue, 
Forte arrived in Chicago for rookie camp looking the part of the 
featured back the Bears hope he can be.

While the image of Benson's mug shot was being distributed for Internet 
ridicule Sunday, Forte was humbly saying all the right things after a 
weekend full of doing them. If last weekend's scene at Halas Hall was 
the beginning of the end of Benson's Bears career, this looked like the 
beginning of Act 2.

But before being pushed off stage, Benson deserves to have his say. He 
even could turn this adversity into opportunity if the Bears decide not 
to cut him and bring him to camp for one last chance to prove himself. 
That might result in both sides coming to an injury settlement or Benson 
emerging as a complement to Forte. But it's probably worth bringing him 
to Bourbonnais.

If the Bears wait until after June 1 to indeed cut Benson, it would save 
them about $820,000 of the $3.365 million he counts against the 2008 
salary cap—not that a team with $16.4 million of cap space has to worry 
about such details.

No matter how the Bears respond, a league office cracking down on repeat 
offenders figures to have interest in an arrest that marks Benson's 
third brush with the law in the last six years.

Since the season ended, the Bears have been looking for reasons to 
demote or dismiss Benson anyway. Now he might have given them one.

It's not like the Bears couldn't live without Benson's 3.4 yards per 
carry. Surely nobody at Halas would miss his headaches-per-season ratio.

But they shouldn't be as rash as many in our knee-jerk culture will 
encourage them to be.

The best course for the Bears now: Gather information, evaluate it 
fairly and pursue a veteran running back to provide insurance. Leave all 
doors open, including the exit.

dhaugh at tribune.com <mailto:dhaugh at tribune.com>

Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune <http://www.chicagotribune.com/>


-- 
Another unsettling element in modern art is that common symptom of immaturity, the dread of doing what has been done before.
  - Edith Wharton