[CBFF] [Fwd: Boatload of trouble for Benson]

[Tom Shannon]

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  chicagotribune.com


    Boatload of trouble for Benson


      Arrest gives Bears reason to dump him before training camp

Rick Morrissey

In the wake of the news

May 5, 2008

The image of a blind, inebriated Cedric Benson is not a shock to the 
system, not if you saw him attempt to run the football last season.

For the Bears, his arrest Saturday night for boating while intoxicated 
and resisting arrest pales in comparison to his shortcomings as a 
running back.

So this should make for a very interesting case study, which we'll call 
"3.4 Yards and a Cloud of Pepper Spray."

If his bosses are consistent in their attitude toward off-field 
problems, Benson can expect second chances galore. That's if they're 
still going by the Tank Johnson Rules, in which a man is innocent until 
proven guilty by a jury of his Bears.

If they are not going by those rules anymore, then what a providential 
opportunity to get rid of a player they don't really like!

In other words, this guy is so gone, he might as well be dropping anchor 
in Reykjavik.

According to police, Admiral Benson was with a group of friends on a 
boat near Austin, Texas, when he failed a sobriety test. He allegedly 
refused to take another test, would not put on a life jacket and 
resisted arrest. He was then pepper-sprayed and booked. Benson denies 
the charges.

As we've learned with the Bears, it's OK to be a problem off the field. 
They can work with that. You haven't seen a more compassionate group of 
people when one of their own runs afoul of the law. But when one of 
their own can't run the ball the way they'd like, he'll be introduced to 
the new sheriff in town.

Drunken boating? A misunderstanding, friends.

Poor play? A federal case, fellow Americans.

"Anytime we're talking about one of our players getting arrested, you're 
disappointed," coach Lovie Smith said Sunday.

Anytime you're talking about it, Lovie? You're /always /talking about 
it. If you talked about it anymore, you'd be a Court TV reporter. If it 
wasn't Tank Johnson getting into trouble over and over again, it was 
Lance Briggs crashing his Lamborghini. And if it wasn't them, it was 
Ricky Manning Jr. getting suspended for a game after an incident at a 
Denny's.

But to reiterate what I wrote last week after the Bears drafted two more 
players with past criminal issues: Just admit this is who you are. Just 
say, "You know, we can't win in this league without taking players with 
rough edges. This is a sport that attracts people prone to bad behavior. 
So we're not even going to pretend anymore. We'll take anybody, no 
matter how sociopathic. Our scouting motto: Give us your huddled asses."

The Bears took Benson with the fourth pick overall in the 2005 draft, 
despite the fact he had been arrested twice, once for kicking down an 
apartment door while trying to retrieve his TV.

The coach, the general manager and the personnel guys all insisted they 
had done their homework on Benson, the way they always insist they've 
done their homework on players. They were convinced of the young man's 
good character. Then again, they could interview Son of Sam and be 
convinced of his general goodness, provided he could hit a hole fast enough.

As it turned out, at least before Saturday night, Benson was a model 
citizen. He just wasn't a model football player. He was prone to fits of 
indifference and looked like he forgot how to avoid tacklers. At Halas 
Hall, crimes against football cannot be forgiven.

When he signed his contract three years ago, Benson received a $16 
million signing bonus. That large chunk of change is why they traded 
Thomas Jones before last season and why they shoehorned Benson into the 
starting lineup. Their money and scouting acuity were on the line.

So when Chargers linebacker Shaun Phillips said his team considered 
Benson "soft" early last season, the Bears took umbrage.

"Give him a couple shots, he'll fold and take it in," Phillips said.

I wonder how offended the Bears were after Benson averaged 3.4 yards a 
carry last season and missed the last five games with a broken leg.

Rookie Matt Forte couldn't have fallen into a better situation. Now all 
he has to do is prove he can play. It's not a given.

General manager Jerry Angelo has shown the ability to pick out lawless 
players. Someday he might figure out how to draft players at skill 
positions.

The police mug shot of Benson was not very flattering, though few are. 
It wasn't in the dazed, hollow-cheeked, electric-haired Nick Nolte 
stratosphere.

Wait a second. Nick Nolte—he played a decent wide receiver in "North 
Dallas Forty." Bernard Berrian is gone.

Jerry, what do you think?

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

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