Full Court Press

No they shouldn't release him because he was drunk boating, that actually shows some personality on his part. He should be canned because he sucks. He did not live up to his 4th round pick potential at all. Maybe Forte needs a little drunk boating R&R to wake up and smell the coffee and get someone in there. Boating,drinking, pepper spray, and fighting with the cops is all real fun we, have all done it right, but your correct Roman all that has nothing to do with the fact that he has never performed as a running back; that is why he should be gone. I won't miss him when he is.

Slight correction: I meant to say 4th overall pick not 4th round pick, although I guess he is living up to a 4th round pick. Sorry Ced

Agreed!

Benson is not even half the player that Tank Johnson was.
Johnson was an idiot but he actually produced on the field. Benson has never done that and probably never will.

You don't have to cut him because he thinks that he is Capt. Jack Sparrow. Cut him because he is a total bust as a football player.
I would rather see them pick up someone like Dominic Rhodes then to waste a roster spot on this guy for another year.

Again...cut Benson June 1st

I knew Benson didn't have what it took his Junior year...but hey..if this is the excuse Jerry can use to cover up how retarded he has been with Ced...fine

AP is the back to compliment Forte anyway...I can't think of a guy on the roster more qualified to bring the new kid along ...we can also use the entire play book with AP...duh

and the Indy game will take care of Rex....that's gonna be funny

Dwight Freeney on Chris Williams...no need for laugh tracks on that one, either

Otah, Nicks, Mendenhall, and Zbikowski should all be Bears....

Bears 2008 draft....The Generics

i say now that he gets one more chance just like grossman well get one more chance and now that ther might be a chance we have a better line with the drafting of williams lets just see now if we only had someone to catch the ball so either way if they dont produce this year next year theyll both be gone

football is a team game where the sum of the parts is supposed to be greater than the individual values of players....chemistry and trust are the 2 most important things to have on a team and it was missing last year ALL THE WAY AROUND from the o-line to the running and passing games to the cohesion on the defensive front...having a few new fresh faces in coupled with a defense that hopefully returns and stays healthy can possibly give them the positive energy that is needed....whether or not Benson is a bust or not, will be indicative of his performance this year...he has shown to be a slow starter but picked it up a little last year B4 being injured, just like in 2006 as well...the jury should still be out yet just like in his boating case....

With Jerry Angelo preaching "high character" players, this is a perfect opportunity to make an example and rid themselves of a complete bust. If the Bears allow him to get away with this, they'll tell all these rookies that this behavior is tolerated. Angelo selfishly looked to other way on Tank because we were in the middle fo a Super Bowl run that he desperately wanted to win. If Tank had pulled what he did in the off season, he'd have been cut immediately.

Cut Benson, pick up Rhodes. Perhaps investigate an unused back in Cincinnati named Rudi Johnson, see what it would take to get him. Anything, at this point, is an upgrade.

I agree with you Roman.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/932287,benson050508w.article

He was cocky and insulting...hhhhmmm....sounds like the normal police attitude towards the citizens in
my community they are supposed to interact and facilitate reasonable services while doing their job, without pre-judging.

I am going to reserve my opinion as for now, but viewing the picture on the front page of the Sun-Times, it seems Mr. Benson
was roughed up regardless of what the police thought his actions were towards them. I am just glad he was not shot!

I did say I would reserve an opinion, didn't I?

By the way Mr. Modrowski, you may not want to mentioned it or hope it just sails by, but for the life of me I will not comprehend the double standard in animals being used unjustly for human pleasure.

A horse broke their front two ankles this weekend and had to be destroyed. It was so horrendous that it could not be done in the stables but right there on the race track in front of a bunch of GREEDY AZZ FOLKS, who know there are possiblities this can happen and feign horror when it does! Noticed there were no instant-replays, but we can show replay upon replay to infinity about human fraility which sometimes make bad judgements, but for those who control the media made sure don't mess with the status quo hobbies - because they can't be seen in a bad light I presume.

The majority of these individuals probably stick their noses in the air over dog-fighting, cock-fighting or any other form of human beings creating tension between animals which noramlly would not harm anyone unless invading on THEIR personal space to protect their young. Who the freak goes deer-hunting with a high-powered rifle sitting in a blind an ambushes a docile creature such as this?

Just needed to get that off my chest! Thank you

(ps) I bet 25 to 1 ninety percent of them will be right back at the race track this weekend!!

Roman sez: "There is no way the Bears should cut Cedric Benson right now."

Correct; ... that time has long since past.

He's the one who should have been traded to the Jets instead of Thomas Jones, for whom we got virtually nothing.

At the time of that trade Benson was still a second year, first round pick, (NUMBER 6!!!) with a certain degree of marketability.

Now he's virtually worthless, and this is damning evidence of Angelo's ineptitude when it comes to assessing talent and value.

He's obviously more concerned with developing his own personal legacy based upon his ill advised draft choices eventually succeeding, than he is with helping the team after it's been proven that his selections were far less than advertised.

Too bad Angelo wasn't partying on that boat along with his prodigal son. (S.O.B.?)

Jerry's the one who should have been pepper sprayed, and forced to walk the plank.

Or perhaps they should have keel hauled him.

First of all, who has gone boating before? For those of you that have, you will know what I am talking about, everyone, and I mean everyone that is out boating around on a sunny day is drinking, if they aren't, then they should be arrested. Benson did nothing wrong in my view. In terms of his stats so far, we could have LT and he wouldn't do any better with that bush league offensive line we put out there, which also caused problems for our passing attack, which again would just compound the running problems. Also, did anyone look at the police report, he was polite and cooperative, but also used profanity and was combative, which was he? People get drunk all the time, probably like the majority of you that go to the games and boo. Anyone that has a problem with someone going out on a boat in the sun and having some beers, and say he should be cut b/c of character problems is a joke, and should stop talking about the Bears.

Roman,
couldn't the Bears cut Benson and demand some of his signing bonus back for conduct detrimental to the team? Getting arrested boating is one thing, but fighting the cops - if the police push that charge - is quite another.

Also, won't Goodell jump on Benson the way he jumped on Tank? Chicago will be very rapidly getting the rep of a thug organization if Benson gets suspended too.

If the Bears cut Benson for violating terms of his contract would they still take a salary cap hit? I don't understand why he would count against the cap if he gets cut for misconduct. If you can, please explain this in the future, I'd like to understand how this shapes up.

Either way, there is something very wrong with our GM and coaching staff. We have way too many problems off the field, and too many people under contract who want more money without more performance...

give him another chance he is telling the truth

A Real Bears Fan / An Intelligent Fan said a bunch of stuff.

I'll address your comments one at a time:

"First of all, who has gone boating before? For those of you that have, you will know what I am talking about, everyone, and I mean everyone that is out boating around on a sunny day is drinking, if they aren't, then they should be arrested."
___________________________________________________

Agreed ... but to a certain extent.

Most casual boating does involve adult beverages, and I'll be the first to admit that I've been in such boats, under less than legal circumstances.

But trolling along for crappies in an uncrowded lake isn't quite the same thing as letting out the throttle on a pair of 300 HP Mercury outboards. Paddling a canoe or a row boat under the influence isn't nearly as dangerous as skimming the water at 80 MPH in a three ton vessel, so let's not mix apples and oranges here.
______________________________

"Benson did nothing wrong in my view. In terms of his stats so far, we could have LT and he wouldn't do any better with that bush league offensive line we put out there, which also caused problems for our passing attack, which again would just compound the running problems."
_______________________________

Thomas didn't seem to have any problems running behind that line while also making catches out of the backfield. If memory serves me correctly, he had a couple of 1,000 plus yard seasons, while splitting time with good old Pick Six, and his multi-million dollar signing bonus, which prior to receiving, he held out of pre-season activities.

Refresh my memory as to how many 1,000 yard seasons Cedric has had? While you're at it ... let me know if he's been able to complete even one 16 game season since he was anointed to his position as opposed to having had to earn it.
______________________________________

"Also, did anyone look at the police report, he was polite and cooperative, but also used profanity and was combative, which was he? People get drunk all the time, probably like the majority of you that go to the games and boo. Anyone that has a problem with someone going out on a boat in the sun and having some beers, and say he should be cut b/c of character problems is a joke, and should stop talking about the Bears."
_________________________________________

Did anyone see the totally s#*t faced look on his mug shot? Sometimes a picture is indeed worth a thousand words, or at least a performance bonus.

I'd address the character issue, but since he's more than proven himself to be a selfish, brooding, and unmotivated character, I see no need to further elaborate on that subject.

Cedric's the joke; and it's the truly intelligent Bears fans who realize that the joke is on them.

Lauch that f*cking canadian directly. Send him back to his home planet! He is not suited to the gravity on earth

He should be banned from all professional sports and made to do community work picking up garbage for two years. We have to start setting examples. Now's the time before he kills someone.

His attitude speaks volumes as to how much he cares for his fellow human beings and the Bears.

Suspend him for an additional game to what the league sees fit. 1/8 of his salary is a lot of lost gas money. I keep rooting for him, but it gets tougher all the time. Would love for him to get it together and run for 1500 yards. Yeah, I'm a dreamer. Good luck to my Bears on this one.

Maybe if we purged the league of everyone with the "gangsta" attitude, we'd not see these stories any more. I wonder how many times the words "do you know who I am?" came out of his mouth??

Put morality clauses with some teeth in them in their contracts. How about "any action, at any time, whether on of off the field of play that beings disrepute, shame or negative publicity upon the club, the city, or the league shall be just case for termination of this contract without any further compensation." Seems to me if I were being paid what he is being paid to be a mediocre player (and that's being generous) that I could find 1,000 ways to keep my head down, avoid the problems and keep to myself. It's a sad statement on society when these are the kind of people who are role models to youth...but when some poor kid sees someone being paid seven figures to to a C-plus job for his employer, it's no wonder that so many kids errantly look up to these thugs. When teachers, cops and secretaries take a year to pull down what these half-wits earn in a weekend, I wonder what those kids will aspire to be?

By the way, anyone know that Mr. Benson's GPA was in college, or what his "degree" was in? Time for everyone to stop making excuses for "athletes".

Why don't you guys realize Benson's not going anywhere? He's got money to make these charges go away and the team has already invested too much money in him to cut or trade him.

Horse racing is a noble sport. The trainers and most of the owners love their animals. If it weren't for horse racing, thousands upon thousands of horses would never even be born.

Thoroughbred horses live a grand life. Plenty of food. A warm place to sleep. Good exercise. (They love to run) And the best medical care of any veterinary sector. How good a life is it to have a good career for a few years and the go out to stud for the rest of your life?

Rock Star!

Agree that cutting him is bad idea. How can anyone be outraged over this? Its the off season, the guy is boating and oh my god he had a drink. Hello, has anyone in Chicago ever been on a lake in wisconsin before? What a bunch of hypocrites. Think that tv reporter should have been fired for snowmobiling after drinking, if he hadn't died? No, that was a tragedy for some reason, oh yeah he was well liked (white). And Benson is not well liked (not white), plus he may be another wasted draft pick. Where is the outrage for angelo drafting these guys? Didn't he just draft a couple more problem players, and say they're not bad people they just did stupid things???

Well, maybe, just maybe, eventually people will realize who the person is who is doing the really stupid things like wasting draft picks and bringing these characters to the chicago bears.

Benson doesn't come across as a lier. He's honest to a fault at times when speaking his mind. I believe his account of the incident.

As far as Benson being a bust, no one, not even Walter Payton, could have been productive with that terrible offensive line the Bears had last year. Teams knew that if they'd focus on stopping the Bears' running game, they would beat the Bears because their passing game was so ineffective. The Bears' defense was also porous, especially against the run. The coaching staff was also out-coached in most games. Everyone on last year's team from Angelo on down, should take blame for the team's failure. I wonder what a healthy Benson can do with a decent O-line!

LET'S FIND OUT THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE
TRUTH BEFORE WE THROW THE GUY UNDER THE BUS!
THE BEARS HAVE ALSO SIGNED ANOTHER RUNNING BACK, AFTER THE MINI
CAMP THIS PAST WEEKEND, THE DRAFTING OF FORTE WAS AN EXCELLENT
SELECTION, WE DON'T KNOW IF CED BENSON CAN EVEN RUN AFTER
BREAKING HIS LEG LAST SEASON, THE BEARS ORGANIZATION MUST MOVE
FORWARD, IF THEY MOVED FORWARD AFTER GAYLE SAYERS WAS INJURED
YOU KNOW THEY WILL MOVE FORWARD WITH BENSON!
BENSON HAS TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT THE COMMISSIONER IS GOING TO DO!

Roman-

Drinking buddies with Benson? Why else would you made such a dumb ass comment saying "who doesn't believe that the cops down there were over zealous?" If over zealous means doing their job, then yeah count me in.

And saying "he is not aggressive on the field therefore he couldn't be aggressive when he had been drinking"? Come on now! When was the last time he sipped alchohol in the locker room during a game?

And perhaps if you had a family member killed by a drunk boater or while driving a boat drunk, you would be so flippant (or just stupid): "And how can you give Tank Johnson all those chances, including jail time, and cut Benson over a boating-while-intoxicated charge?"

Did you ever stop to think that the Bears are tired of babysitting players and are tired of giving guys second and third and fourth chances like Tank Johnson? Just because of his play they need no further reason!

Maybe it's just me, but if I am about to lose my job, I am doing whatever it takes to make sure that doesn't happen-- like spending time on Lake Forest instead!

Roman you should actually read your blog before you post it so you don't sound like a complete-- drinking buddy to Benson!

Tom, violation of what terms??? When did he fight the cops??? Was he found guilty of any crime??? Looks like all misdemeanor charges to me, Striking an officer is not a misdemeanor, and his court date isn't until later. How do you convict someone before the courts do?

An arrest is just that, it's not a conviction. As far as your other comments, the same can be said for all 32 teams.

Tell you what, if that sun-times article is anything similar to the official police report, they will have a hard time convicting him, that all sounds like the officer's opoinion, you don't get conviction on officer's opinions, just jury opinions.

In my utopian fantasy world, he gets burned so badly by Matt Forte in training camp that it won't even be an argument who's #1 in September. Nice mug shot too. What happened to his eyes? Bad combo of Pabst Blue Ribbon and pepper spray I guess.

Let the facts come out before passing judgement. If you cut the guy and then have a star player that Chicago loves (Briggs) do something similar, then you get the backlash (Pittsburgh) for being two faced.

If you read that Benson wrecked his boat, then reported it stolen and then showed up later at his home to say it was not stolen (mind you, after a night out on the town hitting all the big clubs), would you all be screaming to cut him now? I don't think so. So, since Jerry gave Lance time to tell the truth and let the facts (as grimm as they were) come out, he should allow Mr. Benson the same rights. Nobody reading this can truely believe Briggs was sober that night, so, if Benson is arrested and if the BAC does not indicate an illegal level, then we need to keep him on the roster.

Don't get me wrong, we can still cut him June 1 or as soon as Forte signs a contract, but cutting him now would be horrible PR for the Bears that are in need of some good PR with Urlacher demanding more money.

Let the facts come out before passing judgement. If you cut the guy and then have a star player that Chicago loves (Briggs) do something similar, then you get the backlash (Pittsburgh) for being two faced.

If you read that Benson wrecked his boat, then reported it stolen and then showed up later at his home to say it was not stolen (mind you, after a night out on the town hitting all the big clubs), would you all be screaming to cut him now? I don't think so. So, since Jerry gave Lance time to tell the truth and let the facts (as grimm as they were) come out, he should allow Mr. Benson the same rights. Nobody reading this can truely believe Briggs was sober that night, so, if Benson is arrested and if the BAC does not indicate an illegal level, then we need to keep him on the roster.

Don't get me wrong, we can still cut him June 1 or as soon as Forte signs a contract, but cutting him now would be horrible PR for the Bears that are in need of some good PR with Urlacher demanding more money.

THis was covered already in Ricky's post. I don't see a real reason for two of the same topics. Unless, you two are having some kind of turf war. Although I must say, yours does not appear to jump the gun like your interns did.

Please stop making excuses for Benson's lack of production in a Bears uniform. He was running behind the same O line as Thomas Jones in 2006 and he showed nothing while Jones racked up over 1,300 yards. When you go down that easy from a one on one tackle then it is you.

I also saw Walter Payton before he had a single pro bowl linemen in front of him and he dominated games so please get off of this idea that he could not have been productive with this current O line.
Yes the line looked bad but having a collection of 2nd and 3rd string QBs combined with a slow and heartless RB would make anyone line look bad.
Benson can not catch, can not block, can not stay healthy and runs like he is dragging a 1972 Cadillac Eldorado tied to his ankle.

He is not a good football player and he was been given every opportunity to become one.

Benson should be allowed to stay with the Bears. Sometimes police are overzealous in making an arrest. But he has to prove to the Bears and his teammates that he wants to contribute. Aside from this incident, he did show flashes of what he could be on the field behind a good offensive line. Give him a chance to prove himself. Forte and Benson would be a good one-two punch. They would wear down a good defence. Cedric start with getting a haircut and show your teammates that you really want to be part of this team.

Hey Buncha BS...your logic is flawed..because you left out one huge factor...

THE HORSES ARENT FIGHTING EACH OTHER!

DUH

I agree, that we shouldnt have to euthinize them, but most Racing Horses get treated and live better than Most people.

Your Racist BS Logic is way off Homie!!!

Stop just hating rich white people, you will feel much better and probably get out of the Hell Hole you live in.

You could be so lucky to live like a derby race horse!!

Roman..did you really let someone get away with calling Benson a Canadian?

Dude...your slippin'

THis was covered already in Ricky's post. I don't see a real reason for two of the same topics. Unless, you two are having some kind of turf war. Although I must say, yours does not appear to jump the gun like your interns did.

Posted by: stuckinwisconsin | May 6, 2008 08:23 AM

HILARIOUS!

Hes even sucking in the off season. At least Tank did his job on the field. Angelo needs to use the words of a Movie Director and yell....."CUT"!

bculz, you must clean stables for a living considering how you toss out fecal-induced comments readily with very little analytic thought behind each. You are the type my grandparents called a DAMN FOOL!

**************
your logic is flawed..because you left out one huge factor...

THE HORSES ARENT FIGHTING EACH OTHER!

DUH
***************

No clown your logic is flawed! When races-horses leave the gate(banging up against iron cages) and when released they jockey(FIGHT FOR POSITION) along the railing of the race-track. So don't try to excoriate me with your inanity horses DO NOT fight!

I am happy being who I am, though trials and tribulations come upon me daily, I don't think of being a horse, maybe those are your desires. By the way "Thank You" for the knuckle-dragging comment of labeling me a RACIST! I will allow you to wallow in your muck and mir of your OWN hatred regardless of your imbelcilic views. Your small words remind me of a little man who has consistently posted irrational opinions because no one close to you or of sound mind engages in discourse outside of Roman's blog!

Have a Blessed Day!