So Benson was arrested over the weekend for boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest. It's interesting because he is totally disputing the police reports saying that he was not drunk and that he was nothing but polite to the officers yet for some strange reason, they arrested him and sprayed him with pepper spray, had a water hose in his face as he was lying on the ground, dragged him across the ground into the police car. Still, even after all of this treatment, he claims to have been very cordial to the arresting officers and continued to call them "sir." We'll see how this plays out. His mug shot doesn't look like a guy that is completely sober but who knows?
For a guy trying to start a professional career and try to win over his teammates, coaches, and fans, this is not the best way of doing it. Of note, only 12% of Bears fans think they should give him another shot. Looks like he will have a lot more to prove now. The thing is Benson doesn't seem like the kind of guy who will take this and want to prove people wrong. He seems like the kind of guy that expects things to come his way and when they don't, he will sulk and complain. I don't even know that rookie RB the Bears picked up but I already like him better.
6 comments:
No big deal - if he can run the ball in the Fall.
Even before the issue he had a lot to prove this year. Now he has even more to prove.
That's the only way he can redeem himself is run effectively. We'll see if he is even on the team though. I just find it strange the big discrepancy b/t the stories of Benson and the cops.
The other issue is again, Benson doesn't seem like the type of guy that faces turmoil real well. Again, he seems like the type of guy that expects things to come his way and that he should be treated a certain way. He doesn't seem like he feels like he needs to earn playing time/respect.
We'll see how the story plays out.
There are a couple of posts from Texas folks who say the cops are notoriously violent in the area that he was arrested. Frankly, none of that really matters.
Fans are fickle. He hasn't done enough for them to give him the benefit of the doubt. If he runs hard and scores TDs, the fans will love him. If not, then he will find himself further on the outs with the fans.
He just doesn't seem to be a character guy either. It's just another headache for the Bears org. It's strange how quickly they have changed.
A couple of years ago, they seemed to have a great group of team guys, a great coach, great org, etc. Now, it's changed a lot. I probably mentioned it during that time that that feeling wouldn't last. Success breeds egoes (I believe I used that term back then). Because not much was expected from the Bears before, they were largely under the radar and not too many people knew of their players.
Now they do and you have guys crying about money. Their salaries are escalating. They will get more attention on and off the field. All of this creates more headaches for the coaches/GM. They are just a very different team than just a year and a half ago.
They are like every other pro team with their personnel and personalities. The difference is that their front office is very disciplined.
I don't think there are any teams that are "pure" and all rah, rah about the team.
However, the Bears use a pretty good equity model in their salaries so they don't have one guy making 20 times more than the guy next to him. They spread the wealth pretty well.
If Benson performs, then great. If not, then he will be out. That is the bottom line. Not whether he lied or whether he was drunk, and not whether the police brutalized him.
I knew Benson would be a bust the day he was drafted. Given my impressive and proven football IQ (refer back to 2007-08 weekly picks), I'm not surprised by his inability to succeed.
During his interview following his selection by the Bears, Benson broke down in tears when discussing his difficulties getting out of the shadow of Ricky Williams as a Texas Longhorn tailback. He had cut his Ricky-like dreads and spent a lot of energy trying to create an identity of his own. When asked who the real Cedric Benson is, he responded, "I don't know," and cried some more.
In two minutes, it was apparent that Benson was a big, immature baby who was easily distracted by the sideshow. I didn't think he'd be able to focus his energy on football and up until now, he's proving me to be the genius we already know I am.
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