Benson, everything you want in a RB?? Really???

[chiguy82]

In the wiretap, they have a story of Carson Palmer saying how good of a running back Benson is, how much he loves to work??? What happened to him?

"He's everything you've heard positive about him and nothing you've heard negative about him," Palmer said. "Guys can get portrayed wrong. I know first-hand from everything I've seen he's a classy guy. He's excited to be here and loves to work."

http://football.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/12283/20090527/palmer_benson_is_everything_you_want_in_a_rb/

[emperorjones]

IMO, Benson was immature when he got here. Then got done in by bitch Thomas Jones complaining. While Jones was supposedly a good teammate, I always felt he was the type of guy an employer doesn't really want around his other employees - Kind of like Phil Jackson. The guy held out for the best contract he could get and by the time he gets to camp Guys were trying to hurt him (and successfully separated his shoulder in practice). Never heard of that before and I doubt it would have been that way if Jones were not on the team.

[Icness]

IMO, Benson was immature when he got here. Then got done in by bitch Thomas Jones complaining. While Jones was supposedly a good teammate, I always felt he was the type of guy an employer doesn't really want around his other employees - Kind of like Phil Jackson. The guy held out for the best contract he could get and by the time he gets to camp Guys were trying to hurt him (and successfully separated his shoulder in practice). Never heard of that before and I doubt it would have been that way if Jones were not on the team.

Exceptional post, sir
The Jets fans are learning the hard way about that Thomas Jones you describe.

Benson has matured quite a bit. He took a long look in the mirror and realized he needed to change himself if he wanted to stick. Marvin Lewis has been a godsend to him. It's just too bad he couldn't get that in Chicago.

[Cliff Levingston]

Meh. Benson is water under the bridge for us now. We've got Forte who's been a better back in the NFL so far. Good luck to Cedric though; Cliff Levingston was a fan when we drafted him. Too bad it didn't work out for him and us, but as said, it's no big deal to us anymore.

[Chewie]

I'm sure Benson will do fine for Cincy - he's an afterthought for me at this point.

He actually had a few really nice games last season. He's on my fantasy radar - I'm sure most of the Bears fans in my league will downgrade him. I'm not going to be that guy.

[WAYSA]

Benson has ALWAYS been a more talented back than Thomas Jones. It's a fact whether people here want to admit it or not.

Every time Benson came into the game he looked better than Jones and Jones was looking at never seeing the field early in Benson's career when he was really taking off, unfortunately that injury against San Francisco really set him back, IMO more mentally. The TJ/Benson combo worked out very nicely. Benson really softened up the defense for TJ.

Lets not forget Thomas Jones punched Benson in the face for little to no reason at one point. That does not scream to me a team leader or great guy. Jones has complained about $$ every stop he's been at, but the one place where he was a total bust at (Arizona). He should have been thankful the Bears revived his career instead of so negative. I was happy when he got traded and I've never liked him.

I don't even think TJ is the best back on the Jets. All 5'5" of Leon Washington runs tougher than Jones. For all that muscle on TJ he sure does run like a puss. I can count the number of times he broke a tackle on one hand during his time in Chicago.

[dingojazz]

Wow, Bears fans sticking up for Cedric Bustson. Even if you hate Thomas Jones his teammates repected him, which is somthing that Benson never had. This guy had no idea how to come in as a rookie, shut the hell up and work hard. He said all the wrong things, pissed off the wrong people, and played with all the burst and explosiveness of my grandma.

Maybe he's figured it out now and matured a little and is a good teammate, who knows. But the door couldn't his him in the ass hard enough on his way out of Chicago in my opinion.

[Chewie]

Wow, Bears fans sticking up for Cedric Bustson. Even if you hate Thomas Jones his teammates repected him, which is somthing that Benson never had. This guy had no idea how to come in as a rookie, shut the hell up and work hard. He said all the wrong things, pissed off the wrong people, and played with all the burst and explosiveness of my grandma.

Maybe he's figured it out now and matured a little and is a good teammate, who knows. But the door couldn't his him in the ass hard enough on his way out of Chicago in my opinion.

All true - if he was going to turn it around, it wasn't going to be in Chicago. Classic case of a guy that needed a new start somewhere else. My problem with Benson was he went down too easily and didn't know what to do on the rare occasion he got past the defensive line. It was almost like he was AIMING for the linebacker/safety. His weaknesses seem to be Forte's strengths.

My comments were made purely from a fantasy perspective. I'll try to pick him up as a 3rd RB as a value pick.

[Cliff Levingston]

My comments were made purely from a fantasy perspective. I'll try to pick him up as a 3rd RB as a value pick.

Cliff Levingston would as well. He'll be one of the few backs in the league that gets the absolute lion's share of his team's carries.

[dingojazz]

My comments were made purely from a fantasy perspective. I'll try to pick him up as a 3rd RB as a value pick.

Cliff Levingston would as well. He'll be one of the few backs in the league that gets the absolute lion's share of his team's carries.

Yeah I could see him having some 27 carry 88 yard games. I don't think he'll ever average 4 yards a carry, but with the workload he could get absolutely could be a solid 3rd fantasy back. If you have him as one of your top two back...your team is screwed.

[TNBT]

I don't want to argue about it with you guys, because I'm here in Australia while you're all actually in the US where you hear so much more about these situations than I do here. However, I was quite a Thomas Jones fan during his time here. It seemed to me that Benson came in with a sense of entitlment, like he should have everything handed to him. This seemed to be compounded by a large number of my fellow Bears fans on message boards and such who felt that he should be given the first string job straight away. I was more of the opinion that Jones was the guy getting it done for us, and that if Benson was going to take his job, then he should have to earn it. I think that if Benson had come into camp ready to put his head down and just work, rather than complain and cry, then the rest of the team would have viewed him much differently.

[blumeany]

Wow. I didn't know that a teammate telling the press that someone is a good guy automatically made them a good player also.

Benson looked better than Jones when he was in there?!? Really?? Because as I recall Jones would actually rip off some decent runs, and Benson would get stopped immediately. I recall Jones actually had some moves and could run to the side when the hole collapsed, instead of running right into the defense for no gain.

Benson, in his entire Bears career, probably had about 3 or 4 good runs (and I might be giving him too much credit) - and that includes an entire season without Jones. And please, let's not make excuses by saying he didn't have a QB that defenses respected. Forte came into the league right away and contributed and only had Kyle Orton.

Benson is a bust, and if he even sniffs the top 10 for RBs this year, I'll be shocked.