TWO STRIKES, YOU'RE OUT

TWO STRIKES, YOU’RE OUT, June 9, 2008

Today the inevitable finally happened. The Chicago Bears waived former first round draft pick Cedric Benson. Benson, who has been arrested twice in the past month in Austin, TX for alcohol related offenses. On Saturday night, Benson was arrested for running a red light and failing a field sobriety test. Benson’s attorney stated that Benson had two or three drinks at dinner and did not think he was under the influence. This recent arrest comes about a month after Benson was arrested, again in Austin for boating while intoxicated.

The 2005 first round pick for the Bears has been another disappointment for the Bears. Last year, taking over for Thomas Jones, Benson had only 196 rushing attempts for 674 yards and four touchdowns. Benson also caught 17 passes for just 123 yards. I doubt that those were the stats that the Bears hoped for when they turned the rushing game over to the former Texas star.

While Benson was not the only problem with the Bears last season, these two incidents made it a simple decision for the Bears to drop him. The team drafted Tulane running back Matt Forte in the second round of this years NFL draft and also has Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe as running backs. One would have thought that after the problems Benson experienced last season, he would have decided that it was time to put up or shut up. Well, instead Benson decided that he would drink his way out of Chicago. The Bears offense has so many holes, particularly at qb, ol, and rb that changing one starter is not likely to change much but I would imagine that the rest of the team realizes that there is no time to fool around. The team expects more effort and spending time in jail is not likely to help you make a team.

While Benson has not yet been convicted of either charge, one would hope that he realizes that he must change the way he acts or else he will have to find a new line of work. It is likely that another team will take a chance on Benson, but his chances are running out. These two arrests, along with is two arrests during his college days at Texas for marijuana possession in 2002 and for criminal trespassing in 2003. As Bears GM Jerry Angelo stated, Benson’s “pattern of behavior” led to his dismissal from the team. One would hope that someone with the rare athletic talent that Benson possesses would try and get his life in order so that not only can he continue his football career but also to not put the general public in harms way with his reckless behavior.