Cedric Benson Should Have Had Ricky Williams On The Boat

The latest person to come out and criticize Cedric Benson for whatever happened on Lake Travis is Hall of Fame running back, and fellow Texas Grad, Earl Campbell. Speaking at a private golf event in Texas yesterday, Campbell said that Benson should take more responsibility for his actions and decisions.

"I think at some point you have to stand up and take responsibility and realize that you not only represent Cedric Benson and the Chicago Bears and your family," Campbell told the newspaper. "It's bigger than that. You represent the university family. You as a man should have some pride in what you do."

Yeah, who cares if you embarrass your family, but you can't embarrass your old school! Dear Lord, the scandal! More important than anything Campbell said, were the words of another former Texas running back who was also present at the same golf event: Ricky Williams.

Had Ricky been there, things would have been a lot different.

"I think if I had come down, things might have worked out a little bit differently," Williams said. "I find I have a calming influence on people I'm around. As a high-level athlete, it's just something that's ingrained in me. I always think that if I'm there, things would be different. I can't say how."

Yes, Ricky, you do have a very calming influence on the people around you, but it's got nothing to do with being a "high-level" athlete. No, it's that pound of weed and four-foot bong you take with you everywhere you go.

Another Witness Comes Forward to Back Cedric Benson

There's a new witness coming out in support of Cedric Benson's claims that it was the LCRA officers who were abusive of Benson, and not the other way around as they would have us believe.

The witness is Toby Patch, and though he wasn't on Cedric's boat, he was at the nearby Emerald Point Marina.

"As they were taking him up the dock, they stopped, he said, 'I am fine, I can continue walking,' and they put their legs behind his knees and knocked him over his knees and started hog-carrying him," Patch told KXAN-TV in Austin.

Near the parking area, Patch says the treatment of Benson worsened.

"They ended up--I don't know why--but laid him on his back, I heard him say, 'Please don't pepper spray me, please don't pepper spray me,'" Patch said. "It was uncalled for, it was ludicrous, no point for it."

Patch is the second witness to come forward backing up Benson's claims that he was mistreated, following in the footsteps of boat passenger Elizabeth Cartwright earlier this week. So it's starting to look like my initial feelings as to what happened here were right.

Still, even if Cedric is vindicated and has the charges dropped, he's still going to suffer for the incident. His next court date is May 19th, which also happens to be the day the Bears start OTA's. Cedric can't really afford to miss many practices seeing as how he's fighting to keep his job.

Passenger on Benson's Boat: 'I've Never Heard or Seen Cedric That Scared'

Ever since the story first broke about Cedric Benson's arrest last weekend in Austin, Texas, Benson has maintained that the story the police are telling wasn't the way things actually went down. Cedric's maintained that he wasn't drunk, he didn't resist the officers, and that the only people who were out of line that day were the police.

The problem is that nobody had been supporting his claims. Until now, anyway. A friend of Cedric that was on the phone has come out and said that Benson's tale of the story was a lot closer to the truth than anything the police are saying.

A female passenger on Cedric Benson's boat Saturday night in Austin, Texas, was concerned enough about his safety after police took him into custody to phone her parents and urge them to call 911, the Tribune has learned.

"I called my dad and told him, 'Call 911, my black friend is getting beaten up by police on Lake Travis,' " said Elizabeth Cartwright, 22, a friend of Benson's from the University of Texas. "It's more what I heard than what I saw. I have never heard or seen Cedric that scared."

See, now if you need further proof that the cops in this incident were doing nothing but punishing Cedric for "boating while black", you need look no further than Benson's friend. She's his friend, and she's racist too!

I guess telling her dad that her friend was getting beat up by police just wouldn't suffice, she had to throw in the "my black friend." Don't you remember him, father? That charming negro boy I was telling you about!

Anyway, she says she's willing to testify on Cedric's behalf once this gets to court, and that her white boyfriend has dozens of photos to support her and Benson's story.

Cedric Benson Had A Tough Week

As I'm sure you've all heard by now, Bears running back Cedric Benson got into a bit of trouble over the weekend, when he was arrested for boating while intoxicated. While I try to remember a time when I was on a boat where either I, or the person driving the boat, didn't have a beer in their hand, here are some of the particulars for you to go over.

Lower Colorado River Authority police arrested the Bears running back, who played at the University of Texas in Austin, on Lake Travis during a random safety inspection. An LCRA spokesman said Benson, who failed a sobriety "float test" (an abbreviated version of a field sobriety test) on his 37-foot yacht, argued over taking a follow-up test on land and refused to put on a life jacket. LCRA officers said they attempted to arrest Benson at that time but that he refused to cooperate and was pepper-sprayed. He was booked at 11:24 p.m. Saturday at the Travis County Jail and was out early Sunday morning on $14,500 bond.

Now without being there, this is how I picture the whole thing went down.

River Authority Cop #1: Man, where in life did we mess up bad enough to become River Authority cops?

River Authority Cop #2: I don't know, hoss. I don't know.

RAC #1: Not a day goes by where I don't think about killing maself.

RAC#2: Me too.

RAC#1: Want to end it all right here? Together?

RAC#2: You know what? Fuck it. Let's do..

RAC#1: Wait a second, what's that? It's a boat! Let's go mess with them, and then kill ourselves.

RAC #2: Sounds like a plan to me!

(the River Authority cops then go over to Cedric Benson's boat, and climb on board)

RAC#1: Be careful man, there's black people on this boat.

RAC#2: Way ahead of you, hoss. Already got ma pepper spray ready.

RAC#1: Good. Juss let me do all the talkin.

(Cedric Benson then approaches the cops, takes two steps and falls down, but then gets back up)

Cedric Benson: Damn waves! There a problem here officer?

RAC#1: You drunk, boy?

Benson: Drunk? Oh hell no.

RAC#1: Then why you fall down back there?

Benson: Oh, I'm never able to take more than two or three steps without falling down or gettin hurt. It's a condition I have called "major suckitis."

RAC#1: You sure you ain't drunk?

Benson: Pretty damn sure.

RAC#1: He's a cussin at us! And resisting arrest! SPRAY HIM, DAMMIT, SPRAY HIM!!

(RAC#2 then sprays Benson in the eyes for 25 minutes)

Benson: Aaaaaah!!

Then the cops dragged the blind bastard off the boat and arrested him.

For the most part, Benson agrees with my version of the story.

"There was no resistance on my part," Benson told the Tribune on Sunday night. "Was I drunk? No."

Benson said there was alcohol on his boat but that he was not intoxicated and the boat was stationary when police arrived. He said he fully cooperated with officers and that this was the sixth time he had been questioned by lake police in the year that he has owned the boat.

"They gave me a field sobriety test, told me to say my ABCs and told me to count from 1 to 4 up and down," Benson said of Saturday's incident. "I'm thinking, I passed all the tests, did everything right. Then the officer told me we needed to go to land to take more tests. I politely asked him why we needed to go to land to take more tests when I took every test. Then he sprayed me with mace, on his boat.

"I'm not handcuffed. I'm not under arrest. I'm not threatening him. I'm not pushing him. I'm not touching him. And he sprays me right in my eye."

Benson said by that time, he was far removed from the family and friends left on his boat, a group that included his mother.

"Nobody saw what he did to me," Benson said. "I started screaming for my mother to come. That's when they put me under arrest. And the officer threw a life jacket over my head.

"Once we got to land, the Travis County police grabbed me and kicked my feet from under me. So I landed on my back while I was handcuffed. They held me down and held the water hose over my face. I couldn't breathe, I'm choking, I'm begging the cops, 'Please stop. Please stop.' Then they picked me up and dragged me backward toward their car. And I'm still being polite, asking them, 'Sir, could you please allow me to walk like a man to your cop car?' They just kept dragging me on."

Okay, so it's not exactly the same, but whatever. Sports blogs aren't known for their accuracy in reporting, ain't that right, Buzz?

No matter what actually happened, this was just the crowning jewel on what was a craptastic week for Cedric. It all started on Sunday when the Bears drafted Matt Forte in the 2nd round of the draft, effectively making it official that Benson is a bust, and there's also a chance he won't have a job once the season starts. Now this. I'd almost feel bad for him, you know, if he didn't suck so bad.

The Illini's BCS Hopes Are Improving

While I was watching college football this past weekend, I was rooting for upsets. I wanted LSU to lose to Arkansas, and I wanted Missouri to beat Kansas. Yeah, I know Missouri's win wasn't technically an upset, but I just didn't want Kansas to stay undefeated.

I wasn't doing it because I'm a huge fan of chaos or anything, though I'll admit it's fun to watch, I was doing it because I want Illinois to get to a BCS game.

And as of now, everything's falling into place. According to the Chicago Tribune's Teddy Greenstein, the Illini now have a 75% chance of playing in a BCS game.

Those figures come from Jerry Palm, the collegeBCS.com analyst who first talked up Illinois' BCS chances two weeks ago. He now believes the Illini have a 75 percent chance to crack college football's holy grail of bowls—and that might even be understating it.

So far everything that has needed to happen has been happening. The next step would be the a loss by Missouri against Oklahoma in the Big 12 Title game this Saturday. A Missouri loss would bump Ohio State back up into the title game against West Virginia-well if West Virginia doesn't lose at home to Pitt anyway-leaving a spot open in the Rose Bowl.

Here's where things get a bit weird though. You'd think that the Rose Bowl would like to replace Ohio State with Illinois to keep the traditional Pac-10/Big Ten matchup going. After all, the Rose Bowl was the only bowl who initially had a problem with the title game rotating between BCS bowls the last few years. They didn't want to lose the tradition of the game.

With that being said though, if they can't have Ohio State, the Rose Bowl wouldn't mind a USC/Georgia matchup. Here's what Mitch Dorger, the CEO of the Rose Bowl had to say about the Bulldogs.

"They are on our mind," Dorger said of the Bulldogs. "They are not the only team that is on our mind, but we are cognizant of the great football they have been playing, and we are cognizant of the tradition and the enthusiasm of the fans.

"They would provide a matchup that would have a lot of people talking," he said

Even if the Rose Bowl does buck tradition and select Georgia, it wouldn't end the Illini's chances of getting into a BCS game. The Fiesta Bowl could end up being their destination. For that to happen, Missouri would have to beat Oklahoma this Saturday. That would ensure the Buckeyes go to Pasadena. Then the Fiesta Bowl would get first pick of at large teams because they will have lost Big 12 champ Missouri to the title game. The Orange Bowl would pick next because they will have lost Big East champ West Virginia to the title game as well.

Odds are the Fiesta would take Kansas, and the Orange Bowl would take Georgia. After those two though, the Fiesta gets to pick again, and their options would be Illinois, Arizona State and Hawaii.

It's doubtful that the Fiesta Bowl would choose Hawaii after taking Boise State last season because even though Boise's win over Oklahoma last year was one of the greatest games ever, it got killed in the ratings.

They may also be partial to Arizona State, but remember, these bowl games are about bringing in tourists and outside revenue. The in-state Sun Devils wouldn't accomplish that, leaving the Illini as the Fiesta's most logical choice.

So just because Illinois isn't playing this weekend, it doesn't mean they don't have a lot on the line as everybody else finishes up their season. And keep in mind, even if the Illini are snubbed by the BCS after all this, they'll still end up in the Capital One Bowl against Florida. Which would be an excellent consolation prize.

Foul Balls

Sean Taylor is Dead - Redskins safety Sean Taylor died this morning, a day after being shot in the leg by an intruder into his home early Monday morning.

The 24-year-old player died at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he had been airlifted after the shooting early Monday, family friend Richard Sharpstein said. Sharpstein said Taylor's father informed him of the death at about 5:30 a.m.

"His father called and said he was with Christ and he cried and thanked me," said Sharpstein, Taylor's former lawyer. "It's a tremendously sad and unnecessary event. He was a wonderful, humble, talented young man, and had a huge life in front of him. Obviously God had other plans."

Taylor was shot in the femural artery, which is not exactly the best place in the world to get shot.

While this is obviously tragic for the Taylor family and the Redskins, I'm interested in what was really going on here. I don't think Taylor was shot by somebody who was just breaking into his house to rob him. I think somebody broke into his house with plans of killing him.

Last weekend somebody broke into the house, and according to police, there wasn't anything stolen. Instead there was a knife left on Taylor's bed. Also, and I'm not an experienced burglar, but when you break into somebody's house and the people wake up, you get out of the house. The "burglar" made his way up to Taylor's bedroom, burst in, and shot him.

It just doesn't seem quite right, and I think in the coming weeks there's going to be more information as to what really was going on.

Cedric Benson Is Done For the Year - It's not exactly shocking news to anybody who saw Benson's injury on Sunday. Cedric Benson is out for the rest of the season, and will need surgery on his left leg.

On Monday, Smith said Benson is scheduled to undergo season-ending surgery after injuring his lower left leg and ankle in the second quarter of Sunday's victory over the Denver Broncos. Benson was carted off the field and couldn't put pressure on the foot. He emerged later on crutches, wearing a protective boot.

Benson is the fourth player the Bears have lost for the season thanks to injury this season.

I know some people are happy about this because it means Adrian Peterson will finally have a chance to carry the load, but I'm not one of those people. I haven't exactly been quiet about my distaste for Cedric this season, but I also don't understand why people were so excited by Peterson on Sunday.

Yeah, he scored a touchdown, but he only gained 45 yards on 17 carries after taking over for Benson. That's only an average of 2.6 yards per carry, which is a half yard worse than what Benson has done all season.

Joe Novak Retires - He doesn't get as much attention because of where he coaches, but Northern Illinois head coach Joe Novak has retired after 12 seasons as head coach of the Huskies.

"People have always said you'll know when it's time and I promise you, I know it's time," Novak said at a news conference. "Selfishly, it's time for my wife and I. It's been a great, great ride but it's time."

Novak's record at NIU was only 63-75, but it's important to remember the Huskies lost 23 straight games at the beginning of Novak's tenure. That's the condition the school's program was in before Novak took over, and he completely turned it around.

The Huskies were ranked as high as #12 in the AP poll back in 2003 after wins over ranked Maryland and Alabama. In 2004 he led the school to it's first bowl game in 21 years as the Huskies beat Troy in the Silicon Valley Bowl.

The Huskies were only 2-10 this season after losing most of their key players to graduation, but it ended a streak of seven straight winning seasons. Novak is going to be missed in DeKalb.

We're Just As Good As The Vikings!

Let me start this post off by saying, I still don't think we have any chance in hell of making the playoffs. Sure, the Bears are only a game behind the Lions for the sixth spot in the NFC, but with all the other teams jockeying for position, and the overall inconsistency of this team, there's just no way it's going to happen.

With that said, WHAT A FUCKIN' GAME!

I'll never stop watching the Bears every week, even if they're 0-11. It's not the same type of courtesy I extend to the White Sox and Bulls, but then again, with the Bears I only have to deal with the pain once a week.

So since I'll be watching this team every Sunday through January, and all I ask from them is to play well and at least make things interesting.

They got it half right on Sunday.

Make no mistake, the Bears did not play well. For the 55 minutes of the game the Bears offense looked awful, though it wasn't Rex's fault. I was planning on making a joke about how Muhsin Muhammed makes $750,000 a dropped pass, but it would be pretty unfair to pick on him.

Everybody on this team drops passes; it's ridiculous. If I suited up next week, I'd probably have the second best hands on the team. (They're soft cuz I moisturize.) Moose drops them. Berrian drops them. (Though what a catch on the tying touchdown. Kudos to you, sir.) Rashied Davis drops them. And now Greg Olsen is no longer a rookie because he's dropping passes too. It's pretty pathetic to be a wide receiver in the NFL and drop passes that hit you right in the hands. I know it's bound to happen once in a while, but the Bears do it at a record-setting pace.

The defense also played like crap for the most part. On one of Denver's scoring drives, they ran the same pitch play five times, and it worked each time. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me five times? Well shit, I'm just going to go kill myself because I don't deserve to live.

But hey, I'm making it sound like we lost the damn game. Somehow, someway, the Bears were able to pull this one out thanks to Devin Hester and the offense suddenly becoming a competent unit in the final five minutes and overtime.

Speaking of Hester, I was watching the Browns-Texans game earlier in the day when CBS's Gus Johnson said the following about Cleveland returner Joshua Cribbs.

"He's the most dangerous return man in all of football!"

Really, Gus?

Last I checked before Sunday's game, Devin Hester already had 9 return touchdowns in his career, and that didn't include the one in the Super Bowl. Cribbs has four in three years. You're one of my favorite college basketball announcers during March Madness, but it's shit like that that gets you stuck calling Cleveland vs. Houston on Sundays. Try thinking before we speak next time.

Maybe Devin heard it too, and took it personally. Or maybe Devin just heard Todd Sauerbrun talking all week about how he wasn't scared of Hester and would kick to him. So, Todd? How was the view from your back the two times you saw DH run right past you to the end zone? This is why punters shouldn't talk smack. They're punters.

Either way, God bless Devin Hester because without him we lose on Sunday.

There was bad news on Sunday, however. Cedric Benson left the game on a cart in the first quarter, and returned to the sidelines later on crutches with a boot on his leg. Something tells me he's not going to be available for a few weeks.

Though at his press conference on Monday, I'm sure Lovie Smith will act as if he had no idea Benson was even hurt.

"Everybody has injuries. Cedric is just bruised up. He will be fine."

"Lovie, they had to amputate the foot this morning. His career is over."

"Everybody has amputated limbs. Cedric will be fine."

But whatever, let's just enjoy this win and the good feelings while we can. The Giants come to town next week, and if the Vikings can beat them 41-17 without Purple Jesus, we can beat them without Cedric Benson.

Monster of the Midway

• Devin Hester - I love you. If I wasn't so firmly enamored by the female form, I'd want to marry you.
  

Dumbass of the Day

• Fred Miller - Fred, you are permanently in my doghouse. You're done. You still suck, and you're going to continue to suck. I mean, I'm not even pissed at Adam Archuleta right now you suck so bad, and Archuleta is half the man my sister is. Personally, I wouldn't mind if the Bears lost out from this point on just so we'd be in position to draft Michigan's Jake Long.

Same Old Crap

This is getting kind of old, isn't it? The Bears win a game to get near .500 and everybody thinks they're going to make a playoff run, and then they come out and lose their next game.

Things started out so well on Sunday, too. Cedric Benson (Cedric Benson!) actually ran for a 43-yard touchdown. The same Cedric Benson who hadn't had a rush longer than 16 yards all season actually rushed for 43 yards on one play.

Normally it takes him 14 carries to reach that total.

Then to make things even crazier, the next time Cedric touched the ball, he broke off a 19-yard run.

He had 62 yards on two carries! And the Bears were up 10-0! I actually started thinking we might make the playoffs, myself.

Then reality came back and knocked us all on our ass. So Cedric started with 62 yards on his first two carries? Well he finished with 89 yards on 11 carries, so his last nine carries were right on average.

I'm not sure why the Bears stopped going to Benson afterwards. I know the plan all week had called for Adrian Peterson to get more carries, but with the way Cedric was running, maybe abandoning that plan wouldn't have been a bad idea.

As far as Rex goes, I have to say, he didn't play bad. No touchdowns, but no interceptions either. Of course there was the fumble as Patrick Kerney stripped the ball from his hands that basically sealed the deal for the Bears.

Still, I can't get mad at Rex for this one.

I can get mad at the defense though. The Seahawks picked the Bears defense apart with short pass after short pass, and the Bears never seemed to adjust.

I really don't know what else to say about this game, I've become numb watching this team play every week. It's the same old crap every week. The coaching staff comes up with a plan during the week, and then no matter what happens on Sunday, they stick to the plan.

Whether it's by taking Benson out of the gameplan despite his success, or having our corners keep playing off Seattle's receivers no matter how many times they burned the defense on those short slants.

This is easily the most stubborn coaching staff I've ever seen.

So now if the Bears have any shot at making the playoffs, they'll have to win every single game from here on out. Do you honestly think that's going to happen?

Monster of the Midway

• Cedric Benson - I know Cedric kinda went to crap after his first two runs of the game, but I've been a pretty vocal critic of his for a while now, and he showed up on Sunday. It's not his fault the Bears stopped giving him the ball. Had they kept feeding him the ball, this game may have turned out a lot differently.

Dumbass of the Day

• Fred Miller - I hate picking on an offensive lineman here, because when they play well, how often am I making them the Monster of the Midway? It doesn't really seem fair, but still, this one is deserved. Miller not only had two key false start penalties in the second half, but he was also abused by Patrick Kerney all day. Kerney finished with 3 sacks, including the one that caused the Grossman fumble and basically killed the Bears.
  

The Return of The Rextasy

I awake this morning in fear. Fear that yesterday's performance against the Oakland Raiders will mean that later this afternoon in Lovie Smith's press conference, we're going to hear that terrifying sentence.

"Rex Grossman is our quarterback."

It's going to happen.

It only seemed appropriate that on Rex's first play in relief of Griese, he fumbled the snap. The odd thing was, that when they showed the replay, you saw Rex laughing about it. It's probably his greatest strength, and his weakness.

The mistakes he makes do not bother him. And that's what you want from your quarterback. If he makes a mistake, you want him to forget about it and move on. At the same time though, you want him to learn from each mistake and eliminate them.

Not only does Rex not care about making mistakes, but I don't think he cares about fixing them either.

But I don't want this whole post to be about Rex. Yes, he came in for Griese and played well. Yes, he threw the game winning touchdown to Bernard Berrian, but nothing that happened yesterday was any different from what we've seen before.

We already know Rex can throw the deep ball. It's the only throw he can make on a semi-consistent basis. If you take away that one pass though, here are Rex's numbers: 6/13 for 83 yards.

He still throws more incompletions than he does completions, and he still has trouble avoiding a pass rush.

Nothing has changed, folks.

I know the Bears won yesterday, but I actually feel worse about the team now than I did before yesterday's victory. Not just because it marked the return of Rex Grossman, but because of how bad the team looked as a whole.

Coming off of a bye week, in a game against a bad team, that's the best we could do? For the first 56 minutes of that game, the Bears looked like total crap. Well, okay, the defense played pretty well.

They held the Raiders to only 195 total yards, and three points. So I guess we really can't get on them all that much.

The offense though, yeah, they still suck. With two weeks to prepare a gameplan you would think Ron Turner might come up with something new. Instead, we got the same old crap.

Considering that the Raiders were without their two starting cornerbacks in this game, why did the Bears wait until the 4th quarter to take advantage of it? Did you see how badly Berrian beat Chris Carr on that touchdown? He could have done that all day.

Cedric Benson still sucks. He rushed for 76 yards on 29 carries, for a whopping 2.6 yards per carry. That's actually worse than his 3.1 average coming into the game, and 3.1 yards per carry is horrible. He continues to dance around in the backfield for five minutes before picking a hole.

His longest run of the day was nine yards.

I know that Benson isn't alone here, as this offensive line can't knock anybody off of the line anymore. Still, Benson needs to be more decisive. Find the hole, hit the hole. It might close up and go nowhere, but I'd rather see a two yard gain than a two yard loss.

His best run of the day was the touchdown run that capped the game off. Cedric took the handoff, and just kept running. He plowed straight ahead into the line and burst through into the endzone. No dancing. No indecision. Just plowing ahead. It's what he needs to do every time.

So, yes, the Bears got a win yesterday, but it was a win they were supposed to get. The Raiders are one of the few teams in this league that I can actually say I know the Bears are better than. Still, they're only 4-5, and the Packers are 8-1 after shutting out the Vikings 34-0 yesterday.

We're not going to win the division. We're not going to make the playoffs. So if those types of thoughts are creeping into your head this morning, punch yourself in the face. In order for the Bears to make the playoffs, they'd have to go 6-1 to have a realistic shot. They aren't going to do that, and you know it.

Monster of the Midway

• The Defense - What? You thought I'd give it to Rex? Yesterday's game was probably the best effort by the defense we've seen all season. They held the Raiders to 195 total yards, forced three turnovers, and they got off the field on third down. The Raiders were only able to convert on three of their 15 third downs. They also sacked Josh McCown four times, three of which were by Adewale Ogunleye. Trumaine McBride also played his best game ever since he took over for Nathan Vasher five games ago. If the defense can actually carry this performance over into Seattle next week, and keep playing like this for the rest of the season, only then will the Bears have any chance of making the playoffs.

Dumbass of the Day

• Cedric Benson - Seriously, 2.6 yards per carry!?

It's Now Or Never For Cedric Benson

Wasn't the bye week fantastic? For a whole week I didn't have to think about the Bears, and instead of being frustrated on a Sunday, I was just able to sit back and enjoy the Patriots-Colts game.

I didn't have to hear about Brian Urlacher's back, or Bernard Berrian's dropped passes, or Brian Griese's turnovers. It was great!

But now the Bears are preparing to go to Oakland and start the second half of what's looking to be a lost season. I was hoping that after the Seahawks got to the playoffs last season, it had signified an end to the curse of the Super Bowl loser. I was wrong.

But even though they're 3-5, they're not out of it! Sure, the Packers are 7-1, and the Lions are 6-2, but we can still catch em!! The Bears can still go 8-0 to finish 11-5, while the Packers stumble down the stretch with a 3-5 record, and the Bears would win the division.

Will that actually happen? Hell no it won't, but that's still what they're telling themselves at Halas Hall.

If the Bears had any chance of going undefeated in the second half, Cedric Benson would have to step up big time. How many of you honestly see that happening?

Benson has been the dreaded "B" word since being taken fourth overall in the 2005 draft: BUST. The team traded Thomas Jones this offseason for him. The two running backs weren't getting along, so the Bears sent Jones packing to give their first rounder room to breathe.

Now if only the offensive line could do the same thing.

Benson has topped the century mark only once this season, rushing for 101 yards against the Chiefs in Week 2. He still doesn't have a run over 16 yards. In eight games he's managed to rush for 466 yards rushing on 149 carries.

That averages out to a whopping 3.1 yards per carry. Keep in mind, you could just walk up to the line of scrimmage and fall flat on your face, and you'd get two yards. So that means Cedric Benson is good enough to move the ball 4 feet before getting tackled.

Now all the blame can't be placed on Benson. After all, the offensive line are the one responsible for opening the holes, and Cedric hasn't had many big holes to run through this season. Still, for someone with his size, Cedric should be able to make his own holes when he has to.

Instead he chooses to run into a pile of people and fall down. An effective tactic against fumbling the football, but not much help as far as matriculating the ball down the field is concerned.

If Cedric is ever going to have a bust out game this season, it's going to have to be this weekend. If we get another 20 carry, 60-yard performance, we'll know for sure that Benson is never going to amount to anything.

The reason for this is that the Bears are playing the Raiders this weekend. Oakland ranks 30th in the NFL in run defense, giving up 152.5 yards per game. (Roughly 49 Benson carries.) Last week the Raiders gave up 122 yards to Ron Dayne. Ron Dayne the third string running back of the Houston Texans, Ron Dayne. The big man even rumbled for a 39-yard carry against Oakland's porous run defense.

So the Bears gameplan this weekend needs to call for feeding the ball to Benson over and over again. What the gameplan shouldn't consist of are the toss and stretch plays to Benson.

What in the hell makes Ron Turner think that Cedric is ever going to beat anybody to the corner? Speed is not his best asset. All the Bears should do with Benson is let him pound it between the tackles all day.

If Cedric Benson gets the ball 25 times on Sunday, and doesn't manage to get over 100 yards, he's done. He will never be the running back the Bears hoped for, and they'll have to go into this offseason not only searching for a quarterback to lead this team in the future, but for somebody for him to hand the ball off to as well.


Foul Balls

Lane Kiffin Is Stupid - Lane Kiffin is only 32 years old, and he's the head coach of the Oakland Raiders, so it's hard to blame him for having confidence. It's just sometimes having too much confidence in yourself ends up hurting you in the end.

Take this quote from Kiffin in a press conference this week about Devin Hester.

"We're excited about the challenge," Kiffin said. "You know, we've started to play better on special teams the last few weeks. It's obvious [he's] probably the best returner ever to play the game."

"It's no fun to kick it out of bounds, so we're going to see how well we can cover."

So Lane Kiffin and the Raiders plan on kicking to Devin Hester all day on Sunday. Punts, and kicks. None of that out of bounds sissy bullshit other teams have been doing.

So thank you, Lane Kiffin. Thank you for having the balls to test the one known as Hester. Unfortunately, those balls of yours will be your downfall, because kicking to Hester is the dumbest idea you've ever had.

He's the only member of the Bears capable of scoring on a regular basis! Why the hell would you put the ball in his hands!?

Welcome To The Doghouse, Joakim - It didn't take Joakim Noah long to find himself in Scott Skiles' doghouse, did it? After playing in his first game as a Bull on Tuesday night, Noah got himself in trouble with things he said about the team after the game.

In case you're wondering, here's what Joakim had to say.

"Every game we play is like, 'Oh, wait till we play the next one. We'll be all good. We're going to kill them the next game.' That's not how it works," he said. "You just have to play possession by possession like it's your last. I don't think we're doing that now."

"At Florida, we played together so much, like every day, and we knew what it took to win ballgames," he said as he leafed through a French magazine that included a feature story about him. "Losing was unacceptable. Even if we didn't play well, we found ways to win basketball games. "… It's tough right now. We have 78 more games to go. Our attitude has to be to see the big picture and learn from this.

"I think we're playing hard, but I feel like we're just not together. Everybody's trying to do it by themselves, instead of playing as a team. I think that's the problem."

Once Skiles heard what his rookie had said, he responded with this.

"If I had just played my first pro game, I'd probably keep my mouth shut, to be honest with you," Skiles told reporters at the Berto Center. "It's obvious we're not playing to our ability. There's no doubt about that. I may have a little problem with the phrasing of that, but the point is probably spot-on. But it probably should be somebody else speaking for the group."

Joakim then quickly wet himself.

"I don't want to say anything. There's no … um, there's not … I don't have a problem with coach Skiles, OK? If he feels that way, I'll shut up," Noah said.

I don't think Joakim really needs to worry too much about coach Skiles. Sure, Skiles is probably a bit angry at him for speaking out like that without putting in the time, but even Skiles admitted Joakim's take on the situation is spot on.

Personally, I think Skiles is probably more pissed off it's not somebody else on the team saying it. Isn't that what Ben Wallace is supposed to do? Luol Deng? Kirk Hinrich? Why isn't one of the veterans coming out and saying this? Do they just not care?

Say Goodbye To The Playoffs

Well the Bears can say goodbye to the playoffs after losing to the Lions 16-7 on Sunday at Soldier Field. There will be no defense of their NFC championship. There will be no division championship.

There won't be anything but eight more games of frustration having to watch this team. The only thing the Bears do consistently is play inconsistently. One week the offense and defense look like they're finally coming around, and then the next week they look like they did yesterday.

Missed tackles, dropped passes, turnovers, anything that can hurt the team, the Bears find a way to do it.

The Lions managed 365 yards of offense against the Bears yesterday, and did a great job of keeping the ball away from Devin Hester. Kevin Jones, in only his second game of the season, rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.

Cedric Benson meanwhile could only manage 50 yards on 13 carries. That's a whopping 3.8 yards per carry, which isn't exactly good, but I'm guessing it's probably one of Benson's better averages this season.

Brian Griese threw for 208 yards and a touchdown, but the four interceptions he threw didn't help much. What made it worse was that three of the four interceptions came in the end zone.

That's three touchdowns the Lions took away. Those touchdowns probably would have made a difference, but at the same time, who's to say the Lions wouldn't have answered each of those touchdowns with ones of their own?

To make things worse, it appears that Brian Urlacher has a serious problem with his back right now.

In an exclusive interview with FOX Sports, Urlacher finally revealed he's been fighting through a back injury that's caused pain and problems.

"It's a problem that started all the way back in camp," Urlacher said. "We've done x-rays, bone scans, MRI's, cat scans and this week I flew to Pittsburgh and met with a specialist. He confirmed what the team told me, that they think it's an arthritis type of thing. The thing that's so frustrating is there is no clear-cut solution to give me relief. I just have to deal with the pain."

So now Urlacher has an arthritic back. Fantastic. I'm no doctor, but the last time I checked, I'm pretty sure arthritis isn't one of those injuries that goes away after a few weeks. This is going to effect Urlacher for the rest of his career.

We may start to see a serious decline in his play over the rest of this season, and into next as well. All of which means I hope the Bears are seriously reconsidering their stance on what they want to do with Lance Briggs. It's already become pretty obvious this season that he is the best player on the defense right now, so losing him is already a scary possibility. Now that we know of Urlacher's back, it's terrifying.

If there's any good news to report today, it's that the Bears don't have to play next Sunday. So that means we won't have to watch them.

Monster of the Midway

• Lance Briggs - I wanted to give this to Hester again. After all, the one time he was able to return a punt, he returned it 39 yards and set the Bears up for the only touchdown they scored yesterday. But I'm going to give it to Briggs, because he was the only person on defense yesterday who didn't do something to piss me off. He didn't over pursue on any plays. He didn't miss any tackles that I noticed. He just made plays, which is what he always does, so he gets the award today.

Dumbass of the Day

• Brian Griese - It's only fair that Griese be here even though yesterday's game wasn't completely his fault. But if you took Griese's stats and credited them to Rex Grossman, we'd be all over him. You can't throw four interceptions and expect to win a game, especially when three of them come in the end zone.
  

The Bears Aren't Dead Yet

I have to admit, I thought I was going to be writing the Bears' eulogy this morning. But apparently, they just don't want to die yet, and I'm fine with it. If they want to go out and win again next week, I won't mind that either.

Last night in Green Bay the Bears didn't play great football but they came out on top in the end, and that's all that matters. Brian Griese looked a lot more comfortable in his second game under center and, aside from the one interception he threw, he did the job the Bears need him to do.

He managed the game, and when it mattered, he made a couple of great throws to Greg Olson and Desmond Clark for touchdowns.

The one to Clark proved to be the game winner, and probably the best play call Ron Turner has made all season. I fully expected Cedric Benson to get the ball on that third and two, plow into the line for four feet, then fall down and hope Robbie Gould could make the field goal.

The Packers expected the same thing as they bit on the play action and allowed Clark to get free behind the defense where Griese found him for the game-winning score.

Of course, what helped the Bears more than anything last night was the Packers. They committed five turnovers, and 12 penalties, many coming at horrible times. Everytime the Packers stopped the Bears on a third down, it seemed they were flagged and gave the Bears a first down.

I'll take a win any way we can get it, but I wasn't very pleased with the run defense in the first half. The Packers came into the game as the worst running team in the NFL, but that didn't stop Deshawn Wynn from gashing the Bears for 8 yards a clip to start the game. I'm not sure what Lovie Smith said to the team at halftime, but from all accounts it was by far the most emotional and loud he'd ever been at the half, and it worked.

The defense came out in the second half and did a good job of limiting the Packers to only three second half points.

As for what this win means for the rest of the Bears season, I don't know. Yes, it saved the season for now, but it isn't like we're Super Bowl-bound all of a sudden. After the game ended last night, Silvio texted me with a simple question I'm asking myself this morning.

"So now what? Do we get excited about the Bears?"

Well, the Sox and Cubs are done and the Bulls don't start for another month. So at this point, yeah, what the hell else do we have to get excited about?

Looking at the Bears schedule, there isn't a team on there we can't beat. But at the same time each of those teams are just as capable of beating the Bears. So at this point I think we can be excited about yesterday's win, but if the Bears come out and lose next week against Minnesota, it's all for naught.

Monster of the Midway

• Charles Tillman - I was thinking of giving this to Cedric Benson and his amazing 2.4 yards per carry, but I'm going to have to go with Peanut on this one. I didn't even know that Tillman was going to play last night, but thank God he did. His two strips of James Jones on consecutive Packer possessions are what won this game for the Bears. Or at least, allowed the Bears to win. Without those two plays the Bears probably would have been down 21-0 in the second quarter, and they wouldn't have come back from that.

Dumbass of the Day

• Cedric Benson - Seriously, 2.4 yards per carry? I know not all of the blame can go to Cedric here, as the offensive line wasn't giving him much room to work with, but the Bears aren't going to win many more games with that kind of performance on the ground. Brian Griese isn't going to win games through the air, so Cedric needs to step up. I can't say for sure that Thomas Jones would be performing that much better than Benson right now, but at the moment, that trade looks like a mistake.
  

Devin Hester Is Still Kinda Good

Did the Chiefs not see Devin Hester last season? I don't understand why any team would kick a ball anywhere near him, but hey, I don't mind. Keep doing it.

When the Chiefs kicked to Devin the first time yesterday, they stopped him after a minimal gain.

It made them cocky.

So they kicked to him again later, and got to share the joy of watching him streak down the sideline for a 73-yard touchdown.

Before it was all said and done, the Chiefs had kicked to Hester seven times yesterday, and he totaled 172 return yards. And that doesn't even include the 95-yard kick return he had for a touchdown, on which he was never even touched, that got called back on a holding penalty.

"If there's not one returner who every time he touches the ball feels he can take it the distance, he doesn't need to be out there," Hester said. "I feel every time I get my hands on the ball it's a touchdown."

As far as the rest of the game goes, it was a typical Bears performance. The defense didn't let Kansas City breathe, and the offense did just enough to win. The biggest concern about this team, even after the win yesterday, is still the offense. Or lack of offense.

In two games, the Bears have only managed one offensive touchdown, and it was scored by a reserve offensive lineman. So now John St. Clair is our most dangerous threat.

Monster of the Midway

• Cedric Benson - Really this should go to Hester, but since I already have written about everything he did, we'll go elsewhere. I could give it to the entire defense for shutting down Larry Johnson yesterday, just one week after shutting down LaDainian Tomlinson. In two weeks the Bears have faced the top 2 running backs in the game the last few years, and they've allowed only 80 yards on 33 carries for an average of 2.4 yards per carry. I'm going to give it to Cedric Benson, though. After hearing all the talk from San Diego during the week about how he was soft and couldn't carry the load by himself, Cedric went over the 100 yard mark on Sunday afternoon. He just looked different yesterday than he did in San Diego. Whether it means San Diego's defense is just that good, or Kansas City's is just that bad, we can't be sure.

Dumbass of the Day

• Rex Grossman - Who else can I give this to but Rex? The Bears should have won this game by a lot more than 10 points, and Rex is the reason they didn't. I mean, he's had a lot worse performances than the one he had yesterday afternoon, but his two second half interceptions kept this game a lot closer than it needed to be. If there's anything positive to take from his game yesterday though, he did a lot better job of avoiding the pass rush this week than he did against San Diego.

Other Thoughts

• Chiefs linebacker Donnie Edwards is allergic to grass. That's why he's always wearing the long sleeves under his jersey regardless of the weather. But he can't cover his face, so what happens when he gets grass on his face? Does it swell up or something? How does it not happen every game?
• When his parents named him, I think he was destined to become a porn star, but somewhere along the line Dirk Johnson rebelled and said "I'm going to be a punter, not a catcher."
• How much better would the Bears offense be if they just lined Hester up at quarterback and ran a spread option?
• Muhsin Muhammed has 2 receptions for 15 yards this season. Money well spent! To be fair, he only had one ball thrown to him yesterday that I can remember. Of course, Moose dropped it.
  

Nobody Likes Cedric Benson

Obviously, when the Bears traded Thomas Jones to the Jets in the offseason, it was a risky move. They were saying goodbye to their most consistent offensive weapon and giving the ball to the unproven Cedric Benson full-time.

I wasn't a big fan of the trade, and after watching Benson go nowhere on Sunday, I haven't changed my mind.

Apparently it's not only Bears fans who aren't convinced Benson can do the job, it's everyone around the league. Take this quote from an anonymous coach within the NFC North for instance.

"That was one of our best days of the offseason[the day the Bears traded Jones]," the coach recalled of the Jones trade. "He was a tough S.O.B. Losing him will really hurt them, because Cedric Benson is soft. He's just another one of those (University of) Texas guys, which is strange, because I saw him in college a lot and I loved him. He was a beast. I thought he was going to be a great NFL player."

Well, that's just a coach. What the hell do they know? What do opponents think of Benson? Let's ask an anonymous Charger!

"We felt we could get in his head," one San Diego defender said of Benson. "It's not like we were looking at Larry Johnson or anyone back there saying 'let's go.' I talk to guys around the league. (Benson) took himself out of the Super Bowl. That's letting down your team. I guess that's what kind of guy he is. We knew that, and we played accordingly."

That's not exactly comforting, is it?

I know it's only one game, and it was against one of the NFL's best run defenses, but if Benson doesn't start to produce the Bears won't go anywhere. Can they win the NFC North without a ground game? Yeah, probably, but they won't get anywhere near the Super Bowl without one.

Luckily, the Chiefs are in town next weekend. Hopefully, a game against what could be the worst team in the NFL will help get this taste out of my mouth.

Thomas Jones Injures Leg

When the Bears traded Thomas Jones to the Jets, I was not happy.

Hell, I'm still not happy. With the direction the NFL is heading, there are very few running backs who can carry the load on their own, and running back tandems are becoming the norm.

With Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson, the Bears had a very solid duo. Jones would start the game and help tire the defense, and then Cedric Benson would come in and abuse them some more until they were worn down. Then both Benson and Jones would finish them off.

Well, Cedric Benson played well on Saturday in the Bears first preseason game, but it's a preseason game. It doesn't really mean anything. If it did, Kyle Orton would be a Hall of Famer.

The one thing that people have been saying about Benson though, now that Jones is gone, is that they're worried about his durability. That's fine, because Cedric has had some injuries, but it seems everybody forgets Thomas Jones suffers his fair share himself.

New York Jets running back Thomas Jones limped off the practice field after injuring his lower right leg Sunday.

There was no immediate word on the nature or severity of the injury, but it appeared to be either to his ankle or calf. Jones wasn't made available to the media, and coach Eric Mangini had already addressed the media before practice.

Jones injured himself in a non-contact drill, and he went down after planting his right foot to make a cut. Based on the fact Jones was able to put weight on the leg, and he could move his ankle, it doesn't appear to be anything serious, but it's a reminder that he's not the most durable guy in the world.

Either way, I still wish it was a Bears practice he hurt himself in.

Firesale At Halas Hall - Everything Must Go!

Now that it's been a few hours since I heard the news of the Thomas Jones trade, I've recovered from the shock.

Still, I'm more than a bit peeved.

There's no pretty way to say it, it's a horrible trade for the Chicago Bears.

In the last two seasons, Jones has rushed for over 2,500 yards. He gained 1,210 yards this season, adding 301 yards and four touchdowns in the playoffs. In 2005, Jones rushed for 1,335 yards.

Do you know how many running backs in the storied history of the Bears franchise have rushed for over 1,300 yards in one season?

Two.

Thomas Jones and Walter Payton.

Now I'm in no way comparing Jones to Payton, but that's a pretty impressive statistic. I know Jones has his faults. He lacks breakaway speed, and doesn't break a lot of tackles, yet he still somehow managed to get the job done.

And all we could get for him was the chance to move up 26 spots in the second round of the draft?

It's ridiculous.

I know Jones had let it be known that he didn't like splitting carries, and that he wanted out of Chicago. I get that. So the trade of Jones in and of itself doesn't surprise me that much.

But the deal the Bears made for him is stupefying. Why in the hell did we have to include our second round pick in the deal? It makes absolutely no sense to me.

Still, dwelling on this trade won't really do anything. It's done. The question is, how will it affect the Bears next season?

Pretty drastically, I fear. I've no idea what the Bears plans are in the draft, but it looks like they're going to have to draft a new running back. With Rex Grossman as your quarterback, you need a running game. We've all seen what happens when you put the onus of the offense on Rex's shoulders, and it's not pretty.

So now we're going to have to see what the Bears really have in Cedric Benson. Benson showed a lot of signs this season that he may in fact have been the best running back on the Bears roster, but whether or not he can shoulder the load on his own remains to be seen.

When you add this trade to Lance Briggs' newest demands, things aren't looking too bright for the Bears next season. Sure, we lost the Super Bowl, but I still held a strong belief that the Bears would be able to get back to the game next season.

Now, that hope is gone, and I'm going to have to sit around and wait six more months with this incredibly bitter taste in my mouth.

Just what the hell is going on at Halas Hall?