T. Jones Reporting

[eefflrat 0]

Well, Benson owners had a small glimmer of hope that Jones would be foolish enough to hold out and hand the job to Benson.

So what's next, is it a RBBC, or is T Jones the undisputed guy.

[famousb 11]

IMO, Rick Flair said it best:

"To be the man, you've got to beat the man"

 

that said, it's hard to see CHI letting Benson sit for another year...

[Slusy 0]

I don't see how it could end up as anything other than RBBC, honestly, unless one of them gets hurt. I mean, Jones is only 27 and he clearly performed to expectations last season; Benson hasn't proven anything yet, because he got himself injured in the one game where he legitimately had a chance to take the job away from Jones. But, on the other hand, they didn't spend a 1st round pick on Benson to let him rot on the bench for another year.

 

If Benson behaves himself in training camp this year (which is to say that he shows up) and they're both healthy, why wouldn't Lovie Smith use both of them?

[football_scooter 0]

I don't see how it could end up as anything other than RBBC, honestly, unless one of them gets hurt. I mean, Jones is only 27 and he clearly performed to expectations last season; Benson hasn't proven anything yet, because he got himself injured in the one game where he legitimately had a chance to take the job away from Jones. But, on the other hand, they didn't spend a 1st round pick on Benson to let him rot on the bench for another year.

 

If Benson behaves himself in training camp this year (which is to say that he shows up) and they're both healthy, why wouldn't Lovie Smith use both of them?

 

The reason they drafted Benson in the first place was because Lovie Smith thought he was the best back for his system.

 

Which conversely means that Thomas Jones was NOT the best back for his system.

 

So I could absolutely see Benson taking over as the feature back and TJones getting traded since he'll be a cancer whining about making less than Benson, as he's now doing.

 

Personally I'd use them both if I were coaching a team....but Smith belives Benson is the man, and the coach usually gets what the coach wants.

[Slusy 0]

The reason they drafted Benson in the first place was because Lovie Smith thought he was the best back for his system.

 

Which conversely means that Thomas Jones was NOT the best back for his system.

 

So I could absolutely see Benson taking over as the feature back and TJones getting traded since he'll be a cancer whining about making less than Benson, as he's now doing.

 

Personally I'd use them both if I were coaching a team....but Smith belives Benson is the man, and the coach usually gets what the coach wants.

 

At the time, sure, that was what Smith though, but then why not start easing Benson in last season, even despite the holdout? I mean, they beat Minnesota 28-3 in Week 6; why not start giving the kid the ball then? He only got 3 carries in that game. I think that Benson may have been on the fast track to start last season before he held out and when Jones wasn't living up to his potential, but I don't see how you could take a guy who performed as well as Jones did last season and leave him on the bench without a significant drop in performance...

[NewbieJr 541]

For a long stretch last year, Jones was one of the top 5-7 backs in the NFL.

I know it's unusual for teams to leave their first round picks on the bench, but the Chargers did it for a few years with Philip Rivers.

If the guy you originally planned to replace ends up being a stud, you stay with your hot hand.

[Sweetness_34 0]

The reason they drafted Benson in the first place was because Lovie Smith thought he was the best back for his system.

 

Which conversely means that Thomas Jones was NOT the best back for his system.

 

So I could absolutely see Benson taking over as the feature back and TJones getting traded since he'll be a cancer whining about making less than Benson, as he's now doing.

 

Personally I'd use them both if I were coaching a team....but Smith belives Benson is the man, and the coach usually gets what the coach wants.

 

Typical ignorance from ya, scooter.....Lovie loves Thomas Jones, but he also wants to be able to run the ball 400 times a year (like Carolina or Pittsburgh). Hence, he wants 2 backs because if you look at the successful rushing teams in the league, they all have 2 backs (Carolina, Pitt, Denver, Atlanta etc)

 

In today's NFL, you cannot win with one back since the defenses are so much faster and stronger that RBsdo get nicked up a lot. This will be a RBBC unless one gets injured, but Thomas J wil start unless he sucks.

[bgard72 10]

Timely write-up on the Jones/Benson situation...

 

Updated: June 2, 2006, 8:34 AM ET

Benson expects bigger things in second season

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor..._len&id=2466154

 

By Len Pasquarelli

ESPN.com

 

On Nov. 28, 2003, in a victory over archrival Texas A&M, Texas tailback Cedric Benson rushed for 283 yards. Nearly two full years later, as the first-round selection of the Chicago Bears in the 2005 draft, Benson rang up 79 yards against the New Orleans Saints, a relatively modest outing but still the best performance of his rookie NFL season.

 

There's a lot of wiggle room between 79 yards and 283 yards and, as Benson prepares for his second NFL campaign, Bears officials hope he finds some of it.

 

Chicago coaches don't expect Benson, the fourth overall choice in the '05 lottery, to run for 283 yards in a game. Maybe ever. Heck, the franchise record, held by late Hall of Fame tailback Walter Payton, is 275 yards. At the same time, the Bears expect more than the 272 yards on 67 carries Benson registered as a rookie last season. A lot more.

 

Not surprisingly, so does Benson, who finished his career at Texas having rushed for more than 1,000 yards in all four seasons and as the sixth-leading runner in Division I history.

 

"No more excuses," Benson said last week. "Time to produce. Time to be the player that I know I can be this time around. I know I can play in this league, so now I have to go out and show people."

 

In that regard, Benson, the second of the three celebrated tailbacks chosen in the top five picks in the 2005 draft, but by far the least productive in his debut season, has plenty of company among his fellow first-round selections. The collectively good news for the first-rounders from the Class of 2005 is that not many of them need to fret very much about the dread "sophomore jinx." The bad news is that so many of them were freshman flops and contributed little to their respective teams' fortunes.

 

The guess is that many of the second-year first-rounders, with Benson perhaps foremost among them, will get plenty of opportunities this season to make amends.

 

With Benson having missed all of training camp because of a contract impasse, his rookie season got off to a rocky start and he never really recovered. Mired behind starter Thomas Jones and backup Adrian Peterson on the Bears' depth chart, he played in only nine games, started just one and logged fewer than 70 rushes. Just when it appeared Benson was gaining some momentum, with the performance against New Orleans followed by a 50-yard outing against San Francisco, he suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee and was sidelined for the final six games of the year.

 

"It wasn't a wasted season," Benson said, "but I've got to build on the little bit of success I had last year."

 

The construction job has moved forward nicely this spring, with Benson diligent in his workouts and in his conditioning, and there is considerable reason to expect he will justify his lofty draft status. Jones has been absent from many of the Bears' recent workouts, including their organized team activities sessions, was the subject of offseason trade rumors and is said to want his contract enhanced. So some uncertainty surrounds the Chicago starter, a work horse who rushed for a career-best 1,335 yards in 2005.

 

But even if Jones reports to camp on time, Benson is going to have his playing time increased in 2006 and is going to get carries. Not even the return to health of quarterback Rex Grossman, who missed all but two regular-season games in 2005 with a broken ankle, an injury that forced rookie Kyle Orton into the lineup, will keep the Bears from running the ball.

 

Chicago ran on 52.1 percent of its 937 offensive snaps in 2005, the highest quota in the NFC and the third highest in the league. The Bears might not reach that same level with Grossman back in the lineup but still will be a run-first offense. And, barring some unforeseen circumstance, Benson will play an expanded role in the Chicago attack.

 

He won't be the only first-round choice from 2005 who suffered a disappointing first season but will be relied on to make a quantum leap in '06. There's an old adage that every player, no matter his status, makes his biggest advance from a learning standpoint between his first and second seasons.

[Peens 0]

I don't see how it could end up as anything other than RBBC, honestly, unless one of them gets hurt. I mean, Jones is only 27 and he clearly performed to expectations last season; Benson hasn't proven anything yet, because he got himself injured in the one game where he legitimately had a chance to take the job away from Jones. But, on the other hand, they didn't spend a 1st round pick on Benson to let him rot on the bench for another year.

 

You mean like the Bengals with Chris Perry?? The better guy will win the job and if TJones performs like he has it will be a RBBC at best for Benson.

[football_scooter 0]

Typical ignorance from ya, scooter.....Lovie loves Thomas Jones, but he also wants to be able to run the ball 400 times a year (like Carolina or Pittsburgh). Hence, he wants 2 backs because if you look at the successful rushing teams in the league, they all have 2 backs (Carolina, Pitt, Denver, Atlanta etc)

 

In today's NFL, you cannot win with one back since the defenses are so much faster and stronger that RBsdo get nicked up a lot. This will be a RBBC unless one gets injured, but Thomas J wil start unless he sucks.

 

Actually, Benson missed most of camp due to his holdout and because of that he didn't learn the playbook - and more importantly, the blocking assignments.

 

Lovie commented many times that Benson was the better fit in his offense, even when TJones was a top 5 back. None of it made TJ happy, and I don't blame him.

 

But Benson has now had a year to learn, and I still think Lovie wants to feature him - however I would not be surprised to see RBBC either.

 

My response was hardly ignorant - I never said Benson WOULD be the featured back in the CHI offense, I simply said what Lovie Smith has stated several times: That Benson is the better fit, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him win the gig. The fact is that with Benson in there, the playbook gets opened up a little bit more.

 

In short, you can kiss my ignorant arse. Your team still sucks, btw - now go find a new hobby.

[MudDawgs4Life 6]

So basically, nobody knows sh%t.

 

will the season just start already so we can stop speculating? this is going to be a very. long. summer.

[football_scooter 0]

So basically, nobody knows sh%t.

 

will the season just start already so we can stop speculating? this is going to be a very. long. summer.

 

pretty much, no.

 

lol

[Slusy 0]

You mean like the Bengals with Chris Perry?? The better guy will win the job and if TJones performs like he has it will be a RBBC at best for Benson.

 

They used Perry primarily on passing downs until he got hurt. And he got around 10 touches/game until he got hurt; that's not exactly rotting on the bench. But yeah, I see your point.

[devildog 0]

Larry Johnson rotted on the bench for a number of years.

[Wildman 0]

IMO, Rick Flair said it best:

"To be the man, you've got to beat the man"

 

 

Just glad you didn't use his Space Mountain quotes...

[SoloMatisse 0]

Larry Johnson rotted on the bench for a number of years.

 

 

Larry Johnson blew up down the stretch of his 2nd year for bigtime #s....what year is Benson in again?? Oh, that bloody 2nd year. QBs can sit for a couple of years behind All Pro QBs. RBs dont do it.....especially when the guy in front of them is NOT an All Pro. I like Travis Henry too, and one year he had 1400 yds and 14 TDs, and what happened to HIM in Buffalo??? Yeah, you know what happened. He got himself replaced by a better back.

[adam smitty 0]

Jones will probably start, but Benson will get a lot of carries down the stretch because he will wear D's down. I think Benson could end up being the main ball carrier by the end of the season, but thats just a guess at this point.

[eefflrat 0]

Well is Lovie sending a new message now- Benson worked exclusively with the first string:

"Jones worked with the second team Friday behind 2005 first-round draft pick RB Cedric Benson. "We have a starting rotation," (Lovie) Smith said. "In order to be at the top of the starting rotation, you have to be here. So that's how it is. Cedric's at the top of the starting rotation at running back."

---------------

Interesting

[bgard72 10]

I heard on the Score radio today from reporter Jeff Dickerson that he saw Jones and thought he looked 10 lbs heavier...all upper body muscle. Like he worked out extremely hard this offseason. Jones just said "no comment" when asked questions today.

 

I tell you this...there will be some INTENSE battles for the starting RB position if Jones decides to show up to training camp and not hold out. Jones has 2 more years left on his contract. He better get into camp and shut up and play...he has only 1 good year under his belt and the Bears were the team to give him a shot after many teams thought he was nothing special.

 

It's really tough to tell what is going to happen here. We need to see these guys in training camp. You know that Angelo wants Benson to shine and take the starting job. I just hope Jones can accept this and make our team better by being a team player and helping on 3rd downs or maybe just getting in on a series or 2. If Benson looks bad during camp...then it's all T Jones.

[football_scooter 0]

It's really tough to tell what is going to happen here. We need to see these guys in training camp. You know that Angelo wants Benson to shine and take the starting job. I just hope Jones can accept this and make our team better by being a team player and helping on 3rd downs or maybe just getting in on a series or 2.

 

Well that never worked out for TJones in TB, so why would he be happy about it in CHI?

[Super Cubs 132]

I think it starts as rbbc with Benson getting more of the load as the season ends. Plus there is no way they trade TJ for what he's being payed.