I don't like what I saw from Cedric Benson

[nobody 2,050]

90% of the time, as soon as he got hit he was stopped. I mean stopped. He didn't fall forward at all or get any extra yards or look to put up much of a fight. Except at the goalline that is. He seemed to actually fight for yardage inside the 10. Do you guys think he is just saving himself for the season or is he just soft?

[MTSkiBum 1,595]

I saw what you saw too.

 

Its preaseason............. But Bob sanders wasnt playing, and the Colts lost their starting DT, i am not drafting benson this year.

[rallo 132]

benson runs very upright... i mean he's strong... but he runs so upright it is like he has no leverage... i think the bears might regret getting rid of TJ

[JT 137]

Despite his build, I never thought Benson was an exceptionally strong runner during his years at Texas. Seemed to me to be the beneficiary of great talent around him. Never been a fan.

[Zackattack 0]

I was seriously considering taking him this week at my draft with pick 2.11. I may have changed my mind now. The problem is I am not sold on any of the other backs I have to choose between.

 

 

Benson will have a great D to get the ball in his hands (if Grossman doesn't fumble it away). He should get plenty of carries so you never know. I don't think I want to be that guy stuck with him.

[KSB2424 3,085]

You guys do understand it is pre-season right? While I might take it into consideration, I will not "drop" him in any cheatsheet/rankings of mine based on a half of a pre-season game. The guy ran for like 10 billion yards at Texas and has produced when given the chance to play in Chi-Town. I look at those things a little more than 10 carries in a meaningless pre-season game.

[Youngblood 0]

I agree with all of these observations. He's got the size and speed but ever since he's been drafted, his heart has been questioned. He doesn't run like Thomas Jones, who tries to squeeze out every yard he can. Benson seems like he lets the first contact bring him down.

 

Definitely influences my second round draft options.

[swamp dog 0]

i've always been skeptical of him...on the other hand, unless a player injures himself in preseason i don't put a lot of stock in how he looks (or his stats--good or bad) in preseason.

 

you just can't get a handle on that stuff in preseason. vets are playing half-assed; coordinators are doing everything vanilla...it's dangerous to adjust your draft boards based on preseason performances.

[gobuckeyes 0]

Wasn't everyone moving him up after last game? It's the preseason. Not saying the guy will be a stud, he obviously has a lot to prove, but he got decent yards in limited time last year and is in a good position to get plenty of carries in a (sometimes) decent offense. As a late 2nd round pick he is a pretty good bet to be a solid RB2. What he looks like in the preseason will have no bearing on where I draft him.

[Voice_Of_Reason 0]

i've always been skeptical of him...on the other hand, unless a player injures himself in preseason i don't put a lot of stock in how he looks (or his stats--good or bad) in preseason.

 

you just can't get a handle on that stuff in preseason. vets are playing half-assed; coordinators are doing everything vanilla...it's dangerous to adjust your draft boards based on preseason performances.

I agree with this. I have never been very high on Benson. I always thought he should have been able to take the job from Jones, but he never did. When he played, he was decent but not great. And I also put very little stock into 1 game especially if it is in the preseason.

 

He's a RB2.

[ZO'Neal 0]

None of you understand Bensons game. He is a second half runner. He takes a lot of hits early but he is wearing defenses down by doing so. The majority of his yards will always come in the second half of games. Good thing about Adrian Peterson is he also takes on hitters. So by the second half defenses will be worn down. Dont be discouraged by the first quarter of last night because I gaurentee if the starters had played longer you would have stated seeing more 7-10 yard carries.

[norseman 0]

None of you understand Bensons game. He is a second half runner. He takes a lot of hits early but he is wearing defenses down by doing so. The majority of his yards will always come in the second half of games. Good thing about Adrian Peterson is he also takes on hitters. So by the second half defenses will be worn down. Dont be discouraged by the first quarter of last night because I gaurentee if the starters had played longer you would have stated seeing more 7-10 yard carries.

A good point. The trouble is that Benson has not had the opportunity to display this tendency in the NFL yet, so there's no way to know for sure if he can come on strong in the second half after wearing down the defense in the first half. Maybe he'll get worn down, too. There have been an awful lot of first-class college RBs who haven't made it in the pros.

 

I don't care about the preseason performance per se; it's preseason. At the same time, there are still a lot of question marks about Benson and his ability to produce. I was looking for any possible signs of brilliance to erase some of those question marks. I'm not going to downgrade him because of last night's game, but I can't upgrade him now, either. He remains a risk. Probably a good risk -- a great college player in a very good situation with the Bears -- but still a risk.

[The Hood 9]

None of you understand Bensons game. He is a second half runner. He takes a lot of hits early but he is wearing defenses down by doing so. The majority of his yards will always come in the second half of games. Good thing about Adrian Peterson is he also takes on hitters. So by the second half defenses will be worn down. Dont be discouraged by the first quarter of last night because I gaurentee if the starters had played longer you would have stated seeing more 7-10 yard carries.

 

Good point. Barring injury he's going to get a 300+ carries this year and will put up very good RB #2 stats. Chester taylor, J. Lewis and even Rudi Johnson never looked like dynamic runners to me last year and all only averaged 3.6 - 4.0 yards per carry. Yet all were in the top 15 RB's last year. Opportunities often mean more than skills when it comes to fantasy.

[HenryChinaski 1]

None of you understand Bensons game. He is a second half runner. He takes a lot of hits early but he is wearing defenses down by doing so. The majority of his yards will always come in the second half of games. Good thing about Adrian Peterson is he also takes on hitters. So by the second half defenses will be worn down. Dont be discouraged by the first quarter of last night because I gaurentee if the starters had played longer you would have stated seeing more 7-10 yard carries.

 

I agree with this... Benson is supposed to get stronger as the game goes on.

 

Part of the problem, as to why he never supplanted Thomas Jones, is that he was always just a situational runner. He was never able to get the flow of the game, they always just put him in at random times.

 

At Texas, the guy got better - the more carries he received. It's just the way his game is. If you remember, that was supposed to be his selling point, as to why he was going to fit in @ Chicago. Because Chicago liked to pound the ball all game long, and that was supposed to suit Benson's game. But they never actually gave him a chance to do that.. It was always just a carry here and there.

 

So now is Benson's chance to prove it. I have to admit, I love the fantasy potential of the situation. Between him and Jones last year - they ran for 1900 yards. But at the same time, I'm not completely sold on him either. It's just something that we will have to wait and see. One thing is for certain though, their GM has made alot of good decisions, and I think he has earned the benefit of the doubt as to why he let go Thomas Jones.

[Mad Brad 0]

I would just take him off your board entirely after that performance last night... MB

 

 

ps. And all this coming from the boards biggest Mike Vick apologist

[hotgumbo1 12]

Is it me or the dude never ever looks happy.

Just for that I'm dropping him off my sheets.

[ZO'Neal 0]

I agree with this... Benson is supposed to get stronger as the game goes on.

 

Part of the problem, as to why he never supplanted Thomas Jones, is that he was always just a situational runner. He was never able to get the flow of the game, they always just put him in at random times.

 

At Texas, the guy got better - the more carries he received. It's just the way his game is. If you remember, that was supposed to be his selling point, as to why he was going to fit in @ Chicago. Because Chicago liked to pound the ball all game long, and that was supposed to suit Benson's game. But they never actually gave him a chance to do that.. It was always just a carry here and there.

 

So now is Benson's chance to prove it. I have to admit, I love the fantasy potential of the situation. Between him and Jones last year - they ran for 1900 yards. But at the same time, I'm not completely sold on him either. It's just something that we will have to wait and see. One thing is for certain though, their GM has made alot of good decisions, and I think he has earned the benefit of the doubt as to why he let go Thomas Jones.

 

 

He didnt take over for thomas in his first season due to attitude and injury, If you can remember last year he was the #1 RB in camp until another injury sidelined him again, and quite frankly TJones just played to god to sit. But as the season wore on Benson was the better back. Peterson will play a significant role in helping benson wear defenses down which is why i think he will not get worn down himself. You also have to remember that Safeties on other teams cant sit in the box due to our offense being able to stretch the field with Hester, Berrian, Olsen, and Bradley. But I guess Rex has to take the snap first.

[hotgumbo1 12]

He didnt take over for thomas in his first season due to attitude and injury, If you can remember last year he was the #1 RB in camp until another injury sidelined him again, and quite frankly TJones just played to god to sit. But as the season wore on Benson was the better back. Peterson will play a significant role in helping benson wear defenses down which is why i think he will not get worn down himself. You also have to remember that Safeties on other teams cant sit in the box due to our offense being able to stretch the field with Hester, Berrian, Olsen, and Bradley. But I guess Rex has to take the snap first.

He still doesn't look happy.

Why?

[AlamoReg 1]

I too was disappointed and underwhelmed with his performance last night, especially on that screen pass in the flat where he basically ran around his blockers rather than using them to gain additional yardage.

 

But what I saw as a positive was that while he was in there, I don't believe he was subbed out for one snap - he was on the field for every passing down. He did miss a key block on the play where Rex got stripped the first time (should've gotten a shoulder on the guy), but it was encouraging that none of the other backs came in on passing downs.

 

Still a medium-to-high-risk, medium-to-high-reward RB2 at this point.

[big easy 0]

I'm a Saints homer living in Chicago and am forced to watch every Bears game with the wife and in-laws. We watch both of our games at the same time. What I have seen from Benson so far in his short career is a lack of heart. He has all of the tools to be a dominant back, but has a bad attitude that starts with the idea that he thinks that he has been treated unfairly by the vets on the team. It started with his holdout and continued because TJ was running hard all of the time even when he was knicked up. He should just step up, be a man, and carry the rock like everyone knows he can. If not, if he thinks he got it bad from his teammates, wait until he feels the wrath of these fans.

[ZO'Neal 0]

I too was disappointed and underwhelmed with his performance last night, especially on that screen pass in the flat where he basically ran around his blockers rather than using them to gain additional yardage.

 

But what I saw as a positive was that while he was in there, I don't believe he was subbed out for one snap - he was on the field for every passing down. He did miss a key block on the play where Rex got stripped the first time (should've gotten a shoulder on the guy), but it was encouraging that none of the other backs came in on passing downs.

 

Still a medium-to-high-risk, medium-to-high-reward RB2 at this point.

 

 

That is honestly my only knock on him is he will lose time to AP on passing downs. That being said, If the Bears are passing then who cares if Benson is in the game?!?!

[GobbleDog 821]

Still a medium-to-high-risk, medium-to-high-reward RB2 at this point.

 

I don't really think of Benson as "high risk". He's the starting RB for a team with a good track record running the ball. I think he has similar or less risk than some other RBs around his ADP...

 

2.10 T Jones

2.11 E James

3.01 C Benson

3.03 C Portis

3.06 B Jacobs

[gobuckeyes 0]

I don't really think of Benson as "high risk". He's the starting RB for a team with a good track record running the ball. I think he has similar or less risk than some other RBs around his ADP...

 

2.10 T Jones

2.11 E James

3.01 C Benson

3.03 C Portis

3.06 B Jacobs

 

I agree with this entirely. Benson is an unquestioned starter. For a late 2nd pick, that is hardly any risk at all.

[JediMaster 20]

Benson sucks. Very overrated

 

That is why I picked up A. Peterson

[ZO'Neal 0]

Benson sucks. Very overrated

 

That is why I picked up A. Peterson

 

 

How is someone overrated if no one has him rated very high and everyone has durability and attitude questions about him?

[RLLD 3,455]

I would not invest too much in what ones observes in the pre-season. In fact, I would further advise all of you to not panic after the first week or two as well.

 

You spent time preparing for the draft and executing your selections. Trust yourself and let things unfold. Give your team a few weeks to get into the season before dropping and trading your investment of time and effort. Passion is the enemy of reason, control your emotions and enjoy this time, its just fun and show right now anyways.

 

That being said....I drafted Peterson where I could in my drafts as i do not believe in Cedric Benson. I do believe that Peterson will be the starter for the Bears by week 4. This is just my humble opinion based on my own subjectivity. Whether Benson does well in the preseason, week1, or week2 will not change this perception.

 

I might be back in here come week 6 or 7 admitting I was wrong, or I might be in here showing how right I was. Only time will tell.

 

Just be patient is all....

[CookieG 4]

My league has TD heavy scoring.. Benson will be the goal line finisher for da Bears and he should be a very solid #2 (although if i wind up taking him, it'll be for a nice value only and i may handcuff AP for insurance, maybe not).

 

Point i'd like to make is that while i would agree he has been more disappointing than not and does lack some heart, he's a BIG BACK, he will get the gol line carries and it often takes some time into the seaon for big RBs to play themselves into really good game shape.. esp. somone like him who was gift wrapped the starting job. He needs to work off a little weight and add some quickness. He may not be all world.. but Cedric should score plenty unless he gets hurt or completely craps the bed. Just my $0.02. YMMV.

[UncleHulka 0]

He was the same way at Texas. The first tackler gets him the majority of the time.

[seantbro 0]

I had to choose between C. Ben and Edge. I accidentally picked C. Ben for a sec but immediately changed once I saw Edge was still available. Although, Edge could be a bust too, I really don't like what I see coming from Benson and at least Edge has been proven in the past...

 

Thank god E. James fell to me at the end of the 3rd. I went WR-WR on a new theory, which force my PPR league to get nervous and go on a WR run (as planned).

[Mark_it_8_Dude 0]

From what little I have seen Garrett Wolfe looked pretty good. Could be a good late round option.

[ddies23 0]

Well I dont really like what I have seen from LT2, LJ or SJax this preseason either. C'mon...you cant base your opinions on what is shown in preseason games. These guys are working on technique, timing, etc...they arent worrying about stats unless they are a backup trying to make the team.

 

Bottom line is, Benson is a risky pick. But his upside is huge. If you dont like taking chances, then pass on him. If you think late second, early third round is too early for a risk, then let him go by you. But to me, the potential is to big to ignore. I dont think anyone will disagree that Lovie will give this guy every opportunity to show what he can do. The Bears will run the sh*t out of the ball this season to keep Rex out of trouble. He is a virtual lock for 300-350 carries. He is much better near the goal-line than T Jones was and if you are putting any stock into what you have seen so far, they have thrown the ball his way more than any receiver on the team. If they do continue to use him as an outlet for Rex, that just increases his opportunities.

 

If he had broke one, just one of those carries for a long run and/or a TD, nobody would be down on him today and this thead would have been "I like what I saw from Cedric Benson".

[UncleHulka 0]

Well I dont really like what I have seen from LT2, LJ or SJax this preseason either. C'mon...you cant base your opinions on what is shown in preseason games. These guys are working on technique, timing, etc...they arent worrying about stats unless they are a backup trying to make the team.

 

Bottom line is, Benson is a risky pick. But his upside is huge. If you dont like taking chances, then pass on him. If you think late second, early third round is too early for a risk, then let him go by you. But to me, the potential is to big to ignore. I dont think anyone will disagree that Lovie will give this guy every opportunity to show what he can do. The Bears will run the sh*t out of the ball this season to keep Rex out of trouble. He is a virtual lock for 300-350 carries. He is much better near the goal-line than T Jones was and if you are putting any stock into what you have seen so far, they have thrown the ball his way more than any receiver on the team. If they do continue to use him as an outlet for Rex, that just increases his opportunities.

 

If he had broke one, just one of those carries for a long run and/or a TD, nobody would be down on him today and this thead would have been "I like what I saw from Cedric Benson".

The original poster stated the exact weakness that Benson has had for years, including his career at Texas. If you want to ignore that and draft him in the first round anyway, just because exhibition games are meaningless, then by all means go ahead.

[nobody 2,050]

All you guys that are saying don't take anything away from a preseason game don't understand what I'm saying. When I see a guy get hit and immediately fall down backwards or sideways, I'm focking concerned, because you don't need a lot of carries or need a gameplan of your opponent to try to break a god damned tackle. That is what I didn't like about him. The weird thing is when he got near the goalline he tried his ass off. That's why I'm asking if he is the type of guy who would play down for a preseason game. That's a worry by itself, but not as bad as just being soft overall.

[ddies23 0]

The original poster stated the exact weakness that Benson has had for years, including his career at Texas. If you want to ignore that and draft him in the first round anyway, just because exhibition games are meaningless, then by all means go ahead.

 

 

Well I guess if everyone agreed with what is originally posted, then there would be no reason for a reply button.

 

I never stated anything about taking him in the first round. I am just saying that you should be cautious about what you see in pre-season games and that his medicore performance last night shouldnt be cause for concern. I agreed that he is a risky pick and if you dont like taking chances then you should pass on him. I stated why he had a huge upside and gave my opinion that to me he is worth the risk of a late 2nd/early 3rd round pick because of the potential.

[themorey 1]

None of you understand Bensons game. He is a second half runner. He takes a lot of hits early but he is wearing defenses down by doing so. The majority of his yards will always come in the second half of games. Good thing about Adrian Peterson is he also takes on hitters. So by the second half defenses will be worn down. Dont be discouraged by the first quarter of last night because I gaurentee if the starters had played longer you would have stated seeing more 7-10 yard carries.

 

So he believes in the Rocky Balboa strategy, eh? Take a bunch of hits early on to tire out his opponent so he can pound the crap out of them later.

 

Well, it worked well enough in the movies so I'll buy into it.

[RLLD 3,455]

So he believes in the Rocky Balboa strategy, eh? Take a bunch of hits early on to tire out his opponent so he can pound the crap out of them later.

 

Well, it worked well enough in the movies so I'll buy into it.

 

[Vince44 202]

Benson had 19 carries for 33 yds and a TD last night. What in the hell happened? Did they stack the line and dare them to pass? I have high hopes for this guy and seeing a stat line like that even in the preseason worries me.

[Reality 2,710]

Benson had 19 carries for 33 yds and a TD last night. What in the hell happened? Did they stack the line and dare them to pass? I have high hopes for this guy and seeing a stat line like that even in the preseason worries me.

 

19 for 33, that's tough to pull off.. He would have been better off falling forward instead of running..

[mahoney 9]

19 for 33, that's tough to pull off.. He would have been better off falling forward instead of running..

 

 

1st and goal on the 2 yd line, Cedric gets stuffed for neg 1 yd.

2nd and goal, Adrian Peterson comes in and vultures a td.

I agree with the title of this thread.

[Four More Beers 0]

Adrian Peterson is going into his 6th year and has spent almost all his career as a 3rd-stringer. The idea that the Bears are going to give up on a guy they drafted 4th overall to make AP the starter after 3-4 games is pretty hard to take seriously. Benson may be no better than William Green, but he's going to get every opportunity to succeed. We're talking about a team that won't give up on Rex Grossman for Pete's sake.