Cheap shots at Benson undeservedMike DowneyIn the wake of the newsSeptember 13, 2007Cedric Benson wore a crooked visor on his head and a puzzled look on his face Wednesday.Somebody had just told him that a San Diego Charger took a couple of cheap shots at him off the field, such as the Bears' running back would fold if you gave him a couple of clean shots on the field."What?" a wide-eyed Benson said.On a radio show, somebody explained.Benson's first instinct was to shrug it off."Some guy on the radio, hyping himself up. I don't care," he said. "It doesn't affect me."But it did bug him, the more he thought about it."I'll run that dude over any day," Benson said a while later. "If I met him in the hole? Any day."Respect is a difficult thing to come by in the NFL, and this is a guy who is struggling to gain his.There are those who already are saying the Bears should try a different running back in Sunday's game with Kansas City, which is absurd when you consider how many times Benson has been a starter this season.Once.There also are those who say the Bears obviously have erred in letting Thomas Jones go and giving his job to Benson, which is patently unfair when you consider how many times Benson has been a starter in his NFL career.Twice.It was bad enough when fantasy-league fanatics and media know-nothings began to pile on Benson before he had a fair chance to prove what he could do.But to have a pro peer such as San Diego linebacker Shaun Phillips (and any other Chargers who felt the same way as they prepared for last week's game) do a number on him, that's enough to get a Bear's goat."They don't know what they're talking about," said quarterback Rex Grossman, who doesn't rush to his own defense half as fast as he did Wednesday to his rusher's."Obviously, Cedric is one of the hardest runners in the league. I mean, how many times have you seen him come into the hole and knock somebody over? He broke somebody's ankle in Houston. He's a tough, tough running back."They don't know him. They've never seen him play before that. He's an extremely tough runner. He's going to have a great season, too. I just can't wait to see him get on a roll and have a breakout season."A week into this season, Benson is tied for 31st place among NFL backs in rushing yardage with 42 yards—tied with a New York Jet by the name of Thomas Jones.If somebody asked you to name the NFL's two top running backs, there is a chance you might go with LaDanian Tomlinson of the Chargers, whom the Bears faced last weekend, and Larry Johnson of the Chiefs, whom they face this weekend.Tomlinson gained 25 yards and ranks 50th among NFL backs after one week.Johnson gained 43 yards, exactly one more than Benson did."You're not going to go out there and get 100 yards every week," Benson said. "No matter who you are."If you expect the Bears to bench a starter every time he has a poor game, the Bears are going to run out of room on the bench.Everybody on that offense is at fault for that "3" on the visitors' side of the scoreboard in San Diego. One of the league's proudest offensive lines didn't have much to brag about after letting Grossman get hammered with some of the hardest hits of his life.Benson was less than impressive, yes."I was comfortable, but the pressure got to us after a while," he acknowledged. "I may have been frustrated a little bit at times."He fumbled, but so did Adrian Peterson, the man some people already want to replace Benson in the backfield.Tomlinson and Johnson didn't gain much yardage for their teams, but one poor outing for Benson and the sky is falling. Every time he or Grossman bobbles a ball, somebody out there wants to take them out of the game, and maybe out of the city and out of the state.Maybe a breakout game against the Chiefs would bring everybody back to his side."I hope so," Benson said.Then again, maybe even a breakout game wouldn't be enough for some people."Yeah, probably," Benson said. "It's only natural."It should have been a factor in his favor, as far as Bears fans were concerned, that the Chargers had one of the NFL's meanest defenses. But it wasn't.Nor will it be at Soldier Field in the home opener, even though the Chiefs' defense of a year ago was one of the league's best.You won't hear any Chiefs knocking the Bears before this game."You better have all your screws tightened up in your helmet when you play them," coach Herm Edwards said.Maybe that was the Chargers' problem. Maybe after knocking heads with the Bears they ended up with a couple of screws loose.It could explain why Phillips described the Chargers' strategy for Benson this way: "If you hit him a little bit, he can get a little disgruntled. And talk a little trash to him and give him a couple of shots, he'll fold."Benson resents this.He would like equal time. He would like a little more time to establish himself because, after all, this may be his 29th game in the NFL, but he has started only two.But you know Bears fans.Before a game was played, they wanted to bench the quarterback. Then a game was played and the Bears didn't win it, so now they want to bench the quarterback and the running back.Maybe if Benson gains 200 yards against the Chiefs and scores four touchdowns, they will consider letting him start Week 3.mikedowney@tribune.comCopyright © 2007, ChicagoSports.com
hmm cheesburger 
