A candid Cedric Benson says he felt singled out, still doesn't trust a few teammates
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- Cedric Benson insists he's not a naturally trusting sort, but there he stood on the opening day of training camp speaking the truth as he knows it with a clarity and honesty not often found in the cliched sound-bite-speak of professional sports.
Defensive one second and aggressive the next, Benson talked about earning trust and giving it, about finally taking over a starting role two seasons into his NFL career and about running toward a new future as opposed to running away from an awkward past.
Defensive one second and aggressive the next, Benson talked about earning trust and giving it, about finally taking over a starting role two seasons into his NFL career and about running toward a new future as opposed to running away from an awkward past.
''I don't want to start a big mess,'' Benson said. ''But I don't mind real talk because these are things I really feel but don't say much about.''
The things in question include the rocky start of his pro career, the trust issue with teammates and his tense relationship with Thomas Jones the last couple of seasons -- one that continues to leave him without trust in a few teammates. ''Far, far from it,'' Benson said. ''But I am not going to get anything off my chest or put it out in the open, any grudges or anything like that. If there was somebody I didn't really trust and they wanted to go out to dinner or something, I would still go. I would still try to get acquainted with them or try to be friends or be more trustworthy of them.''
Bears coach Lovie Smith was very succinct about Benson's status with the team. He said everyone has to prove themselves as a first-year starter, be it a running back, quarterback, lineman or coach.
''Here's what I know about Cedric Benson: 'He's our guy now,''' Smith said. ''We like him. His teammates like him. He's healthy. We're looking for a big year from him. Anything that happened with Cedric in the past, it's in the past.''
Benson said he bears no grudges, but he has a long memory of what it was like to come into a team as a highly paid rookie and feel unwanted. Benson said Jones struck him in the face last year during a running-backs drill the week before the Arizona game. He's convinced that some friends of Jones closely monitored his behavior to present his actions in the worst light possible. He says he definitely received some extra shots during training camp last year.
Worst of all, he's stunned by a question he has been asked at least twice since arriving in training camp: Was he really injured in the Super Bowl or was his knee problem some kind of fabrication to get out of the game?
''Yeah, people are saying I could have played and refused to go back in the game,'' Benson said. ''I have no idea where that came from. I was asked that question twice. I feel really insulted. It's outrageous. I mean, I feel slapped in the face by that. I want to ask: 'Did you never see me play football before?' I almost don't know what to say. It's so outrageous.''
Smith said the legitimacy of Benson's injury in the Super Bowl ''is no issue with us.''
''When a guy is hurt, he doesn't play,'' Smith said. ''Any player. So that's how it is. He was hurt. We didn't have him. I wish we would have had him, but that's how it goes. I wish we had Tommie Harris. I wish we had Mike Brown. There are a lot of guys lost to injury. That's how it goes.''
Benson's relationship with Jones seems complicated. First, Benson said he wishes Jones all the best and nothing but success with the New York Jets and points out the player got a pretty good deal in the long run. But then he scoffs at Jones saying he's ''10 times the man and 10 times the player.''
Benson said the punch occurred early in practice on the Wednesday before the Oct. 16 game at Arizona. He said, to his knowledge, Jones wasn't fined. Benson didn't pursue the matter with the coaching staff.
''I was able to sit down in my locker and think back on that situation and feel this guy is so intimidated by me, he cannot hold his composure around me,'' Benson said. ''So I left it alone.''
Benson said coming to the Bears as the fourth overall selection in the 2004 draft wasn't so much hard for him as it was hard for some teammates. He apparently rubbed people the wrong way by predicting it wouldn't take him long to break into the starting lineup, even though that confidence is needed for anybody to succeed in the NFL. He felt shut out as a rookie.
''I guess they didn't like [my contract] and they were probably good buddies with Thomas,'' Benson said. ''I had to deal with that, too, and that is something people don't really know.''
Benson said he definitely took extra shots in training camp last year. And he was disappointed that it was teammates who told the Chicago Sun-Times that he was fined for walking off the sideline during a preseason game that he missed because of injury. Benson said he made a mistake at the time but couldn't believe he was publicly shamed for the incident.
Running backs coach Tim Spencer said he doesn't believe Benson took any extra shots in practice last year in some sort of conspiracy or statement in support of Jones.
''Having Thomas last year, he was established; you knew he was going to be there,'' Spencer said. ''Ced was trying to take his job, so he was trying to step up his play. He was running harder. He was trying to do some things, to be physical and show everybody he can be that guy, and he probably took a few too many shots. I don't think anybody took any cheap shots at him; that's not our guys.
''It was tough. Thomas was a true pro. He was going to do everything right, and unless you're going to do everything right, too, and do it a lot better, it's going to be tough [to take the job] from a guy like that.''
Benson felt like a target.
''I was the only one who came out of camp with a separated shoulder,'' he said. ''I mean, we're talking a separated shoulder, not a bruise. Take what you want from that. I don't think it's hard to figure out.''
Benson said he doesn't want to ''lose another starting position because of something stupid'' but doesn't believe he'll get the same treatment once the pads are on and scrimmage goes live this year. He seems almost apologetic that he even contemplates the possibility.
''The way my attitude is or the way my guard is set up is based on how I have been treated,'' Benson said. ''It's not like I was like this always. I was never all that open and outgoing, but these things have made me stay to myself even more.''
Maybe the 2007 season will be a coming-out party for Benson in more ways than one.
I hope not. This guy just wants everyone to hate him. 
