GRIDIRON ASSASSIN
Footballguy
By Mike Mulligan of the Chicago Sun Times (link at bottom)
A reluctant speaker who spent most of training camp allowing others to lay out the case of why he should be starting, Jones gave an exclusive interview to the Sun-Times this week in which he revealed his love of the Bears, his desire to remain the starter and his belief that the so-called running back battle has been ''ridiculous'' and ''a distraction to my team.''
Q. There is an old adage in the NFL that you don't lose your job to injury, which apparently means you shouldn't be the starter when Cedric Benson returns from his shoulder injury. But how do you lose your job in the offseason?
A. I didn't do anything to lose my job. I didn't come to the offseason program because I chose to work out with my own trainer. Then I come back for minicamp, and I'm running with the second team. You lose your job by performance. You don't lose your job by not showing up for the offseason program. Coaches make decisions based on what they think, I guess.
Q. Did Lovie Smith explain it to you?
A. No, not really. I showed up, and I was running with the second team. Well, with the first team and the second team, but Cedric was going first. It wasn't really explained to me. It was just like, I wasn't there in the offseason program, and he felt like he had to do something as far as rewarding the guys who were there.
Q. Did you find that strange?
A. It's weird because in my position for the last two years, I feel like I have been a very important part of the offense and the team. I've earned my stripes -- not only in this league, but definitely in Chicago with this team. To me, if you lose your job because you decided to work out with someone else to get better for the team, that's something I don't understand. But that's not my decision. Lovie made the decision. I've never been the kind of guy to get into ''he said/she said'' talk about a coach or a teammate.
Q. You have been a loyal teammate. Is it hard to keep that up?
A. I love being here in Chicago. It's a great city, great fans, great football city, just a great place to play football. I try to worry about what I can control. My mind-set is that I am a starting NFL running back, whether I am on the Chicago Bears or any other team. I know the offense. I know the game. I am experienced. I am smart on the field and off the field. I work really hard in the offseason. I work really hard during the season trying to take care of my body. I am a starter in the NFL. My numbers say that.
Q. You rushed for 1,335 yards last year. What should that say for your status on this team?
A. In my eyes, I am no different than Olin Kreutz or Brian Urlacher or Wale Ogunleye. I mean that much to this team. I am one of the core players here, and I feel I have proven that over the last two years. I'm not the kind of guy that is going to come out and say something bad about coaches or other running backs. I come out here and do what I am asked to do and let things happen the way they happen. Of course, you can't come out and say everything you want to. I'll just make sure I am ready.
Q. Why is it that Rex Grossman isn't competing for a job but you are? Is there a hypocrisy in that? Shouldn't everybody who has a job either keep his job or compete for his job?
A. Obviously, you know a lot of reasons for that. I don't like to say anything. I just know you don't lose your job because you didn't come to an offseason program, especially me. I am a workout warrior. I work out every day. I work out on Saturdays and Sundays because, No. 1, I like to take care of my body, and No. 2, it's going to make me the best football player I can be and last the whole season.
So I'm not here for the offseason program -- which is voluntary; it's not mandatory. The team is here, granted. But I felt like I would benefit more by working out with my own trainer. Meanwhile, I come back in the best shape you can possibly be in, and I'm told I lost my job. You don't lose your job because you didn't show up for a voluntary program. I say that over and over because it just baffles me sometimes that people don't understand that. You don't lose your job because you don't show up to an offseason program, especially after the good production.
Q. No one knows why you were upset in the offseason. Did anyone say anything to you about having to battle for your job with Benson? Did you want a trade? Was it about money or respect?
A. Management makes decisions that they feel like are best for the team. It's sort of a messed-up league because one minute you sign a contract, yeah, but you are outplaying the contract. You are playing like one of the top guys in the league, but you are not getting paid for what you are doing. It's frustrating for the player, but at the same time, a guy will play really good and he'll deserve a roster bonus in his contract, but they will cut him because they won't play him. It's definitely not [a system] set up for the players.
Q. Is it a flaw in the system that rookies drafted in the top 10 command more money than proven players, and then teams are forced to get them on the field to justify the pick?
A. It's tough how it's set up, but that is something as players we can't control. We just have to hope the organization respects your work, respects your effort and pays you accordingly. But this whole situation here, my mind-set is that I am a starting running back regardless of what else might be going on. I don't get into saying anything about Cedric. He did what he had to do to get drafted. I'm a guy who has been around and knows the offense.
Q. Do you feel the Bears have been disloyal to you?
A. I feel like by being here, I finally had an opportunity to do what I was supposed to do in Arizona. People who don't play the game don't understand how hard it is when you don't have a passing game and the defense is game-planning to stop you. It's tough because the whole game there are not going to be holes because the offensive line can't block everybody. My first year we went through four different starting quarterbacks. If [defenses] don't respect the receivers, then they are not going to back up. I don't have an opportunity to make a lot of guys miss because they are on me whenever I get the ball.
You understand that and you start making plays. And then game in and game out, you are the only guy really making plays. The next year they bring another guy in as if you are not the answer, and you were really the only bright spot that whole season. But that is the NFL. It's a business. They have their own agenda and what they feel they have to do. Then last year, I went through what I had to go through to get some yards.
Q. It was said the Bears brought you in because of your cutback skills. The St. Louis Rams wanted you, too, as a replacement for Marshall Faulk because they believed you were perfect for that style of offense. When that offense failed here and Terry Shea was run out, maybe it made sense to draft a power runner for Ron Turner's scheme. Could it have been as simple as that?
A. I feel like I can be in any offense and run it. I can run outside or inside or cut back. I can catch the screen pass. You can line me up in the slot and you put me one-on-one against a linebacker, and nine times out of 10, I make that play. You can line me out wide, and I'll run any route a receiver can run. Once you get labeled, it's kind of hard. People like to label guys, but in the end, it's football. I can understand Warrick Dunn is not a power back. He's 180 pounds. I'm 215 pounds.
Q. You haven't done much talking, but Cedric said from Day 1 it was going to be his job. Did it bother you that he was predicting he'd take your job nearly from the moment he signed?
A. Honestly, that's something I don't even want to get into. Cedric is a young guy. To me, it's simple: You don't produce the way I have produced and be an integral part of this team and a good teammate and a leader and lose your job. You are no longer a starter? Why? I try not to say a lot, but you have people saying things like you can't lose your job to injury. Was it really your job in the first place?
Q. The defense seemed to be making a statement in your favor by taking an extra shot at Cedric here and there. Is that the way you saw it?
A. It's practice. You are going to get hit, but getting hit in practice is just getting thudded. In a game, they are trying to take your head off. When you get thudded, that's the only way [the defense] can get better, to hit. If they don't hit you in practice, then when they get in a game, a guy might miss tackles. They have to hit you. They have to thud you. In the game, it's totally different. There is not going to be any control, and they are really coming after you.
Q. Do you get along with Benson?
A. I feel like this is my group. I'm the oldest running back here. I am the veteran of the group, and I feel like I have to be a mentor. If I see someone do something wrong, anyone, then naturally -- whether it's P.J. Pope or Adrian [Peterson], even if it's Cedric -- I'm going to say: 'That safety is coming up on the back side there, and you should watch out for him. He might not show that he's coming until the last minute.' Me and [running backs coach Tim] Spencer are tight. He knows I understand what he understands -- not just what I am supposed to do, but why I have to do it. I understand all that stuff. I watch it on film. I study it. I take a lot of pride in it.
Q. Did it bother you that people thought you were faking the hamstring injury?
A. I didn't listen to any of that. The thing is, I ran a lot more in the offseason than they did here. Wale Ogunleye came down on the weekends and we worked out together, and he said that. When I got here for camp, I was up at 7 o'clock in the morning for a physical, and I didn't know I had to run. I thought I was going to run after the team meeting. I could have stretched out and warmed up, jumped in a hot tub. I didn't, and I tweaked my hamstring.
Q. Has the so-called running back competition been a distraction?
A. It's ridiculous. I feel like there is no question who the starter is, who the guy is. Everyone knows. It shouldn't be an issue. I am the starting running back. I look at it like this is my offense. [He laughs.] I mean, this is my offense.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/bears/cst-spt-bear17.html
A reluctant speaker who spent most of training camp allowing others to lay out the case of why he should be starting, Jones gave an exclusive interview to the Sun-Times this week in which he revealed his love of the Bears, his desire to remain the starter and his belief that the so-called running back battle has been ''ridiculous'' and ''a distraction to my team.''
Q. There is an old adage in the NFL that you don't lose your job to injury, which apparently means you shouldn't be the starter when Cedric Benson returns from his shoulder injury. But how do you lose your job in the offseason?
A. I didn't do anything to lose my job. I didn't come to the offseason program because I chose to work out with my own trainer. Then I come back for minicamp, and I'm running with the second team. You lose your job by performance. You don't lose your job by not showing up for the offseason program. Coaches make decisions based on what they think, I guess.
Q. Did Lovie Smith explain it to you?
A. No, not really. I showed up, and I was running with the second team. Well, with the first team and the second team, but Cedric was going first. It wasn't really explained to me. It was just like, I wasn't there in the offseason program, and he felt like he had to do something as far as rewarding the guys who were there.
Q. Did you find that strange?
A. It's weird because in my position for the last two years, I feel like I have been a very important part of the offense and the team. I've earned my stripes -- not only in this league, but definitely in Chicago with this team. To me, if you lose your job because you decided to work out with someone else to get better for the team, that's something I don't understand. But that's not my decision. Lovie made the decision. I've never been the kind of guy to get into ''he said/she said'' talk about a coach or a teammate.
Q. You have been a loyal teammate. Is it hard to keep that up?
A. I love being here in Chicago. It's a great city, great fans, great football city, just a great place to play football. I try to worry about what I can control. My mind-set is that I am a starting NFL running back, whether I am on the Chicago Bears or any other team. I know the offense. I know the game. I am experienced. I am smart on the field and off the field. I work really hard in the offseason. I work really hard during the season trying to take care of my body. I am a starter in the NFL. My numbers say that.
Q. You rushed for 1,335 yards last year. What should that say for your status on this team?
A. In my eyes, I am no different than Olin Kreutz or Brian Urlacher or Wale Ogunleye. I mean that much to this team. I am one of the core players here, and I feel I have proven that over the last two years. I'm not the kind of guy that is going to come out and say something bad about coaches or other running backs. I come out here and do what I am asked to do and let things happen the way they happen. Of course, you can't come out and say everything you want to. I'll just make sure I am ready.
Q. Why is it that Rex Grossman isn't competing for a job but you are? Is there a hypocrisy in that? Shouldn't everybody who has a job either keep his job or compete for his job?
A. Obviously, you know a lot of reasons for that. I don't like to say anything. I just know you don't lose your job because you didn't come to an offseason program, especially me. I am a workout warrior. I work out every day. I work out on Saturdays and Sundays because, No. 1, I like to take care of my body, and No. 2, it's going to make me the best football player I can be and last the whole season.
So I'm not here for the offseason program -- which is voluntary; it's not mandatory. The team is here, granted. But I felt like I would benefit more by working out with my own trainer. Meanwhile, I come back in the best shape you can possibly be in, and I'm told I lost my job. You don't lose your job because you didn't show up for a voluntary program. I say that over and over because it just baffles me sometimes that people don't understand that. You don't lose your job because you don't show up to an offseason program, especially after the good production.
Q. No one knows why you were upset in the offseason. Did anyone say anything to you about having to battle for your job with Benson? Did you want a trade? Was it about money or respect?
A. Management makes decisions that they feel like are best for the team. It's sort of a messed-up league because one minute you sign a contract, yeah, but you are outplaying the contract. You are playing like one of the top guys in the league, but you are not getting paid for what you are doing. It's frustrating for the player, but at the same time, a guy will play really good and he'll deserve a roster bonus in his contract, but they will cut him because they won't play him. It's definitely not [a system] set up for the players.
Q. Is it a flaw in the system that rookies drafted in the top 10 command more money than proven players, and then teams are forced to get them on the field to justify the pick?
A. It's tough how it's set up, but that is something as players we can't control. We just have to hope the organization respects your work, respects your effort and pays you accordingly. But this whole situation here, my mind-set is that I am a starting running back regardless of what else might be going on. I don't get into saying anything about Cedric. He did what he had to do to get drafted. I'm a guy who has been around and knows the offense.
Q. Do you feel the Bears have been disloyal to you?
A. I feel like by being here, I finally had an opportunity to do what I was supposed to do in Arizona. People who don't play the game don't understand how hard it is when you don't have a passing game and the defense is game-planning to stop you. It's tough because the whole game there are not going to be holes because the offensive line can't block everybody. My first year we went through four different starting quarterbacks. If [defenses] don't respect the receivers, then they are not going to back up. I don't have an opportunity to make a lot of guys miss because they are on me whenever I get the ball.
You understand that and you start making plays. And then game in and game out, you are the only guy really making plays. The next year they bring another guy in as if you are not the answer, and you were really the only bright spot that whole season. But that is the NFL. It's a business. They have their own agenda and what they feel they have to do. Then last year, I went through what I had to go through to get some yards.
Q. It was said the Bears brought you in because of your cutback skills. The St. Louis Rams wanted you, too, as a replacement for Marshall Faulk because they believed you were perfect for that style of offense. When that offense failed here and Terry Shea was run out, maybe it made sense to draft a power runner for Ron Turner's scheme. Could it have been as simple as that?
A. I feel like I can be in any offense and run it. I can run outside or inside or cut back. I can catch the screen pass. You can line me up in the slot and you put me one-on-one against a linebacker, and nine times out of 10, I make that play. You can line me out wide, and I'll run any route a receiver can run. Once you get labeled, it's kind of hard. People like to label guys, but in the end, it's football. I can understand Warrick Dunn is not a power back. He's 180 pounds. I'm 215 pounds.
Q. You haven't done much talking, but Cedric said from Day 1 it was going to be his job. Did it bother you that he was predicting he'd take your job nearly from the moment he signed?
A. Honestly, that's something I don't even want to get into. Cedric is a young guy. To me, it's simple: You don't produce the way I have produced and be an integral part of this team and a good teammate and a leader and lose your job. You are no longer a starter? Why? I try not to say a lot, but you have people saying things like you can't lose your job to injury. Was it really your job in the first place?
Q. The defense seemed to be making a statement in your favor by taking an extra shot at Cedric here and there. Is that the way you saw it?
A. It's practice. You are going to get hit, but getting hit in practice is just getting thudded. In a game, they are trying to take your head off. When you get thudded, that's the only way [the defense] can get better, to hit. If they don't hit you in practice, then when they get in a game, a guy might miss tackles. They have to hit you. They have to thud you. In the game, it's totally different. There is not going to be any control, and they are really coming after you.
Q. Do you get along with Benson?
A. I feel like this is my group. I'm the oldest running back here. I am the veteran of the group, and I feel like I have to be a mentor. If I see someone do something wrong, anyone, then naturally -- whether it's P.J. Pope or Adrian [Peterson], even if it's Cedric -- I'm going to say: 'That safety is coming up on the back side there, and you should watch out for him. He might not show that he's coming until the last minute.' Me and [running backs coach Tim] Spencer are tight. He knows I understand what he understands -- not just what I am supposed to do, but why I have to do it. I understand all that stuff. I watch it on film. I study it. I take a lot of pride in it.
Q. Did it bother you that people thought you were faking the hamstring injury?
A. I didn't listen to any of that. The thing is, I ran a lot more in the offseason than they did here. Wale Ogunleye came down on the weekends and we worked out together, and he said that. When I got here for camp, I was up at 7 o'clock in the morning for a physical, and I didn't know I had to run. I thought I was going to run after the team meeting. I could have stretched out and warmed up, jumped in a hot tub. I didn't, and I tweaked my hamstring.
Q. Has the so-called running back competition been a distraction?
A. It's ridiculous. I feel like there is no question who the starter is, who the guy is. Everyone knows. It shouldn't be an issue. I am the starting running back. I look at it like this is my offense. [He laughs.] I mean, this is my offense.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/bears/cst-spt-bear17.html
