Miami – If there were a Chicago Bears player most likely to break out into a “Super Bowl Shuffle” on South Beach, it almost certainly would be running back Cedric Benson.
While the second-year player hasn’t pulled a Moon over Miami – as Jim McMahon, the punky QB of the 1985 champions, famously did after practice one day before Super Bowl XX in New Orleans – so far this week Benson has proven to be quite the kindred spirit with his big game predecessors.
On Wednesday, for example, Benson was asked about the team curfew that’s been imposed on the Chicago players, and whether he’s been able to have any fun in spite of it.
“You try to, you would like to, but I don’t think you can,” he said. “Coaches and people who are involved – who don’t play but are involved – are really kind of tight or nervous about everything. It’s hard for you to relax and have a good time because their nervousness makes you nervous.
“You really hope they would relax because that way, you could relax. Maybe they should go out.”
Such blunt thoughts are representative of the inner voice that guides Benson, not so much as a moral compass, but rather a gyroscope, spinning about wildly. It has long been that way, most probably even before his days as a star athlete in Midland, Texas. At one point, he faced a decision – continue playing football with the University of Texas, or sign a baseball contract with the Texas Rangers organization, a deal that carried a $1 million bonus.
Benson remained on the gridiron. The reason? “I thought I was worth more than that,” he said.
But while his storied collegiate career led to Benson becoming the fourth pick of the 2005 draft, he has yet to conquer the NFL. He missed seven games his rookie year, largely because of a knee injury, and finished with 272 yards. This season he played in 15 games, but was a substitute in each as he shared time with Thomas Jones.
While Benson finished this season with 647 yards, and the collaboration with Jones produced a total of 1,857 yards, the Bears’ second-highest total in the past 11 seasons, he admits the arrangement still is a bit jarring to his “inner football player.”
“It might be a little more challenging for me because I’m still trying to find grooves and things that I can’t find off of two series,” Benson said. “I had to make it work for me – figuring out how to stay in the game (mentally) and stay prepared while on the sideline. You want to get comfortable on the field and it’s hard to do that on the sideline.”
Of course, the 1985 Bears had the one and only Walter Payton. As much as Benson may wish otherwise, it seems this season’s team will have to make do with dual running backs.
“We have a physical style of ball; we run two-back plays that will take its toll on you during the course of a season,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. “With the amount of physical contact that players take during the course of a season, it will all wear on you unless you spread it out a little bit.
“I think if you are getting over 40 carries in a game, there are enough plays for both of our tailbacks to feel good about what they are doing.”
Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com.
