Bears’ starting running back an obvious choice

By Paul Eide  |   Monday, September 04, 2006  |  Comments( 1 )

Chicago Bears
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Most NFL running backs coming off of a 1,300-yard, nine-touchdown year would be afforded a healthy dose of job security for the following season. That's not the case if you're Thomas Jones, who has, by all accounts. seemingly relinquished his starting job to Cedric Benson for the Chicago Bears.

Over the last two years, Jones has averaged 1,141 yards and eight touchdowns per season and has been the one constant source of offensive production during that span. He has shown no signs of slowing down physically, last year setting career-highs in carries, yards and touchdowns.

Which leads to the belief that the source of the favoritism for Benson within the organization hinges on his contract, a five-year, $35 million deal. Compare that to the two years at $2.25 million per year that Jones has remaining on his contract, and it's easy to understand why general manager Jerry Angelo wants Benson off the bench.

When Angelo signed Benson following the 2005 draft, he had no idea Jones would come through with the type of season he ended up producing. The G.M. expected he would be solid, but the whole plan was to let Benson get his feet wet in year one and explode onto the scene in year two. But Benson's 36-day holdout and ensuing knee injury gave Jones an opportunity to excel, which he did.

The longer Jones starts, the more Angelo looks like he made a bad decision, especially considering how disliked Benson -- a former fourth overall pick -- is within the organization. If he were having success on the field, it probably wouldn't matter; but, unfortunately, Benson's actions off the field are all he's known for up to this point.

What Angelo really didn't envision was the success of third-string back Adrian Peterson, who averaged five yards per carry in 2005, and effectively made the choice to take Benson with a top five pick look even more unnecessary. The Bears are fortunate to have so much depth at arguably the most physically demanding position in the NFL, but also cursed because there are just not enough carries to keep everyone happy.

Both Angelo and head coach Lovie Smith have unceasingly endorsed Benson as the starter, even though the 23-year-old hasn't been healthy enough to take a single snap during the preseason. Benson initially got off to a sour note with teammates after last year's holdout and hasn't done much to mend fences since.

During training camp the 5-foot-10, 220-pound Benson said he believed some teammates and coaches disliked him, but if that was the case, he didn't care. Benson further upset teammates by leaving the sideline during the second exhibition game against San Diego, an infraction for which he was supposedly punished by Smith, though details of said "punishment" were never revealed.

Jones, on the other hand, has been a model of professionalism throughout the whole process, embracing the two- back approach and serving as a mentor to Benson. The 28-year-old lost the starting job because he missed voluntary offseason workouts, which makes little sense since they weren't mandatory. Even after the Bears began shopping Jones around as trade bait, (first to the Colts, then the Broncos) Jones didn't make any negative comments or demand a trade

The 215-pound Jones has only averaged 131 carries per season during his six years in the NFL, while Benson averaged 277 carries a year during his four years at the University of Texas. Since Jones hasn't been overwhelmed by carries in his pro career, he should just now be reaching his prime.

For the Bears to discard Jones so easily would be a mistake. Benson is a great talent with immense potential, but if Chicago wants to make a realistic run at the Super Bowl this year, Jones will need to carry the offensive load.

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