Cedric Benson on Thin Ice!

The value of Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson continues to fall at an alarming rate. What little value he had is nearly extinguished after his recent run-in with the law. Benson was arrested late Saturday near Austin Texas and was charged with two misdemeanors, boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest. This is not Benson’s first encounter with legal issues. He was arrested twice before. Once in 2002 for possession of marijuana and then again in 2003 for criminal trespassing. With the Roger Goodell’s no nonsense policy, Cedric’s recent legal issues reek of a suspension. Of course, we would not expect any such disciplinary action from the league unless Benson is proven guilty. That is not to say however, that the Chicago Bears will not take action independent of the league. It would come as no surprise if the Bears decided to cut ties with Benson altogether. After Chicago parted ways with Thomas Jones, the weight of the rushing attack was placed solely on the shoulders of the former first round selection Cedric Benson. How did Benson hold up to the pressure? I think it is safe to say that he failed miserably. Benson spent 5 games sidelined with an injury, and in the games that he did play, he failed to live up to the expectations that the franchise placed upon him. Among all of the RB’s that played at least 11 games in 07’, there were only three with a poorer rushing average than Benson. His 3.4 yards per carry was the worst of his career. As if his vision was not poor enough, he had to go and get himself pepper sprayed for not cooperating with the arresting officer. Lovie Smith expressed his disappointment in the fact that Benson was arrested, and the Chicago franchise showed their disappointment in Benson as a player by the path they took at the draft in April. The Chicago offense, which ranked 23rd in passing touchdowns and 25th in rushing touchdowns, clearly had a number of holes to fill on offense going into the draft. They chose to go with the 6’2, 222lb RB Matt Forte, a guy who is high on skill and high on character. By drafting the Tulane product in the second round the Bears made the statement that Benson would not have his touches simply handed to him, as was the case in 07’, rather, he would have to earn them in an open competition against Forte. Well it is safe to say the score card reads in favor of Matt Forte as it stands now. Lovie Smith likes what he sees so far from Matt. “Matt Forte stood out,” Smith said. “I thought he caught the ball well. He showed some good quickness, he has good size. All the things we thought coming in, we got a chance to see.”
Fantasy Impact: Matt Forte is quickly moving up cheat sheets and Benson is moving down. Even if nothing at all should come of Benson’s incident by way of discipline, Matt Forte has the potential to come in and steal the bulk of the carries in Chicago as the season progresses. If the season begins with Benson as the starter, the safe bet would be to avoid both backs in early rounds. Benson is at best a third option in seasonal drafts. In keeper and dynasty formats, Forte will have the higher value of the two as he will likely creep his way into the starting role. Our daily updated cheat sheets will reflect these changes immediately. We will keep you posted on further developments.