Maybe They Were Taking Shots at Benson After All

By the time Friday's night practice had ended, Adrian Peterson served as the Bears' starting tailback and undrafted free agent Andre Hall, signed just Thursday, was his backup. Cedric Benson had left the field with a shoulder injury after getting popped by Mike Brown and Brian Urlacher. Throughout camp, Benson has taken his share of hits. Some have suggested that the defense is getting a little extra rough with Benson because of lingering animosity regarding Benson's hold out last season, and the respect in the locker room for Thomas Jones. Well, this is getting to be ri-god-damn-diculous. Benson is a member of the team, and one the coaching staff believes can be a difference maker at running back. Lovie Smith downplays the talk, but Benson for one seems irritated: at the end of one practice, Benson bowled over safety Chris Harris and spiked the ball. Brown, showing the leadership for which he's known, when asked about the play responded: "You're asking the wrong cat." Nice. Way to show concern for your teammate. Anyway, if the goal was to open the door for Jones to regain his spot, that mission may have been accomplished. The Bears are preparing to be without Benson for weeks. The Bears are saying all the right things about it being a freakish play, but no one else has been hit like Benson this pre-season, so this "fluke" injury couldn't have befallen any other player. It all just smells fishy, like a turd covered in burnt hair. Elsewhere in the Bears' backfield, fullback Bryan Johnson left Saturday's practice with a hamstring injury.