Benson on shaky ground

Bears know all they need to know to cut him

If your cup is half full, you could look at Cedric Benson's arrest Saturday in Texas as a positive sign for the 2008 Bears. Benson is recovering from a fracture just above his left ankle that required a plate and screws to hold the bone together. As the team wonders how much speed the injury will cost him, it can take heart in the fact that he apparently has found his sea legs.

But even the ever-optimist Lovie Smith couldn't put a happy spin on this one, saying only that he was ''disappointed'' to hear Benson was charged with boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest, charges Benson denied. He reportedly even had to be pepper-sprayed into submission. Smith said he needed to gather more information.

Bears general manager Jerry Angelo was conveniently out of town and did not return phone calls. No doubt he needs to gather more information, as well.

Sadly, it's a bit late for that. There's a big enough pile of evidence for the Bears to cut ties with Benson without another thought. Maybe that's the real positive of his water-logged weekend. Benson has one leg out the door and another on a banana peel anyway after the draft last weekend, when the Bears effectively replaced him by using a second-round pick on Matt Forte.

Just remember one important fact if the Bears decide to cut bait with Benson now: His failure will have nothing to do with his injury. That excuse has been blown. The men who drafted Benson with the No. 4 pick in the 2005 draft and have coddled him ever since won't be able to say his career sputtered and died because of injury, an excuse they've used before to explain failed picks such as Marc Colombo.

If Benson is cut now, it will be because of a character flaw -- one that apparently went unnoticed when it came time to judge him as a college player. Every misstep Benson has made as a Bear, whether it be walking off the sideline during a preseason game or getting punched in the chops by Thomas Jones for goofing around during a drill in 2006 has been blamed on somebody else.

It was the media who reported Benson's early departure who were at fault and the players who told them about the incident who were searched out. It was Jones who was run off after leading the team to the Super Bowl to clear the path for Benson.

Last year, when the running game faltered badly with Benson starting in place of Jones, Angelo backed Benson during the bye week, saying ''Cedric is performing to the best of his abilities'' and ''giving top effort'' and chiding the media for criticism of Benson with ''it's not one person.'' Benson was 28th in the league in rushing at the time, despite having the 11th-most carries. Blame the offensive line.

The Bears wouldn't have made it to the Super Bowl without Jones, who was probably lifting weights or breaking down game tape when his old nemesis was arrested. Benson was one of now three running backs who were selected to replace Jones since he became the team's leading rusher.

Benson was a first-round pick. Garrett Wolfe was a third-round pick. Forte was selected in the second round. Forte looked like the goods during rookie minicamp. If he's not, then it's one, two, three strikes without contact for the men who drafted Benson.

The Bears made a huge investment in Benson. Now they need to find a way to make it work. Give him another chance. If he doesn't cut it in training camp, blame it on injury.