August 10, 2007

Benson itching to attack a defense that isn't part of own team

2007 8-17: Wolfe in Bears 8-17: Tightends 8-16: 'Peanut' 8-16: Linebackers 8-15: D-Day 8-15: Madden '08 gets 8-15: Mannelly known 8-15: Cornerbacks 8-14: A step ahead 8-14: Offensive guards, 8-13: Benson has clear More

Breakout could be on horizon

By Jimmy Street

sports@daily-journal.com

After completing more than two weeks of training camp at Olivet Nazarene University, Cedric Benson is ready to finally get a chance to go up against a defense that is not his own.

That chance will come on Saturday night, when the Bears travel to Texas to face off against the Houston Texans in the team's first preseason game of the 2007 campaign.

In the last seven games of the 2006 season, Benson saw more chances to show exactly what he is capable of doing with the football, and the results were extremely impressive.

During that stretch, the back tallied 432 rushing yards on 88 carries for an average of 4.9 yards per carry --numbers which ranked Benson No. 7 among NFL running backs during that period.

While Benson ranked among the league's best running backs towards the end of last season, tight end Desmond Clark feels like there is no ceiling on how good the third year player can be.

"Cedric can be the best back in the league," said Clark. "He's playing behind, probably, the best offensive line in the league. He has those kinds of skills. If he's able to stay healthy, he's going to get the carries he needs to produce 1,800 yards this year. Those are the kind of yards I think he can put up."

For the first time during his three years in Chicago, Benson is, without question, the No. 1 running back on the squad, and he is looking forward to taking the next step in the preseason routine against Houston on Saturday.

"There's no question. You have something to look forward to at the end of the week," Benson said. "Whether it's a preseason game or a regular game, you want to go out there and look good. (You want to) have all your bullets firing."

Throughout the first two-plus weeks of camp, the Bears' offense has been hyped-up to have a group of high-powered weapons to fire at opposing teams, but Benson knows the preseason is important to get those weapons tuned up for the regular season.

"The preseason, what a fun thing it is, but I'm looking forward to the regular season," said Benson. "We're going to use these opportunities, these preseason games, I know (myself) especially, to fine tune everything."

Although Benson and the starters are not likely to get much playing time in the game, a large part of the fine tuning, for the running back, will come from actually be tackled and taken to the ground.

"To get tackled and taken down to the ground will give you a few pointers to focus on hanging on to the football," said Benson. "It's different when you get tackled and taken down to the ground, so there are just a lot of things that come along with it, but it's all just preparation for the big show."

The Bears and Texans will kick off at 7 p.m. (WMAQ-NBC 5, WBBM-AM 780) on Saturday.