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There are rumors on the grapevine, courtesy of AOL’s FanHouse, that the Houston Texans might eventually take a chance on former Texas tailback Cedric Benson.
Benson, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2005 draft, was cut earlier this month by the Bears. Benson thereafter cleared waivers, and has drawn no interest on the open market.
As Stephanie Stradley of FanHouse points out, the team’s current depth chart at the position doesn’t inspire feelings of awe or wonder. (We still like what rookie Steve Slaton of WVU might be able to do in a one-cut, zone-blocking scheme, if he can get back to hitting the hole and turning on the jets.)
Still, Benson isn’t exactly an upgrade, given his performances during his NFL career. Absent proof that he has learned his lesson, and that he otherwise plans to lift weights and run hard and all that crap, it might be a risk not worth taking.
June 30th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
with his own love boat experience, cedben would be a natural fir for the vikings!
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Rating: 2.6 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Thats like putting Pac-Man in the strip club. It just sounds like a horrible idea to me.
If you need a runner that bad I would rather roll the dice with a guy like Kevin Jones.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
trust me, it’s not worth it.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
He’s a proven bust. He’s a proven liability to a team under the conduct policy. Why take a chance when you’ve got other ‘hungry’ players available?
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Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Sadly, this offense could be a sizable improvement for him over that of the bears…and as long as he can stay away from moving vehicles and alcohol maybe he can resurrect some of his career.
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Rating: 4.25 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Wow. This is a slow news day. PFT links to AOLFanhouse which links to a Texans message board where somebody with 6 total posts wrote:
“Sounds like Cedric Benson is coming to Houston ”
“I know I never post here but I have some info I think some people would like to know. Cedric Benson is a client at a place were I work and he was just in today. He was talking about the teams that he is talking with and the one that is closest to reaching a deal is Houston Texans. So what do you think?”
C’mon. Is this newsworthy? Really?
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Rating: 4.85 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Hey…….they are the only team close enough so he can play while on work release.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
jokin, of course, above. i wouldnt take this guy as a throw-in ona trade or anything.
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Rating: 2 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Hey Florio, do you think any West Virginia players won’t be good in the NFL?
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Get rid of Ron Dayne and add Benson?…that’s just brilliant Houston…at least Dayne didn’t have a rap sheet…I’m still on the fence on if they really made a smart move taking Mario Williams over Reggie Bush and if they pull the trigger on Benson…it makes it very clear…
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
royaltee-
Actually, I wouldn’t have writen the FanHouse article but for the fact that I’ve heard these rumors from places other than TexansTalk. In addition, one of the moderators from Texans Talk also mentioned similar information in that thread.
It’s not too much of a surprise that Benson is interested in the Texans because there situation is a good one for RBs given Gibbs installing a true ZBS this year. What will be interesting is to see if the Texans truly are interested back. With the right low risk contract, it would be like the Patriots approach of throwing lots of bodies at a position of weakness to see which ones look the best at camp.
Gary Kubiak has done a nice job with teaching immature players how to prepare like a professional. And those who don’t get it, don’t stay.
I agree with Florio that Steve Slaton could do nice things for this ZBS offense. However, given his size, I think he would have to be considered a complementary back.
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Rating: 4.2 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
why wouldn’t they just claim him off waivers. It would of been free for them to just cut him if they didn’t like him coming out of camp. If they sign him, they are going to have to pay him at least some kind of signing bonus.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Slayton? That wouldn’t be partiality just because he is a WVU guy now would it? They should turn him into an ARE type of receiver.
Of course, if Benson busts in Houston, he could always try to jump start his baseball opportunity with the Dodgers. But I think that being back in Texas will be good for his head and his outlook. He and Slayton could be Houston’s version of Dunn and Duckett.
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Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Stephanie is an accomplished journalist with a bias. She is one the Texans biggest fans and an alumni of The Univ. of Texas, Benson’s Alma Mater. This is more of a wish and a want than an actual reality. Benson’s like of desire and dedication wouldn’t last a week with Coach Gibbs.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
If Coach Gary is anything like his Mentor, Coach Mike in Denver, he will like to keep a stable of dangerous running backs. so far, he has tried to do so. Look at Ron Dayne and Ahman Green.
Picking up a guy like Benson fits his established pattern, and that of his teacher…
F2B
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Rating: 1.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Hey there…. spanky07 says –
You have zero clue about the Texans. If the 06 draft were to be redone today…. Demeco Ryans and Mario Williams are both top 10, possibly top 5 picks. And we got them in the SAME DRAFT. Not to mention we got our TE of the future (63 receptions last year)in Owen Daniels and our RT spot solidified for a long time with Eric Winston. Nobody had a better draft than the Texans did.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
ratethis… you couldn’t be any further from the truth.
The fact is that Steph has been very skeptical of Cedric’s potential and his commitment to the game. I have had the pleasure of meeting her in person and yes, she loves the Texans. That doesn’t mean that her judgment in this matter is clouded by any means.
The fact is, we have young potential in Slaton, who could be our home-run hitter for years to come if he plays anywhere near to his college prime. We also have Ahman Green and Chris Brown…. two injury prone (at least recently) players who could do some real damage if healthy. Behind them is Chris Taylor, a young man who has shown much potential. Unfortunately for us, injuries seem to happen often and at the worst possible times.
We don’t need Benson, and anyone who knows a single thing about the Texans organization knows that character counts on this team. I doubt he gets signed, and furthermore I doubt that this is anything more than rumor. I could definitely be wrong, though… and I will be the first to admit it.
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Rating: 2.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Look at it this way - it will be a shorter commute to jail than coming all the way back from Chicago. He will also be closer to mommy.
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Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Maybe Kubiak is following Shanahan’s lead. Travis Henry had a lotta character. A lot of it and it was all BAD! LOL…
But seriously, maybe a humbling experience for Benson (like 2nd or 3rd on the depth chart for a while) will bring out the beat in him…
F2B
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
TexasTradition says:
June 30th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Hey there…. spanky07 says –
You have zero clue about the Texans. If the 06 draft were to be redone today…. Demeco Ryans and Mario Williams are both top 10, possibly top 5 picks. me with Eric Winston. Nobody had a better draft than the Texans did…
=======
Too bad they are still only the second best team in Texas. Well, it’s not really all that bad, lol.
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Rating: 2.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
The guy who is still on the fence about Reggie Bush vs Mario Williams - have you watched any football in the last two years? While everyone else was ripping the Texans apart, I thought they were BRILLIANT. The Texans asked Reggie Bush about his college cheating scandal, and he told them it was no big deal, and not to worry about it. He wouldn’t talk to them about it. THE TEXANS WERE GOING TO GIVE A AN ALLEGED CHEATER A $20 MILLION BONUS…WHEN HE WOULDN’T EVEN TALK ABOUT HIS ALLEGED CHEATING??
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
…continuing my last post, the Texans were very smart not to give over $20 million in bonuses to Reggie Bush. He’s almost as big a bust as Cedric Benson. He may be the best RB of all time on Madden, but he couldn’t even beat out Aaron Stecker when Deuce McAllister got injured. AARON STECKER.
…still waiting for “the truth to come out,” while Reggie Bush still refuses to explain himself to the NCAA. In the end, only Ryan Leaf will keep Reggie Bush from being the worst #2 draft pick of all time.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
RB is the glaring eye-sore on the Houston Texans’ roster. They’ve got a few other “iffy” spots here and there, but RB is definitely the weak link in the chain. I’m a fan, and I wouldn’t touch any of those guys in my fantasy draft. The AFC South is just too strong, and Houston won’t be able to win the division in the foreseeable future no matter who they hand the ball off to… to Hell with Benson.
Man I wish they would’ve taken Mendenhall over that nobody they chose with their first pick in the draft. Where’s Charlie Casserly when you need him???
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
June 30th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
ratethis-
For the record, I’m a lawyer, not a journalist by training. I do have a clear bias for the Houston Texans, and I often hear things about the team because people know I care to learn about it. I think everyone who is a human has biases, it’s just that some people don’t admit them.
In addition, though I am a UT law grad, I do not have a pro- or anti- Benson bias. I don’t have strong feelings if he comes to the Texans or not. If the team thinks he is someone who is worth sticking in camp for a training camp battle on a position of weakness on the team, I don’t care if they do it as long as it is a relatively low risk contract. If they have no reciprocal interest in him, I’m good with that too.
For people who have read my writing for a long time, they know that I don’t have an overly homerific view of any potential UT signing.
I also think that even if Benson signs, it is not like Texans fans can go “whew, our running back group is so good now that we added the Bears’ biggest draft bust of all times.” It would be just more competition for a position of uncertainty on the team.
dvs1 - Nobody would take him off waivers because you would have to accept the Chicago contract. The $$$ value wasn’t awful, but with someone in Benson’s situation, a team would probably want to get a contract that protected the team the best they can under the CBA. Benson was pretty much assured of clearing waivers.
TL13 - Thanks for the kind words. It is quite possible that the current roster could do very well under Gibbs’ ZBS. That being said, with a group of injured players and young players, there’s more unproven than proven. Lots of uncertainty.
Kubiak counted on a healthy Dom Davis in 2006 and ended up with a ridiculous RB lineup, eventually acquiring Sam Gado and Ron Dayne after their bad start. I don’t think he wants to have that situation happen to him again. The Texans always look for cost-effective ways to possibly improve their roster. Any talks with Benson would be a matter of exploring a potential option.
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Rating: 2.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
July 1st, 2008 at 12:07 am
Is Cedrics mom going to the texans also.
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Rating: 2 / 5 with 1 rating(s)