Benson fires back at Angelo..

[biju]

Just heard this on the news, that Benson and Angelo are meeting in Lake Forest right now...

Yeah, if I were Angelo I'd certainly do something like that. Well, I'd meet him in a forest and then drag his body out to the lake.

[moochman]

Just heard this on the news, that Benson and Angelo are meeting in Lake Forest right now...

Cool, I'm sure they'll get something worked out.
I don't get where all the anger toward these rookies comes from. This is the only tool they have to leverage a better deal. Just the ugly side of comming into the NFL.

[34=Sweetness]

Just heard this on the news, that Benson and Angelo are meeting in Lake Forest right now...

Cool, I'm sure they'll get something worked out.
I don't get where all the anger toward these rookies comes from. This is the only tool they have to leverage a better deal. Just the ugly side of comming into the NFL.

Here's the anger, hes getting the money hes slotted for and he doesn't want it. He wants Phillip Rivers money, and 1, he isn't a QB, and 2 Phillip Rivers ended up as the 1 slot due to trade. Ridiculous.

[UTChE96]

There is no way losing Benson makes this team worse. He is a cancer.

Having watched Benson for the past four years, I couldn't disagree more.

I really don't know why Benson hasn't signed. I hope he has a good reason. But I can tell you that on the field, the kid is a team player and works his ass off. He doesn't take plays off, he blocks well, and sacrifices his body.

[Mookie4ever]

Even if he signs today he has missed a lot of time. There is a history of first rounders sitting out the pre-season and ending up flops or at least screwing up their first seasons.

T Jones is now a legit RB for fantasy purposes.

[pangbones]

Isnt he beign offered less than Ronnie Brown got? That doesn't make much sense. But its clear that he certainly doesn't play for the love of the game.

Yes, Ronnie Brown went #2 to Miami, so why doesn't that make sense?

I didn't like the pick in April, and I really don't like it now. He hasn't proven ANYTHING in this league, and should be happy the Bears are willing to waste 17 million on this BUM. At this point I don't care what happens. They already wasted the pick as far as I'm concerned. I like Jones, and will be happy to have him as the starter all year, and Peterson has had a fantastic preseason/camp as well.

[Sixxgunn]

Just heard this on the news, that Benson and Angelo are meeting in Lake Forest right now...

Yeah, and the jerk showed up with his BASEBALL agent. What good is that? No negotiations took place, just another waste of time. And why does he even still have a beaseball agent?

Having watched Benson for the past four years, I couldn't disagree more.

I really don't know why Benson hasn't signed. I hope he has a good reason. But I can tell you that on the field, the kid is a team player and works his ass off. He doesn't take plays off, he blocks well, and sacrifices his body.

He may not have been then, but he is now. He will completely disrupt any chemistry this team is building, and will not be considered a part of the team after this. Everyone likes and trust Jones. Wouldn't they be a bit upset if the guy the like and battled with through last season and training camp got pushed aside? That's cancer.

[UTChE96]

Team chemistry? We're not talking about high school kids here. These guys are professionals. Kobe and Shaq won multiple championships together because on the court they are both professionals.

A "cancer" is critizing your team mates. Or publicly bashing your coach. Etc. A holdout is purely business. Nothing more or less.

Again, no one here knows the specifics of why Benson hasn't signed. I have a hard time feeling sorry for either side. The Bears organization has handled the situation about as poorly as can be imagined.

[awwchrist]

This kinda crap is sacreligious for any player who'll play RB for the Bears.

Is Thomas Jones really all that bad?

I just don't get it sometimes.

[The Loveable Losers]

Don't forget...these guys have to get the up-front money. The NFL basically has no guaranteed contracts whatsoever. If he signs for less than he's looking for and has a career ending injury two weeks later then the Bears won't be feeling sorry for him next year...they'll release him and he's just out of luck at that point.

A lot of these people play football...they don't have any other marketable skills since they either took a soft major in college or didn't finish period (don't know if that is the case here...just speaking generally at the moment). Wanting to get a good amount of money upfront isn't 'being disruptive' or selfish whatsoever. It's making sure you're paid what you feel your worth before you agree to take a job.

As much as some fans would like draft-day to be an automatic guarantee that the guy your team drafted will play for your team, it's not. These guys aren't indentured servants to the NFL. They have as much right as any one of us do to negotiate a contract that they're happy with before they become an employee.

Here's an example...I work for a small software company. My wife and I just recently added two little ones to the family bringing the overall kid count to 3 now and she wanted to stay home. However, it wasn't a very good financial idea for her to do so. So, I sit down and I figure out how much money I'd need to add to my salary to make it work out. It ended up being a 30% raise. I went to my boss and laid things out...said that I'd love to continue working for him and that I had no problems with the company but that if I didn't get a 30% raise to allow my wife to stay home that I'd have to start looking for a job elsewhere that could give me that. I made it clear that I'd love to continue working for him but that if that job that could pay me the 30% more came along, I'd be gone.

I got the raise after he thought about things for 2-3 weeks. I was too valuable to the company to let go. Of course, I had to make some consessions (basically work about 30% more hours than I would have been working had I not gotten the raise and ended up having to cut back on hours) but I got the raise nonetheless.

Now, am I being 'greedy' to ask for what I feel I'm worth? The only difference here is the size of the number on the paycheck. He's asking for what he feels he's worth and if he's not willing to play for the number the team offers him then that's his business.