Brian Urlacher stated that he will not be in attendance for the teams mandatory mini-camp which will take place between May 30 and June 1. Although, there has been no talk of missing training camp as of now.

     The Bears have offered a one-year extension through 2012, a deal that includes 5 million up front and an additional 1 million added to each year remaining if he partipates in at least 85% of the teams snaps. Currently, Urlacher has four years left of a nine-year deal. This current contract includes 19 million in bonuses and 57 million overall.

     Both sides have not talked in a little over a month and talks do not look forthcoming in the near future. One sticking point appears to be the health of Urlacher’s neck. He had minor surgery while also dealing with arthritis in his back. Urlacher has stated that he is fully recovered in both areas.

     For missing the upcoming mandatory mini-camp, Urlacher could be fined up to 8,000. The fines will obviously increase if Urlacher were to miss any or all of training camp.

     The Bears have rewarded players such as Alex Brown, Desmond Clark and Robbie Gould with extensions this off-season. They were about $16 million below the salary cap when Gould was given a five-year extension Monday worth up to $15.5 million, including a $4.25 million bonus, that made him the highest-paid kicker in the league.

     Like Lance Briggs last year, Urlacher’s contract situation will the talk of Bourbonnais this July whether he is there or not. The Bears have a track record like no other team in the NFL for rewarding their own players. Not mention that the current deal is more than acceptable by market standards.

     The Bears made Robbie Gould the NFL’s highest paid kicker on Monday agreeing to a five-year extension worth 15.5 million with a 4.25 signing bonus. With the extension, Gould is signed through 2013.

     Gould has made 84 of 99 field-goal attempts and 99 of 100 PATs with the Bears. He hit 31 of 36 field-goal attempts last season. In the Super Bowl season of 2006, Gould made the Pro Bowl when he scored 143 points along with hitting a 49-yard game winner against Seattle in the divisional playoff.

     “I’m excited about the contract I signed,” Gould, who had a year left on his contract, said during a conference call with reporters. “I’m excited to be a Bear. … This is definitely a win-win on both ends.”

     The undrafted free agent out of Penn St. originally signed with New England. After spending a camp in Baltimore, Gould signed with the Bears in October of 2005.

     Amidst all of the news about Cedric Benson, was the fact that the Bears parted ways with Adam Archuleta. The safety had been predicted to be a starter before the season, but that quickly changed with his inability to tackle or play in coverage. 

     Archuleta was acquired from the Washington Redskins via trade last year. It was thought that Archuleta, who played under Lovie Smith in St. Louis, would fit into the cover 2 scheme the Bears employ. This, even after Archuleta had been benched in Washington. That thought quickly changed when he was benched and then relegated to special teams duty for most of the season

     The Bears signed Archuleta to a three year, 8.1 million year deal that included 5 million in guaranteed money. Archuleta recorded 64 tackles along with two sacks and an interception. What routinely plagued Archuleta, after he broke his hand in week three, were missed tackles and blown coverages.

     At the safety position, the Bears will again count on Mike Brown at free safety with Brandon McGowan, Daniel Manning and Kevin Payne in the mix along with rookie Craig Steltz. This is still a position that might require a miracle to simply be average next year if Mike Brown follows his current trend of landing on the injured reserve. To make a long story short, there are a lot of question marks.

     Like sands in a hourglass, so are the trials and tribulations of Cedric Benson. Benson has been given every opportunity to succeed since being drafted in 2005 out of the University of Texas.

     He was drafted to be the guy, before Thomas Jones broke out of his own bust label. Since Benson was not able to beat out Jones, Bears management decided to make it easier for him to get to the top of the depth chart. They traded Jones to the New York Jets. This unfortunately did not help Benson as he struggled throughout the year failing to amass even 700 rushing yards.

     He was drafted to be the sturdy, consistent back that would get the tough yards. Well, Benson has averaged just 3.8 yards per carry while recording 10 touchdowns in three years with the Bears. Benson has had a stint on the bench because of injury in each of his three years in the league. It is safe to say that Benson can be tagged as injury prone for a player that was viewed as durable while in college.

     He was drafted to solve the then current rushing issues after departing with Anthony Thomas to go along with the likes of a Brock Forsey. Benson will always be judged with Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams who went to Miami and Tampa Bay respectivley. Eventhough Williams’s career may be over, it will still be greater than what Benson has done and will do for however long he is still in the league. And Brown will be the featured back in Miami for years to come.

     Adding to the building resume of a bust, Benson has been a bad teammate and a chronic complainer. Benson has accused his own teammates on defense of hitting him to hard in practice. He has never built up any kind of relationship with his offensive line or any teammate for that matter.

     The comparisions to a past Longhorn running back in Ricky Williams are spot on in these categories. An almost bizarre personality that started on draft day with an awkward rain of tears.

     Cedric Benson’s days are numbered and for reasons other than drinking on a boat and resisiting arrest. Those allegations may just turn out to be allegations, but it is Benson’s play on the field that warrants the Bears to go in a different direction for the 2008 season and beyond. Yes, Matt Forte is unproven and Adrian Peterson belongs on special teams. Those options are still greater than having Cedric Benson be apart of this team.

     Cedric Benson has come out after his most recent arrest with a story that differs substantially from the one that authorities had reported yesterday. The former Texas Longhorn said he was not drunk nor did he resist arrest.

     “I was not intoxicated,” Benson told the Chicago Sun-Times. “There was alcohol on the boat and others were enjoying themselves, but I wasn’t drunk.”

     “They gave me a field sobriety test, told me to say my ABCs and told me to count from 1 to 4 up and down,” Benson told the Chicago Tribune. “I’m thinking, I passed all the tests, did everything right. Then the officer told me we needed to go to land to take more tests. I politely asked him why we needed to go to land to take more tests when I took every test. Then he sprayed me with mace, on his boat.

     “I’m not handcuffed. I’m not under arrest. I’m not threatening him. I’m not pushing him. I’m not touching him. And he sprays me right in my eye.”

     Benson’s account of what had happened differs from that of the Travis County authorities.

     “Once we got to land, the Travis County police grabbed me and kicked my feet from under me. So I landed on my back while I was handcuffed. They held me down and held the water hose over my face. I couldn’t breathe, I’m choking, I’m begging the cops, ‘Please stop. Please stop.’ Then they picked me up and dragged me backward toward their car. And I’m still being polite, asking them, ‘Sir, could you please allow me to walk like a man to your cop car?’ They just kept dragging me on.”

     There are two sides to every story and the truth always finds a way to reveal itself. Cedric Benson is guilty until proven innocent in this backwards world we live in. I guess we will just have to sit back and watch the events unfold until a resolution is found to this unfortunate situation.

     Cedric Benson was arrested on charges of boating while intoxicated along with resisting arrest. Benson failed a sobriety test while operating a thirty-foot boat and needed to be subdued with pepper spray while being dragged ashore by officers.

     Benson was released from jail early Sunday morning after posting on a 14,500 bond. The incident occured on Lake Travis just outside of Austin.

     The University of Texas product was operating the boat with 15 passengers aboard when he was stopped by a Lower Colorado River Authority officer for a random safety inspection. He failed a field sobriety test on the officer’s boat and was uncooperative when the officer tried to take him ashore, the authority said.

     “When Benson did not pass the test, he presented himself as a threat to the officer and argued about whether or not he would be taken to land to have a follow-up field sobriety test performed on land and refused to put on a life jacket,” the authority said in a statement.

     Bears head coach Lovie Smith said he is still trying to figure the details of what happened and the process that will soon follow. While, General Manager Jerry Angelo was out of town and unavailable for comment.

     This is Benson’s third recorded run in with the law. In 2003, he was jailed for eight days for a misdemeanor trespassing charge. And in 2002, Benson was charged with a misdemneanor drug and alchohol charge that was later dropped.

     The Bears got an up close view of their most recent draft that took place one week ago. With fifty players, yes fifty players on the field. Lovie Smith and the staff were able to simulate the closest thing to a practice as one can get in a rookie mini-camp. The fifty players consisted of the twelve draft picks, ten free agents signees and twenty-eight players in town for a tryout.

     Matt Forte impressed many with his ability to catch the ball to go along with a quick burst and crisp cuts. Surprisingly, he also lined up in the slot. What was more impressive was his demeanor with respect to the current running back situation. Forte has already showed more of a team mentality in one week than Cedric Benson in three years.

     “Guys come in, they tell you they want you to start, they want you to do all this and create controversy and all that,” Forte said, “but I’m really just here to create competition in the backfield, because competition is going to make every one of the running backs better. We’re here for the team, to make the whole team better.”

     Offensive tackle Chris Williams ran with the first team this week and that trend looks to continue into training camp. Williams is the expected starter on the left side. He has a shown a saviness when dealing with the media like the aformentioned Forte which speaks to his overall intelligence on and off the field.

     Third round pick Earl Bennett dropped a couple of catchable balls, but that has not soured offensive coordinator on the potential of the Vanderbilt product at receiver.

     “He was thinking too much,” Turner said.”‘We put in 27 passes, with two hours to do it with no walk-through. He had no idea where to line up. So he was thinking. He was uptight. I told him, ‘Earl, relax. Smile.’ I’m sure he’ll come out Saturday much more relaxed. Right now they’re kind of walking around the building with a deer-in-headlights look. (Matt) Forte wasn’t, but the rest of them were.”

     A topic of discussion on draft day involved the quarterback position and whether to address it on the second day. Well, Jerry Angelo decided against it and went the free agent route. Southern Illinois product Nick Hill along with Caleb Hanie of Colorado St. were brought in to compete for the third string slot.

     Hanie showed a strong arm as well as an accurate ball while Hill struggled with his throws. Hanie will be the teams third quarterback coming out of training camp, but do not be surprised when he is the back-up come midseason.

     Lovie Smith also seemed impressed with safety Craig Steltz and cornerback Zack Bowman. Both are expected to see time in some capacity this year.

     In every sports town across America from Seattle to Boston, each teams draft will be dissected under a microscope on the air and in print. Even though these players have yet to play a single game for their respective team and almost all have not signed their name on the dotted line.

     On the outside, the Chicago Bears appeared to solve at least a couple of their needs at offensive tackle, running back, defensive tackle and safety while adding help at the wide receiver position. This draft will go a long way for the future as it appears the Bears are in a semi-rebuilding mode for this year.

     There were a number of scenarios in the first round for the Bears and one of them included taking an offensive tackle. That was the direction the Bears decided to go by drafting Chris Williams out of Vanderbilt. Williams is an athletic tackle that possesses the versatility to play both tackle and guard. The Vanderbilt product is extremely quick and agile with left tackle potential. If the Bears want to get back to a more physical running game, they will need Williams to up his aggression level and develop more of a mean streak.

     In the second round, it was clear that the Bears had targeted that spot to fill their need for a running back. Matt Forte out of Tulane was a prospect that the Bears felt fit their style of a bruising runner between the tackles. Forte amassed over 2,000 yards with solid efforts against the likes of LSU and Texas.  The worry about Forte is his lack of top-level speed. Forte will not provide the homerun ability or some type of explosion that this offense needs. What will allow Forte to contribute immediately is his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield while being an above-average blocker. The Bears are not bringing Forte in to be a third down back though, he will be expected to challenge Cedric Benson for the starting job.

     The third round provided the Bears with two players that could very well be in the starting line-up when the Bears open against the Indianapolis Colts. Another product out of Vanderbilt, Earl Bennett, will be an immediate contributor in the dilapidated wide receiving core of the Bears while Marcus Harrison possesses a first round draft grade. Bennett has excellent hands to go with a fearlessness to go over the middle. What Bennett lacks is a homerun threat, but he will prove to be a reliable, go to receiver for whatever quarterback the Bears decide to put under center. Marcus Harrison has the potential to start opposite Tommie Harris from day one. Harrison is stout at the line of scrimmage while possessing a quick burst to fit what the Bears like to employ on the defensive front. That begs the question of why Harrison was a third round draft pick. There were questions regarding his character and overall work ethic. If Marcus Harrison can correct these flaws, he certainly has the ability to contribute immediately.

     In the fourth round, the Bears addressed a deep but lacking safety position with Craig Steltz out of LSU. Steltz is an ideal safety for the Cover 2. The LSU product has a high football IQ to go with a knack for making big plays in big games. What Steltz lacks, the Cover 2 will cover up those deficiencies in pass coverage.

     The Bears used the fifth round to take a flyer on an oft injured player and a gamble on an underachiever. Zack Bowman was a highly thought of cornerback at Nebraska, but a number of injuries derailed this prospect who has first round talent. Kellen Freeman-Davis was good but not great at Michigan State. Freeman-Davis is an excellent athlete, but his production did not match his potential. Overall, this was an excellent opportunity for the Bears to select a couple of boom or bust players that have the look of impact players.           

     A plethora of seventh round draft picks netted the Bears a defensive end, an offensive lineman, an outside linebacker, an offensive tackle and a wide receiver. Ervin Baldwin is a bit undersized for an end being only 6’2. He has shown excellent athletic ability and may have to play as a one-gap tackle on the inside. Chester Adams has the size to play anywhere on the offensive line but his physicality does not match his stature. Adams will find it hard pressed to make the team unless he plays to a higher level than he did at Georgia. Joey LaRocque looks the part of an ideal special team’s contributor as this will be his only avenue to make the roster. Kirk Barton played at a very high level while at Ohio St.. This is a similar spot in the draft where another Buckeye tackle was drafted in Shane Olivea by the San Diego Chargers. Marcus Monk could be the most intriguing pick of the entire draft. He possesses excellent size with sub 4.5 speed. It is not out of the realm of possibility that he is this year’s Marcus Colston.           

     Overall, the Bears filled needs at offensive tackle, wide receiver, defensive tackle and safety and possibly at running back. Drafts should not be graded out based on production for at least three years, but from a need standpoint, the Bears deserve a B+ for their efforts over the weekend.

7-(208): Ervin Baldwin (DE)-Michigan State-6′2 270lbs-4.75

7-(222): Chester Adams (OL)-Georgia-6′4 320lbs-5.16

7-(243): Joey LaRocque (OLB)-Oregon State-6′2 225lbs-4.69

7-(247): Kirk Barton (OT)-Ohio State-6′4 310lbs-5.25

7-(248): Marcus Monk (WR)-Arkansas-6′4 222lbs-4.45

5-(158): Kellen Davis (TE)-Michigan State-6′6 262lbs-4.60

Positives:

+excellent frame

+natural athlete

+above-average hands

Negatives:

-not overly physical

-below average blocker

-not a great route-runner

-underachiever