Bulletin Board Material. It's used as a motivational tool by athletic teams across the country to hype players up for a big game. The Bears need a win to keep pace in the NFC North where the Vikings have started 6-0 and the Packers share the same 3-2 record with a tie breaking win over Chicago in Week 1.

Delusion. This is what I believe former running back Cedric Benson is experiencing when he speaks of his former team. Benson is third in the NFL in rushing and has rejuvenated his career in Cincinnati, and we couldn't be happier for him. Cough. But the things he had to say to the media as we approach the Bear-Bengals match up simply makes no sense, at least not if you have any type of memory.

Not sure if some of what Cedric has said recently technically counts as bullentin board material, but hell, why not use it.

While the numbers weren't awful in Chicago, there was plenty to dislike about the former first round pick, though Benson may need to be reminded of some of the details.

Following his two arrests in a span of five weeks the Bears decided to cut ties with Benson in June of 2008. That was just the final straw however of what was a tumultuous relationship between Cedric and the Bears. Following his first arrest, Bears coach Lovie Smith and GM Jerry Angelo stood behind Benson, and very publicly, only to look like fools just over a month later.  Maybe Benson forgot about his role in his troubles with Chicago.

Cedric had this to say about his former team and the situation as a whole,

"I heard all the rumors that were said coming out of Chicago," Benson said. "Even the Bengals told me all the things, that they would call and inquire about me and get nothing but negative things. Just that I didn't work hard, that I was I guess a prima donna or I didn't work hard on the field, just wasn't focused, just anything negative that they could say, it was said. I'm sure that contributed largely to me not getting picked up right away." (ANDREW SELIGMAN, AP Sports Writer)

Maybe I'm missing something, but all those things are correct assessments of Benson's career as a Bear. He didn't work hard, he held out like a prima donna (that's still the definition even if a lot of players do it), he didn't put forth the best effort on the field as we can clearly see now, and he wasn't focused.

The Bears wanted Benson to be the guy, they wouldn't have drafted him with the fourth overall pick if they hadn't. But the prized rookie held out, showed up to camp ridiculously late, got off to a slow start, and eventually got hurt. Bears fans probably remember the days when Thomas Jones was growing more and more frustrated as the Bears tried to get Benson on the field as often as possible.

After his hold out, Benson stated that he was going to take the starting job from Thomas Jones, one of the more popular Bears in the locker room. It obviously didn't endear him to his new team mates. An injury would eventually force him to miss several weeks of his unspectacular rookie season.

During the pre-season in 2006, Benson left the sidelines of a game early and was cited for violating team rules. Presumably it was his own teammates who turned him in.

While he did play well in the Bears playoff run of '06, Benson fumbled in the Super Bowl and was injured on the same play, missing the rest of game after just two carries and -1 yard.

The following off-season the Bears traded Jones, turning the top spot in the backfield over to Benson. Cedric responded by showing up to camp overweight. In Week 12 of the 2007 season Benson broke his ankle and missed the rest of the year.

The Bears proceeded to draft Matt Forte prior to the 2008 season, but still named Benson the starter. He responded to that by getting himself arrested twice in five weeks.

Now Benson can't "pinpoint" what made his time in a Bear uniform so rough. Funny, because I seem to remember.

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