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Well what kind of a debacle have the actions of Cedric Benson and Jerry Angelo created at the running back position?  It would get most people fired.

It all started last off season when the Chicago Bears' GM Jerry Angelo decided that Cedric Benson would get the shot to be the number one running back and traded Thomas Jones for a 2nd round draft pick, basically giving him away.  Angelo decided that his number four overall pick what a can't miss guy even though he had barely proved himself thus far as a number two.  So he sent the Bears' leading rusher of three years over to the Jets, just to please his ego.

Then the 2007 Regular Season happened.  Benson struggled as the number one back averaging just 3.4 yards a carry and scoring only 4 touchdowns in 11 games.  He also sat the final five games with an injury and most Bears' fans felt he didn't have the heart to be a Bear.  His back up Adrian Peterson, although carrying about the same statistics on the ground, was a considerably better receiver out of the backfield and presented a much better option for the Bears' lackluster offense.

Next came the NFL Draft and in Jerry Angelo's infinite wisdom he passed up QBs Brian Brohm and Chad Henne in the second round so that he could draft RB Matt Forte out of Tulane.  Now I'm not knocking Matt Forte, he may turn out to be a good back, but there were plenty of other better running backs available on the board, such as Ray Rice of Rutgers, Kevin Smith of Central Florida and Steve Slaton of West Virginia.  I'm going to go out on a limb and say Jerry could have taken one of the QBs in the second round and still gotten Forte in the third round, just a guess though.

Drinking was the cause of the next problem for the Bears when Cedric Benson got himself charged with drunken boating and resisting arrest, placing himself in the spotlight and infuriating Bears' fans and management with him even more.  Then as if that wasn't enough he decided that within a month of the incident that he would break curfew and go out drinking and driving, basically the last straw for the Bears, and Benson was subsequently released.

So Jerry Angelo has left coach Lovie Smith with Adrian Peterson an undersized career back-up and rookie Matt Forte to battle for the Bears' starting running back job.  Throw in the fact that Adrian Peterson will be out until the start of training camp and the Bears need some help at this position.  Why not look at some veteran talent?

I propose that Angelo can fix this situation, that he caused of his own will, and save his job if he went out and got a veteran running back to help these guys out.  And especially if this veteran could be a third down or goalline back to really help out the team.  Plus if that veteran had some play-off experience that wouldn't hurt to much either.  Well, there is one such player on the free agency list and that is Shawn Alexander.  He has suffered from injuries the past few seasons, but why not give him a chance?  He'll only be turning thirty one this season and probably still has a few years left to give, until Forte or a future replacement is ready to go.

So Jerry, just take a look at Shawn Alexander and try to fix this debacle that you helped to cause last off season when you traded away Thomas Jones, please.