Say what you want about Bears head coach Lovie Smith, but the man doesn't take shortcuts when it comes to scouting players. That's not to say he always connects on draft picks (he usually doesn't), but he spends more time than any other head coach watching film and traveling to pro days.
I've seen him show up at the big productions (USC, Texas, LSU) and then sneak over to the small ones (Rice, Houston). But on Monday, he was spotted in Fayetteville, Ark., having lunch with running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. I have the Bears taking Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall at No. 14, but perhaps they're thinking about moving up to select McFadden, who is currently the No. 4 pick according to the Hash Mock Draft.
The boys from Rumors and Rants think the Bears are finally willing to admit that they whiffed by taking running back Cedric Benson fourth overall in 2005. They had Thomas Jones and the other Adrian Peterson in the fold at the time. Benson signed a five-year, $35 million contract, including $17 million in guarantees. It's taken Benson three injury-filled seasons to reach the 1,500-yard mark and he's managed 10 touchdowns. Smith tried to defend him at the combine last month, but it's obvious that he's not a feature back.
Rumors and Rants have used the $17 million figure to see what kind of return the Bears have made on their investment:
- $10,671.68 per rushing yard.
- $40,476.19 per carry at a 3.8 ypc average.
- $38,116 per touch.
- $1.7 million per touchdown.
