Healing Benson fires back at critics

The timing of Cedric Benson's season-ending fractured ankle in Game 11 couldn't have been worse.

After averaging a lackluster 3.0 yards per carry in the first nine games and taking constant criticism for his role in a running game that could barely walk, Benson put together back-to-back games in which he averaged 7.2 yards per carry -- but he never finished the second game.

"Things were starting to turn around," he said. "I was taking most of the criticism that the team was getting throughout the year.

"I was finally answering or shutting up a lot of that stuff or making them look pretty silly for some of the things they said. I wasn't really contributing to a win against Seattle (a 30-23 loss in which he had 11 carries for 89 yards), but our offense was starting to get it together. It was happening."

Critics claimed that Benson's slow start was the result of coming to training camp out of shape, possibly because his sprained knee in Super Bowl XLI prevented him from working hard enough in the off-season.

"My injuries never kept me from conditioning or training," Benson said. "I didn't come in out of shape or overweight or anything like that. I came in well in shape, in great football condition ready to play."

Benson got his cast off Monday and said he's about eight weeks away from starting to run and cut. Although the opinion isn't universally shared, Benson considers himself the incumbent starter going into next year's training camp.

"I feel it's established; I don't feel like I need to prove anything," he said. "I know everybody's looking for the big season, and we were coming on strong at the end, but I just got sidelined. So I don't feel like there's anything I have to prove. I think it's just coming back and getting that big season."