Demote Benson; Peterson has earned chance for now

Replacing Rex Grossman with Brian Griese hasn't done much to improve the Bears' playoff chances, but it did give their dormant offense a much-needed bounce.

Now it's time to make another major change on an offense that last week fell back into the rut in which it spent the first three weeks.

It's time to unleash Adrian Peterson as the featured running back.

Will the six-year veteran journeyman run like the Vikings' Adrian Peterson or magically transform the Bears from one of the NFL's worst running teams to one of the best?

No. But if you give him 20 touches a game, as the Bears have done with Cedric Benson, there's a pretty good chance Peterson will eventually bust a run longer than 16 yards, which seems to be the maximum capability of Benson, the fourth overall draft pick in 2005.

More important, when the Bears throw the ball to Peterson, which they have with much greater frequency than ever this season, there's a much better than 50 percent chance he'll catch it.

The same cannot be said of Benson, who has had some of the worst drops in a season marred by butter-fingered receivers.

Benson is averaging 3.1 yards per carry. No one in the NFL with 80 carries or more has a worse average.

For almost six years, Peterson has quietly gone about the business of becoming one of the NFL's better special-teams players and a reliable third-down back -- proficiently picking up the blitz, in addition to catching the ball.

But the former sixth-round pick also has averaged 4.7 yards per carry, 10th best in the NFL at the start of this season, although he's had just 161 career chances.

Compare their production and forget that one guy has a five-year $35 million deal. Who would you start?

The Bears obviously trust Peterson with the ball, since he's their third-leading receiver with 24 catches and is averaging a commendable -- for a running back -- 8.0 yards per catch, almost twice what Thomas Jones averaged last season.

Peterson would also show a little enthusiasm, which isn't a prerequisite for greatness or success but is something this sad-sack Bears team is in desperate need of right now.

And Peterson, should he struggle, wouldn't use the ridiculous excuse that opponents are playing seven or eight men in the box, as Benson frequently does.

That particular defensive ploy isn't unique to the Bears' opponents. Almost every decent running back in the NFL sees seven or eight men in the box on running plays.

Do you think the Vikings' Adrian Peterson has seen anything but eight in the box all season with a quarterback crew of Tarvaris Jackson, Kelly Holcomb and Brooks Bollinger?

The key to running against an eight-man front is making one tackler miss, which is one more than Benson has been able to elude on most runs this season.

It's probably too soon to call Benson a bust. He deserves a little more time and a little more running room. But it's not too soon to predict he'll never be anything special.

Maybe it's complacency after getting the big bucks before he ever got hit in the NFL. Maybe it's a lack of desire. And maybe losing his job will motivate him. It's worth a shot when you've got $35 million invested and a season on the line.

At 5-feet-10 and 210 pounds, Peterson may not have the size to withstand the punishment that an every-down back has to absorb, but Benson's just an inch taller and 10 pounds heavier. Peterson doesn't have to get every carry, but he deserves an opportunity to get most of them.

Peterson's earned it; Benson hasn't.