Comcast Presents: What Happened To Fred Bennett?
by Tim on May 26, 2010 9:08 AM CDT
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Jerome Solomon's column in today's Chronicle got me thinking again about something that I've pondered often over the last two years. Namely, what in the blue hell happened to Fred Bennett?
A fourth-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, Bennett was the Texans' best corner in '07. Then, for reasons beyond me, he was horrendous in '08 and barely saw the field in 2009. What happened between 2007 and now (or 2008, if you prefer) to transform Fred Bennett from excellent rookie contributor to likely camp fodder?
It's not like the Texans have gotten significantly better in the secondary since 2007. While there's been a lot of turnover, I don't think there's been a sizable leap in the talent at cornerback position, and certainly not to the degree that it explains Bennett's fall from grace; your opinion may vary. Or is Bennett's decline simpy the result of teams getting tape on him and exploiting his weaknesses? Whatever reason, it appeared as though Bennett became the pigskin Steve Blass, seemingly losing his cornerback skills overnight. Now, with a glut of competition at his position, it looks highly unlikely that Fred Bennett will be a Houston Texan come Week One of the 2010 season. Considering how impressive he was as a rookie and the hopes we had for him just a few years ago, that's mind-boggling.
What say you, BRB? Share your measured analysis or insane conspiracy theories in the Comments below.
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To quote Lost
like Bennet does in the column “Whatever happened, happened”
I think the team felt he had a limited skillset and became inconsistent. He certainly declined in ‘08. Maybe Richard Smith got into his head or something, there’s no telling. Just happened, I don’t think there’s a rational explanation. Will Demps (and Jacoby Jones to a lesser extent) did the same thing, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we have at least one player who does the same this year.
What happened? Emergency shemes after Dunta's injury...
… masked Bennett’s inability to effectively play man coverage.
I remember being excited the day in 07 when it was announced that we would be starting Fred Bennett opposite Dunta Robinson. I appreciated the the novelty of having 23 at one corner and 32 at the other, and the fact that they were both South Carolina alumni. Granted, it was only Oakland, but the first several defensive series sent my hopes soaring… only to come crashing down with an over-eager, tragic accident at the hands of Earl Cochran.
Then, Bennett shifted over to number one, and looked good doing it. Why?
When Robinson went down, we’d already acknowledge we had no good corners on the team aside from him and Bennett. The prospect of starting raw rookie Bennett next to DeMarcus Faggins was a tough pill to swallow for Richard Smith. To cover for the obvious flaws in both Faggins’ and Bennett’s game, the defense switched to a deep cover-3 zone shell BASE. We essentially played Bennett as a 3rd safety. We hardly engaged in man-coverage, and this masked the fact that Bennett cannot flip his hips. He just can’t. He looked good as what was basically a safety, but this hid the fact from the average fan that he was never asked to play in real coverage as a rookie.
That’s what happened.
I think Bennett would have made a wonderful, cheaper option as a long-term solution at SS. He’s excellent against the run and excels in deep zones, but the coaching staff, for all its premium on versatility, never seemed even remotely interested in trying him there, and that’s why he’s not going to make this team. He can’t play corner—he lacks the footwork and the hips for it, but I think he’ll get picked up somewhere else, and if its by a savvy DC, he’ll be a nice back-up at SS and a respectable spot-starter.
by krkenney on May 26, 2010 10:36 AM CDT reply actions 4 recs
The other guy I've been wondering about is
Cato June I had alot of hope for him to be a solid backup and maybe even push for a starting spot at Will. But he got injured and was never heard from again!
You can't fix Dumb or being a VYFB
I don't think his arms are long enough to be successful in this league.
I'll eliminate you like I eliminate gluten from my diet.
by tehGrindCrusher on May 26, 2010 10:48 AM CDT reply actions
Obvious Sarcasm
Actually he was just never as good as he was made out to be.
by carsonwayne on May 26, 2010 12:00 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
What Kr said
Plus, Corner’s one of those positions where it’s easy to look better than you really are if you come up with a few picks. Look at another rookie DB like Jarius Byrd last year. He made a bunch of picks early, and people fell in love with him. I’m not saying that Byrd isn’t, or won’t be, a great player, but not all of those picks were the result of any kind of play he made (though there are those guys who just have a natural instinct for finding the ball).
As a promising rookie Bennett made a few plays and got everyone excited. I think we probably got a little too hyped up about his prospects his rookie year. He’s never really progressed since his first year, and that exciting young rookie is now a disappointment even though his skill level probably hasn’t really gone down. Some guys make a big leap from their 1st to second year. Some guys have a sophomore slump….that they never recover from. Bennett obviously had something that has limited his growth. Whether it was a physical deficiency, an inability to pick up the finer points of the position, a work ethic problem, or even just a personality conflict with the staff is really hard to say. I’ve never heard any complaints about his work ethic, but the Texans are so tight lipped it’s hard to say.
I think we saw some of the same things with Dunta. Great rookie year, but he never really took a jump after that IMO (even before the injury). Speaking of Dunta, you have to at least consider the impact that the Dunta situation had on Bennett. Dunta took Bennett under his wing and we have no way of knowing if some of the bad blood rubbed off on Bennett as well. The article in the chron went out of its way to point out that Bennett didn’t sulk and was being a team player….but you have to wonder if his close relationship with Dunta didn’t have an impact on his attitude, work ethic, and possibly his relationship with the staff and front office. It could be a complete non-issue and there’s no way to ever really know if the D Rob situation had any kind of impact on Bennett but I think the possibility is there.
"Well, at least our players kept their helmets on, so that showed some intelligence"-Bob McNair
P.S.
The first person to reply “Fuck Dunta” is automatically banned from the internet and will be owed one swift kick to the balls.
"Well, at least our players kept their helmets on, so that showed some intelligence"-Bob McNair
I think you're the first person to say in in a few weeks...
Jus’sayin’
Just your average, run of the mill hardcore casual Texans fan.
Agreed
No one has said Fuck Dunta in a few weeks and the first person to say Fuck Dunta should indeed get a swift kick to the balls. I wonder why saying Fuck Dunta incurs so much ire. I mean, by merely saying Fuck Dunta it seems to get a chuckle from some and attract the kind of venom reserved for someone deserving of the Fuck Dunta sentiment. But I digress…
380 pounds of pure pirogi
Fine
I’ll kick myself in the balls.
"Well, at least our players kept their helmets on, so that showed some intelligence"-Bob McNair
Pics or it didn't happen.
Just your average, run of the mill hardcore casual Texans fan.
Bennett at free safety
Could Bennett play free safety? I’m assuming the Texans would have moved him already if he could. But with the comments here describing his skill at playing deep zones?
According to Barry Warner
He and JJ are about the biggest boneheads on the team.
Case in point, last year Bennet stated in an interview that he was stepping up and taking the young DBs under his wing. Kubiak was later asked at a presser to comment on this. Kubiak’s comment was, “He is???”
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