Introduction to these player comments
Index of player comments
Glossary of terms
Michael Bennett career statistics

I don't much care for Michael Bennett, and just about everything I wrote in the Travis Henry comment applies to Bennett as well. And I'll add one more thing. If Michael Bennett does indeed fail to ever develop into a good NFL running back, people will say that he failed despite his prodigious natural talent. I'll disagree. I'll say that Bennett failed because he lacked natural talent. Sure, he can run fast and throw a lot of weight through the roof, but what he lacks are running back instincts, and these are just as innate -- and just as important -- as more measurable natural talents like speed and strength.

I'm getting ahead of myself here. I might be wrong; Bennett might well turn out to be a great back. But let's assume not and follow this thought.

Compare Bennett's life in football (assuming I'm right) to that of a back who has terrific running instincts but lacks speed and size. Bennett gets first round money, first round fame, and first round expectations, while the other guy gets drafted in the sixth round. Bennett fails to perform but still gets chance after chance while the other guy never gets a second look. When Bennett finally does fail, he's labelled a First-Round Bust [TM], the clear implication being that he had the talent to be a star but was too lazy or too dumb or too headstrong to succeed. His name will be mockingly invoked along with Blair Thomas every time someone wants to make fun of a young RB. When the other guy fails, he's forgotten as soon as his 4-post thread at footballguys message board reaches the bottom of page one. But neither of them ever had a chance -- Bennett because he simply wasn't born with that instinct that allows him to see two seconds into the future as well as an NFL running back must, the other guy because he can't run.

Who got the raw deal here? I don't know.