Mother's Day is a day to remember those who gave birth to us, but Chicago Bears defensive tackle Terry "Tank" Johnson will consider Mother's Day to be a day signifying his own kind of "birth," or "rebirth," of his own.

After 60 days in jail, Johnson was released (on good behavior) to make a new life for himself thanks to the new beginning that was offered to him by the justice system. Now the question is, will he take advantage of this new found freedom and stay out of trouble or will he continue on the path that he laid out for himself before being incarcerated?

The NFL is cracking down on a player who's off the field performance ends up in legal trouble for that player. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has come forward with some tough penalties for two players who have recently broken the law off the field.

The Tennessee Titans Adam Jones was suspended for a year, while Chris Henry of the Cincinnati Bengals was suspended for eight games. Jones penalty was the worst of those having received suspensions by the NFL, but Johnson is the only one who has served any hard jail time. So, will his punishment be lighter or much harsher?

Comparing Jones to Johnson is almost like comparing apples to oranges so far. Jones, despite the fact he has already been suspended and has a plan in place to help him try to overcome his issues, repeatedly continues to break the law.

One prime example of this is that on the night before Jones was to meet with the NFL Commissioner he went to a New York City strip club, which was something he was not supposed to be doing. Then on that night after midnight, he was pulled over by law enforcement officers for speeding. Not only breaking the traffic laws, but also breaking his agreement to be inside and off the streets by midnight. So, even though he was on the eve of meeting the commissioner to appeal his suspension, he continued to act like he was above the law.

Johnson is a different case from Jones. He has already been convicted of the crimes that he has been accused of and has already served time for the crime(s) that he has committed. He was also suspended for two games in 2006 due to his adverse behavior.

There is a possibility that Johnson could receive a reduced suspension (in thinking that he might have already served out some of a suspension last season and, of course, the commissioner could consider that he has served some of that time and reduce the sentence) or he could get a full year suspension and be taught a hard life lesson.

So what should happen to Johnson?

I believe he has paid some of his debt to the NFL through his jail time served and the suspensions he had in 2006. So, his suspension this year should be short, perhaps shorter than what Chris Henry received, simply because he has served his time and at least appears to be on the right track to getting his life straightened out. Even though he hasn't been out that long and could still get in trouble, he seems to be the one that is on the right track when compared to the other two, especially Adam Jones.

Tank has taken his trials and tribulations in front of the media and on the first day of mini camp, he had an outpouring of sorts in front of the media. One thing that was kind of a surprise is that he didn't lay blame to anyone but himself in all of this and took full responsibility for his actions.

There are many people who feel that, thanks to his serving some time in jail and getting suspended by the Bears in 2006, it will help to lessen the suspension. However, this remains to be seen.

At any rate, there is going to be a suspension and there is nothing that Johnson or the Bears can do about it. This new policy is in place to not only help protect the image of the NFL, but to help police the players in the league and give them some kind of deterrent to stay out of trouble. It is a good thing and, if players can adhere to the rules and stay out of trouble, then all of this will be well worth it.