Philip Rivers won offensive player of the month; Cedric had a good December too

by Josh Kirkendall on Jan 2, 2009 1:02 PM EST in Awards

Philip Rivers won the NFL Offensive Player of the Month for December. Rivers led the Chargers from a 4-8 record, winning four-straight in December to capture the team's third consecutive AFC West title. They are the first team ever to start 4-8 and make the playoffs. During the month, Rivers completed 66.1% of passes for 1,054 yards and 11 touchdowns (NFL-high) with only one pick (120.3 passer rating). Phillips' month of December was impressive, critical to the team's chances of making the playoffs.

Still, I thought we should give a shoutout to Cedric Benson (again). In his last four games, Benson recorded 412 yards rushing on 91 attempts, averaging 4.5 yards-per-rush. With seven receptions for 108 yards, Benson finished the season with 520 yards from scrimmage on 98 touches (5.3 yards-per-touch). Granted, guys like Adrian Peterson (449 yards rushing), DeAngelo Williams (560 yards rushing, 7 touchdowns), Steve Slaton (408 yards rushing), and Michael Turner (491 yards rushing) had much better Decembers. While it still should be pointed out that Benson didn't have the advantage of quality quarterback play (managing yes, not enough to keep defenses on their heels), it should help convince ownership (LOL) that Benson is young enough that you could build the rushing offense around.

So while Rivers had the best December, and while other running backs had a better month, we believe that Benson has nothing but upside, and that Bengals should making signing him a high priority. After all, if not for his performances, the Bengals could have really finished the season in really, really, really bad shape.

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Benson

Please dont hand the Starting RB postition to Cedric Benson. There is a reason he sucked his whole career (until the last 3 games) His off field problem werent the only reason he got cut in Chicago. The man has never lived up to his draft hype. Over his 4 seasons he has averaged 3.7 ypc with only 5, 100 yard games. in 5 of his 12 games with the Bengals he failed to average more than 3.0 ypc. Before the last 2 games, Benson averaged 46.5 yards per game. I will give him credit that he played well over the past few weeks, but at the same time, the whole team played better. If he would have played all 16 games and would have averaged his 62 yards per game. Benson would have neded up with 992 yards on the season (Projected). Thats not good enough. Not if this team wants to get to the playoffs. 8 Running Backs are in the Playoffs with at least 1,000 yards. I guess what im saying is that i want the Bengals to take a RB in either the 2nd or 3rd round in the 09 Draft. Maybe like a Javon Ringer or a Shonn Green. Hey you need 2 RBs in the NFL today anyways.

by Joe Goodberry on Jan 2, 2009 3:21 PM EST reply actions

Benson may not be the solution by himself...

but he sure showed enough to justify resigning him. He stabilized the position, eliminated the fumbles that killed us with Chris Perry, was shifty enough to make “something out of nothing” when required to do so, ran hard enough to knock Troy Polamalu senseless, and won over his teammates. The Bengals need a “home-run hitter” to complement Benson – and that someone is NOT Chris Perry or DeDe Dorsey. I disagree with drafting Green or Ringer – I think the speed in the NFL might prove too much for either of them to recreate their college production. But I do agree that a servicable back could be found in the mid to late rounds of the draft – look at Denver over the past decade. I think Running Back falls below O-line, D-line, or LB on the Bengals draft board – assuming they resign Benson.

"Ryan, Things in here don't react too well to bullets." - Marko Ramius

by TarZander on Jan 2, 2009 6:47 PM EST up reply actions

I'd like to pick up

West Virginia’s Pat White to complement Benson in the rushing game- and perhaps to both add an Arkansas/Miami direct snap sort of wrinkle to the offense and maybe provide an interesting backup to Carson. He’s already got the fact that he’s not Fitzpatrick going for him.

As regards Benson, I prefer to look at Benson’s toughness and power at Texas and in his time here as the norm for him, with his Chicago stint as the aberration. Not excusing his attitude problems both on and off the field there, mind you, but he’s only been a positive here. I think if we put him back there with a quality fullback, behind a revamped line, draft White, maybe keep James Johnson in reserve, and, well, the running game would be fine.

by IgnatiusJReilly on Jan 3, 2009 6:54 PM EST up reply actions