Cedric Benson Incident "Minor," Quest for Controversy Continues

A couple weeks back, I requested that the Cincinnati Bengals do a better job generating controversy. Today, RB Cedric Benson delivered, getting charged with assault for taking a poke at a bouncer while being thrown out of a bar for getting punched in the face.

I have to give the guy points for creativity. Slamming his face into another guy's fist was an inspired "man bites dog" reversal of the norm, and the results -- 446 news stories and counting on the Google about Ced-Bed -- speak for themselves.

However, on substance, I remain disappointed. So far, there have been no reports of drugs, drunk driving, inappropriate behavior toward the opposite sex, nothing. It's a gutsy move by Benson. Not only does he go long to begin with, he doubles down by skipping the usual window dressing of a typical incident in the NFL.

Unfortunately, I think its going to backfire on him. According to Adam Schefter, the league front office considers the incident "minor." So it seems unlikely that Benson will be able to top the discipline that Roger Goodell laid down on Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger. At this point, if he wants to be suspended for even so much as a single game, I think he needs to go out tonight and add some more charges to that list. As it stands now, an inspired start threatens to be forgotten by next week.