Cedric Benson Or Bust

by Naji Bsisu on Aug 24, 2011 10:55 AM EDT

ATLANTA - FILE: Cedric Benson #32 of the Cincinnati Bengals against the Atlanta Falcons at Georgia Dome on October 24, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. According to reports on July 31, 2011 the Bengals will re-sign Benson to a one year deal. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Cedric Benson has been the man at the running back position for the Bengals since they signed him as a free agent in 2008. Over the course of the past two seasons Benson has rushed for 2,362 yards and scored 13 rushing touchdowns. While his 3.8 yards per carry average isn't spectacular, he has proven himself to be a steady presence in the backfield, able to carry the football 20 plus times per game in the rough and tumble AFC North.

The question remains as to who will serve as Benson's backups when the season starts. Running back coach Jim Anderson said, "Its a very competitive situations. The next two weeks will be interesting to see how it unfolds. It's going to be fun."

The most probable candidates are Brian Leonard and Bernard Scott, followed by Jay Finley, Cedric Peerman and John Griffin. Brian Leonard seems to have the 3rd down back spot lined up. He's made some plays in that role before for the Bengals, and has recorded one of the Bengals biggest plays this preseason with his 33 yard catch and run against the New York Jets. Assuming he stays healthy, Leonard should have a productive year in the new West Coast offense.

Bernard Scott, who is battling a hamstring injury has yet to play this preseason, although that looks to be change as he is gearing up to play against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday, August 25th. Scott has tremendous speed and is valuable in a change-of-pace type role to relieve Benson.

While Leonard and Scott are effective backs in their respective roles, neither one has shown the ability to stay healthy or to carry the football 20 plus times in a game if Benson goes down to injury. Jay Finley, Cedric Peerman and John Griffin look to be competing for spots on the practice squad.

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Comments

That Rudy Johnson is awesome.

I hope we never get rid of him.

Sure. Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the mouth - Mike Tyson

by UpStateMike on Aug 24, 2011 11:51 AM EDT reply actions

Cedric Benson Or Bust

can i choose “bust”? ha ha

by ephram on Aug 24, 2011 11:58 AM EDT reply actions

Ced Benson is like late night infomercials.

+You know that they are always going to be on.
+You know that they aren’t going to be very impressive.
+You know it’s always the same thing….a product for $19.95….but wait, if you order NOW, they will throw in a 2nd one free!

With Ced:
+You know he’s always going to be running the ball in their backfield
+You know that he’s not going to explode for any impressive long runs
+You know it’s always the same thing….3.5 yards per carry and a few TD’s

by ephram on Aug 24, 2011 12:02 PM EDT reply actions

Running game is gonna have to carry the passing game...

…and the defense is gonna have to carry the offense. Hope old Ced is up to it.

by goffchile on Aug 24, 2011 12:56 PM EDT reply actions

Mike Brown strikes again.

I love all the issues at RB. Cincy passed on Stephen Jackson and took Chris Perry. Think of that every time Benson touches the ball this year, Jackson is an Pro Bowler, and Perry is running a 7/11

by JoseOle on Aug 24, 2011 1:07 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

Hi Guys.

This is a great blog for Bengal & all football enthusiasts. A big fan.
I was wondering why doesn’t Marvin Lewis take advantage of changing the pace more often in game situations using all 3 backs ?
I can see defenses may be planning on stuffing 8 in the box which would easily stop Cedric and potentially halt the passing game.
Cedric is alarming due to his inability to break low tackles, he is much slower than average side to side and is not comfortable running routes besides 1 or 2 yd screens only to the right side. Benson has very low big play ability. His only upside is he can run 20-25 x per game but that can be done by committee. Very hard to understand why Lewis would is so persistent to use this type of back 20 + times a game when he will fail 70% of the time ?

by ExNFLScout on Aug 24, 2011 2:47 PM EDT reply actions

He thinks its AFC North Football.. That's about all I get out of it..

by JamesShively on Aug 24, 2011 4:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Well Scout

The predicability of the offense should be much less now that Bratowski is no longer the Bengals OC.

Jay Gruden is looking to change up from that and we should see a nice mixture of Benson up the middle, Leonard off tackle, and Scott around the end. It only makes sense to use each player’s natural ability to their advantage.

At least that’s what we hope.

Sure. Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the mouth - Mike Tyson

by UpStateMike on Aug 24, 2011 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions

of course..

For a guy who is supposedly a power runner, he sure doesn’t break many tackles or get into the end zone very often. Good thing we have another questionable OC to blame if he doesn’t suddenly become a good NFL RB.

by indesignkat on Aug 24, 2011 4:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Ha! This is true

by ExNFLScout on Aug 24, 2011 6:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Bengals need to keep an eye on the Redskins' RB situation....

…as Keiland Williams may be the odd man out there – and he’d be a FANTASTIC pick-up for Cincy.

He was a Rookie UDFA out of LSU who was their primary 3rd down RB and actually ended up starting a few games for the ’skins last year. Great hands, smart player, hits the hole without hesitation, solid at blitz pickup and capable on ST (in coverage and as a return guy).

Here’s some VIDEO highlights from last season (#35 starting at 1m19s).

STATS:

This would be a REALLY smart move – and wouldn’t exactly require a chunk taken out of the almighty profit margin.

Just my .02 worth.

It's an ankle bracelet, not a halo....

by yurintroubl on Aug 24, 2011 7:17 PM EDT reply actions

Skins

Have a lot of guys that I think could be really good. Helu in particular. I was shocked when most mocks had him as a 7th round or ufa and hoped Cincy would snag him late.

by indesignkat on Aug 25, 2011 9:19 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions