In light of the recent F up by Bengals running back Cedric Benson I thought I would look into arrests around the league for the last year and a half. Below is a table of the NFL arrests (notice, arrests. Douchebags like Ben Roethlisberger are not included because of the slimy way he avoids arrest.)  The Bengals are on the heavy side with 4.  Notice the Chargers and the Dolphins both have more arrests. The Bengals are the team, based on past occurrences, that will get slammed every time a player is arrested.

I stand by what I always say.  There are arrests in every profession. I do not hold professional athletes on some moral pedestal.  For those that refuse to watch or have your kids watch I ask what the hell is wrong with you?  Watch for the sport, not what these players do in their personal lives.  If your kid needs a moral compass maybe that should be you and not some running back who will only be on your TV a few times a year.

I also don't apologize for these athletes.  While it may be true that they are targeted (ESPN's Ric Bucher) or their mess ups are more publicized, they also are paid much more than the road repair crews and enjoy other benefits the average Joe is not privy to.

I just don't get it.  Bengals fans cry when the Bengals don't make a move and they cry when they do. After reading too many articles about whether or not it was a good idea to sign Larry Johnson, I came across this one by David Fleming of ESPN. These are exactly my thoughts and I feel like he stole my words (except he wrote them much better than I ever could and he got paid to do it.)

The situation is very simple. The Bengals have a great running back. That running back is dinged up with the kind of injury that can linger. Who knows what kind of news the Bengals training staff is releasing. I don't trust those reports at all, you will all remember Carson Palmer was day to day for about 12 games last season.

So the Bengals see a weakness and go out and sign the best possible running back on the market, you know a two time pro-bowler who has set records in Kansas City.  Now people are worried about Cedrics feelings. Look, Ced has been a great running back so far this season, but the goal in the NFL is not to have all your players feeling really good about themselves. It is to win football games. So if Ced is a little nervous about some competition coming in than so be it.  It is a pretty simple philosophy in organized sports.  If you are better than the guy ahead of you then you will play.

What I personally think is going to happen is Cedric is going to sit the next two games and be inactive.  A hip injury on a running back is nothing to mess with. Larry Johnson and Bernard Scott get to split carries with Larry taking the majority.  I think Scott can be a great back but still needs some polish. Tell me you don't want him healthy and returning kicks in January spotting the Bengals the kind of field position they were getting against the Steelers.  When Cedric is healthy enough to play, give him his job. Now, if Larry runs the ball lights out, and Cedric struggles on his return, let the hot hand run the ball. The goal is to win.

A good GM would make these same kinds of decisions that Mike Brown is making this year.  I am just saying.

Larry Johnson signed a 1 year contract with the Bengals this morning.  Benson is still nursing a hip injury from the Pittsburgh win and is limited on practice this week.  Benson may play this weekend at Oakland but if he can't go, the Bengals will have a few options at runnning back.  Rookie Bernard Scott (who is up for the rookie of the week award for his kick return last week), third down back Brian Leonard, and now 2 time pro-bowler Larry Johnson. 

There are going to be so many people that complain about this pick up but there is nothing to complain about.  This move says one thing to me.... "We want to do whatever it takes to win.."  And that's what they are doing.  Having Larry Johnson on the team isn't going to hurt the Bengals at all.  It should do nothing but help.  There are going to be people that worry that Johnson is going to ruin the "good vibes" in the locker room with his bad attitude.  A players attitude can pull a complete 180 when you leave a bad team like the Chiefs and go to a team like the Bengals who have a chance to go to the playoffs.  Also, if he does cause problems then you cut him and you really don't lose anything.  The way I see it, this is a low risk/huge reward scenario for the Bengals.  It also makes the December 27th game against the Chiefs a little more interesting.  Mike Brown may still be in my dog house but after the offseason we've had and now the Johnson signing I'm putting some extra food in his dish.

4 and 0 in the division. The Bengals just beat the Baltimore Ravens for the second time this season. This is a game I was worried about.  The Ravens are a confident team that I thought would be looking for blood. However, the Bengals outplayed them (again) to take the sweep.

What I didn't like:

The Chris Henry and Keith Rivers injuries are tough. Henry was really demanding respect on the field on Sunday. When he was out there Ed Reed cheated to his side. Rivers, although the MRI was negative still may miss some time and that hurts as the Bengals are preparing to play the Steelers for the second time in Pittsburgh on Sunday.

I also don't like that Chad fumbled the ball twice. However, Chad played a hell of a game and he was trying to squeeze every inch of yardage out of the Ravens after the catch and I can't fault him for that.  Remember in the first matchup Ray Lewis took a cheap shot on Chad and I am sure Chad wanted to show that he is not intimidated.

What I liked:

How awesome is Cedric Benson? No one can run for 100 yds against the Ravens D. Benson does it twice in a couple of weeks. He also finished strong one time putting all world safety Ed Reed on his ass to squeeze a couple more yards.

Laveranues Coles had his biggest day as a Bengal. He had 70+ yds and a huge run on a reverse where he was stopped for a loss, broke the tackle and gave the Bengals a first and goal on the 2.

Carson Palmer has really returned to his '05 form. He is making time in the backfield with his legs and has excellent downfield vision. He is also putting the ball in tight spots and allowing his receivers the chance to make plays on the ball.

After this game I am very confident in the Bengals playoff hopes. I expect the mailing from the Bengals at any time and I am ready to write that check.

WhoDey

What to expect this weekend in the Bengals rematch against the Ravens. Division football is back this weekend and the Bengals have a huge game against the Ravens. While this is not a must win game, it sure does feel like it. The Ravens last week kicked the Bronco's tail and look to exact revenge on Cincinnati for beating them at home earlier this season. Many Ravens fans argue that it was a fluke win by the Bengals and the only reason they won was because the refs gave it to them. To those people I say two things:

1. I have never heard a fan base cry more about the officiating then the Ravens fans cry about it this year (although the Steelers are a close second). Seriously, the penalties at the end of the game were because the Bengals offense had been beating you all day and the Ravens defenders were tired and frustrated.  Ray Lewis made the dumbest play of the game and it cost you. Get over it.

2. By your statements it shows that most of you only tuned in for or remembered the last drive of the game.  The Bengals beat the Ravens, pretty bad actually. More than what the scoreboard showed. Yes you were up with 2 minutes to go but if there was any fluke it was that the Ravens actually had the lead at all during the game. Don't believe me? Still in denial? Lets look at the stats:

The Bengals had another half of football in stats compared to the Ravens. You rushed for 82 yds and passed for 175. You scream Ray Rice and Joe Flacco are the best players in the world yet they both were held pretty quiet all game.  You boast your defensive stats and then get housed for 403 yds. You don't allow a 100 yd rusher in like 900 seasons or some crap and then Cedric trots along for more than 120. If you look passed the fact that the Bengals needed to go the length of the field in the last two minutes to win the game (which they did). Then what really did the Ravens show that day? That a team that no one has confidence in comes into your stadium, gives you the ball twice on turnovers and is down at the end of the game can have their way with your well respected but less than stellar defense and leave with the victory and division lead.

What do you want to see from the Bengals this weekend?

I want to see the Bengals build momentum.  If they get the ball first a field goal or touchdown instantly puts the Ravens in a panic.  The Bengals D can pressure Flacco and force their coordinator to have a 2nd year QB try and beat the Bengal corners. If the Bengals are on defense a quick 3 and out would also build the same momentum. I have a feeling the Ravens are going to try and focus Ray Rice. They should, he is by far their best player on offense. Mason may make claims that no one can cover him but I think Leon is ready to let him have 0 catches against the Bengals this season.

On offense I think Cedric Benson has proven that he can carry the ball well in the AFC North. Give him the ball and let him pound it.  In the passing game I would like to see Henry on the field more.  He is a receiver that stretches the field and would demand some coverage from Ed Reed. If Reed is on Henry or Chad, Palmer could feel comfortable passing to the other guy knowing Reed is out of the play.

All in all I predict the Bengals sweep the Ravens. Last time I predicted a more than 10 point victory. Look at the stats above, it should have happened.  This time the Bengals are home and they win this game by 10 exactly. 27 - 17.

WhoDey

After Sunday's game I am struggling to put together a post that accurately describes the feeling I have about the Bengals.  Is this the offense we have been waiting this whole season for? 7 possessions 7 scores. 1 punt all day. Rather than recap how awesome every Bengal player looked on Sunday (I told almost every one of them the same after the game) I thought I would focus on one. After hanging out with his brother for a short time on Sunday in the friends and family waiting area I got to thinking how awesome this resurgence must be for Cedric Benson.

I was one of the few Bengal fans that was really excited when Cedric Benson became a Bengal. PROOF

Others were not quite so optimistic like these guys.

However, Cedric Benson is the number one running back in the NFL. He has more total yards and also is the only running back in the league that averages over 100 yds a game.  Many people may not grasp how incredible that is. He may not have the touchdowns that other running backs do but that matters more in your fantasy league than it does on the field. With this kind of production Cedric extends drives, eats up the game clock and wears down a defense. This also gives the outstanding Bengals defense the opportunity to rest before they are needed to shut down the opposing team.

WhoDeyFans just wants to say congrats Cedric. Keep up the good work.

Since training camp I have had this weeks game circled on the schedule for two reasons.

Both of these players were drafted by the Chicago Bears. Both were then sent packing. Both are in Cincinnati and hopefully still pissed off. If not please read the following three quotes from a Bears blog:

• "And Cedric Benson is a whinny cry baby who can't run behind a terrible offensive line either."
• "I think the point of my post was to inform the board of what a moron tank still is. Also, give alot of credit to the BEars camp.  It appears light years away from a team like the Bengals"
• "What I noticed is that the Bengals like rooting through our garbage."

I want to see the Bengals hand off to Benson 30 times.  This is just the kind of motivation a team that just suffered a bad loss needs. Put together a strong performance and use the bye week to get healthy. Maybe after this week Benson can go back to leading the league in rushing.

Besides, I think the guy on the left could teach the guy on the right a few things.

Last week the bandwagon was almost full. This week I look around and see plenty of seats. What can the Bengals do to right the ship?  Well in my opinion the ship is not sinking.  This is a Bengals team that just finished a stretch of three division games in probably the toughest division in football. They won all three of these games. While I was hoping they would not let down against the Texans part of me had a gut feeling that a letdown was coming. As hard as it may be for some people to get, this loss had nothing to do with Mike Brown. Mike Brown fumbled exactly 0 times. He never got beat deep and he was called for no penalties. He didn't even have 1 bad snap.

I am not stating that I agree with every decision Mike Brown makes or even half of the decisions he makes. However, this season, Mike has made some pretty good decisions. Some point at the fact that Mike did not draft a tight end last season. They reference the Jerome Simpson pick where the Bengals could have drafted a tight end. I took a look at the 4 tight ends drafted after Jerome Simpson. Here are their stats:

As you can see, none of the available tight ends are really putting up the kind of numbers that an elite or even average tight end would be putting up. It is easy to fault the Simpson pick but the kid has amazing talent and that sometimes never matures. Hindsight is always 20/20. Most of these people are also the ones that come up with statements like: "We should trade our 7th round compensation pick for Antonio Gates!" You can not have a logical debate with these people.

Reggie Kelley was not an elite tight end. However he was someone that was solid at blocking for the run and occasionally could catch a pass. Dan Coates came into this season as the 3rd tight end and may not have even made the team. Chase Coffman is not NFL ready. People screaming for this kid are going to be angry when he fails to read the defense and causes Cedric to get blown up in the backfield. Naysayers claim it is not that hard to learn how to block. I am sure it looks simple from the safety of your couch with a cold one in your hand.

The draft this year and free agent pickups have given the Bengals one heck of a defense. This is also what these band wagon jumpers were screaming for in the offseason. Some said the Bengals should pick all defensive players in the draft. When the offense struggles these people flip flop on those statements too.

Speaking of flip flops, many of these people were ready to trade Chad Ochocinco for a bag of popcorn. He had one bad season and because he is a kind of leader on this team he got a lot of the blame. I always thought Chad should stay and am glad that Mike Brown agreed with me.

Enough about the naysayers on the net. Let's look at what the Bengals have to work with going forward.  This Sunday the Bengals play a beatable Bears team. It has been announced that Peko is not lost and his injury may not be all that serious (which given the history of the Bengal trainers makes me very nervous). Now we get to see what rookie end Michael Johnson can do, I have a feeling he will make mistakes but also has the freakish ability to be disruptive in this defense. Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall will calm down and go back to playing the solid defense they have been playing all year.  I believe the breakdown we witnessed on Sunday was partially because the Bengals were struggling and guys were trying to do too much. This can cause over pursuit and mistakes by the D.

Cedric Benson should be focused more in this offense. Contrary to popular belief, the Bengals should not "throw it deep" every play. Toss one every now and then to Chris Henry? Yes. This past Sunday the Bengals got away from pounding the ball and I believe that was a mistake. The pieces are there, the players just need to execute.

Long story short, stay on the Bandwagon. I am not going to get back into the buying tickets debate, just do what you want. However, continue to support this first place team. The Steeler fans are riding high after beating the Cleveland Browns and love to think that all their problems are fixed. The Bengals are still ruling their own destiny and that is always the position you want your team to be in. Looking back at the Beginning of the season if I was to tell you the Bengals would beat the Steelers, Ravens in Baltimore and the Packers in Green Bay you would have been ecstatic.  Well, be ecstatic. This is still a fun ride.

WhoDey

Tennessee has Chris Johnson and LenDale White, Dallas has Marion Barber and Felix Jones, Carolina has Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams, and the New York Football Giants have Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw.  All of these teams, and there are others, use their "two-headed monster" at running back.  It's usually a power back and then a fast scatback to change the pace.  Using a two runnning back system serves many purposes.  First, it keeps your number one guy healthy.  When your number one back gets all the first and second down carries all the time, you can almost bet on not having that guy all 16 games in a season.  Running backs have a short shelf life anyway.  The second purpose it serves is it keeps the defense on their toes.  Not only does the defense need to prepare for the power back but they need to prepare for a good change of pace back and the passing game.  It's just common sense, the more difficult you make things for a defense, the more likely you are to put some points up on the board.

So who is the second head of the Bengals two-headed monster?  It's obvious that the number one guy is Cedric Benson.  Brian Leonard?  No, he's great as a third down guy and is too much like Benson in size and speed.  That leaves Bernard Scott, the rookie from Abilene Christian.  He's the second head if Bob Bratkowski desides to utilize him.  Last week they put Scott in every once in a while.  At the end of the game, Scott had 6 carries for 41 yards including runs for 11 and 16 yards on the last minute touchdown drive to tie the game.  He's smaller and lighter and faster than Benson and he's got fresh legs.  He would be perfect as the second punch in a one-two punch combination that could help knock out some of the tough defenses in the AFC North.

Baltimore has an aging defense but they're still tough.  They don't give up yards on the ground easily and it's no secret that the best way to set up a successful passing game is to establish the running game.  If Benson and Scott can force the Ravens front seven to focus on them and load up the box, Carson will shred the weaker Baltimore secondary.