In Cedric Benson’s mind, the 2009 Bengals offense worked pretty well. So why mess with a good thing by adding talent that can catch the ball?
“With all those players and names you brought up [Terrell Owens, Jordan Shipley, Jermaine Gresham, etc] they’re all, except for one, directly involved in the passing game,” Benson said on SIRIUS radio Thursday via the Cincinnati Enquirer. “So, I mean, if I had to guess, it seems that that’s kind of the route that we’re trying to go, which can be a bit frustrating because we were successful running the football last year and being a power team.
“Being that type of team got us where we ultimately wanted to be, which was in the playoffs. I don’t know what would be the reason the team would want to change their identity, unless in the past season it didn’t work. But that’s not the case here. And, I mean, I don’t know. I guess whoever’s making those shots, or calling those shots, you got to kind of roll with the punches.”
The Bengals offense wasn’t that successful last year. They were one-dimensional and easy to stop by year’s end. The defense carried the team and the Bengals needed help badly to fix the passing attack. They weren’t a true title threat.
Second, Benson needs to look at the reality of the first two games. They trailed 17-0 before they blinked in Week One against the Patriots. You aren’t going to run much then.
In Week Two, the Bengals attacked the Ravens on the ground plenty. Benson had 23 carries for 78 yards. The team attempted 28 rushes to 35 pass attempts. That’s balance, especially considering the Ravens should be easier to attack through the air.
Benson wants to pile up stats in his contract year, and he should have plenty of chances to do so. If he doesn’t, we’ll apparently be hearing more about it.