Cedric Benson Ready To Carry The Bengals

There has been plenty of talk lately about the Bengals’ passing game. Unlike last year, quarterback Carson Palmer is healthy. Unlike last year, receiver Chad Ochocino is happy to be in Cincinnati. Unlike last year, Laveranues Coles will be the starter across from Ochocino -- and Coles is an upgrade in our view over T.J. Houshmandzadeh. But the running game has improved, too. After Rudi Johnson was released, the Bengals struggled to find a workhorse. When they decided to give Cedric Benson a second chance in the NFL, they got their man. Benson rushed for 747 yards in 12 games, which projects to 996 yards over 16 games. Not bad, considering that the passing attack led by Ryan Fitzpatrick likely wasn’t pushing the strong safeties away from the line of scrimmage. This year, Benson wants to do more. “No doubt, I’m ready to carry this team on my back,” Benson told Carlos Holmes of the Dayton Daily News. “I’m due, hungry for it, miss it, and excited. It’s good to be on a team that wants you. It’s a great opportunity for me and I am definitely going to seize every moment. “I plan to take full advantage of those opportunities and see where it takes us. I’m about whatever it takes to get the job done. I think I am in the best situation that I can be in and it has to happen for me here.” Running backs coach Jim Anderson likes what he has seen in Benson’s first offseason with the team. “Cedric brings energy,” Anderson told Holmes. “He’s a guy that’s out to prove that he is a quality player in this league, and that he can perform and really achieve. That’s what we want to do as a team. “Whatever we have asked Cedric to do, he’s willing to do it. When he’s on the football field he’s all business. He’s like a sponge. When he is not getting a physical rep he’s getting a mental rep. That’s an outstanding trait for a guy playing in the NFL.” And it’s an amazing development for a guy who went from fourth overall pick in 2005 to waiver wire in 2008. In the end, a running back who was a first-round bust looks to be ready to fulfill his potential with a team other than the one that drafted him. It’s fitting, we suppose, that the Bears were the team to get burned on this one. After all, Chicago got the benefit of a mid-career surge from Thomas Jones, the seventh overall pick in 2000 who was dumped by the Cardinals after only three years.