I know it’s really damn obvious to say this, but Benson is the reason why our rushing offense is finally effective — it’s been dreadful since Rudi Johnson started collapsing after 2006. The thing about Benson right now is that he’s motivated. He’s comfortable and happy in Cincinnati as opposed to Chicago — a lot of which was his fault. He’s taking advantage of his second chance and he’s only 26 years old.

It’s still questionable though if he’s in our long term plans. He’s only signed after next year and if continues the pace he’s on, he’s going to ask for a really good contract. And if the money is too high, I’m not sure it would be wise for the Bengals to splurge. But that has nothing to do with Benson; just big-time contracts going to running backs after a few years in the league. It doesn’t seem to work out for the team once the RB gets his career deal.

But Bengals fans really like him and feel that he could pick up a first down anytime he touches the football.

I think the Bengals have all the faith in the world in Benson as the #1 back. The number of touches he gets is among the highest in the league. In an NFL world where almost everyone has a 2 back system, Benson and then Bengals are bucking the trend either because he’s really really good or because they don’t have anyone else. Given the numbers he’s putting up, one has to lean towards the former, but I think (as do most Bengals fans), if they used Bernard Scott and Brian Leonard a little more, there might be some great production from all three, keeping that #1 healthy and fresh for a playoff push.

Will he break 100 Sunday? We all hope so. Everything we have seen says he can. Hell, the Bengals line up in many formations where the opposition knows it will be a run, and they still can’t stop it. That has more to do with inordinate and surprising depth on the O-line, which has only gotten better with Andre Smith and his notable run blocking skills. Now, if the Ravens sell-out on the run early, they open up the passing game. With the Ravens secondary, that’s a risky play, and with the way Palmer and the WRs are clicking, it’s even more dangerous. I’d say the only way they keep him under a 100 is to successfully run blitz early, force incompletions in the passing game early due to pressure/blitzing, and then force us to pass because we’re behind. Not impossible, but it requires both Ravens offense and defense to be successful.

Will Benson be the #1 franchise back for years? Maybe. But the way they’re using him now, they’ll use him up. Overpaying for 2011 would then be, I think, an unwise move. I’m just happy they have some time to wait and see and evaluate before making that decision.

Is Brad St. Louis still on the team as long snapper….
and as a follow up to that one….Why on god’s green earth is he still on the team?!?

I kid, but has there been improvement in the long snapping and special teams as that seemed to be the only aspect of the game at our last match up that the Bengals didn’t look good?

Yea, he’s expected to play, but not start. We’re expecting to see him in big-formation packages, where the Bengals line up three offensive tackles with Smith outside the right tackle. He should make his NFL debut this Sunday, but his playing time will be limited.

They enjoy stacking tackles on unbalanced lines. That, or if injury sets in, is the most likely scenario that Smith gets on the field. He’s not going to start, but he’s been healthy for a couple of weeks.

like you can’t stand up if your wearing out of town colors or nothing right?

he’s been spotty. lewis really likes coles and caldwell because they’re solid run blockers, so generally henry only gets in when someone needs a breather or we’re running 4-WR sets.

however, henry has always played really well against division opponents and i don’t think this game will be any different. the bengals know they need to stretch the field and he’s the best option we have to do that.

it’s only been one full game since odom went down so the sample size is small. however, frostee rucker looked like a beast in the game against chicago, and he’s always had that potential if he could keep himself healthy. fanene is also interesting because he can line up inside or outside and has 3 sacks on the season, in limited time. the last factor is michael johnson who is our 6’7" rookie man freak and has the chance to really break out if he can get the playing time. i think this will be a good test for our DL as gaither is back and your line has looked really good all season. I don’t see us getting to flacco a ton, especially with all the max protection the ravens give him, but i think they can pressure him enough where our corners can capitalize.

The Bengals are a family business, so you are not wrong to assume she will take over. I don’t think anyone was super-impressed with her from Hard Knocks, but then again she has the job of being the cutthroat negotiator. When you take a hard stance there, it’s tough to come out looking like a nice person.

The biggest major problems with the organization are that it is way too small and has very little outside perspective. To keep payroll down, too many jobs are split between too few people (primarily scouting comes to mind), and very few people with outside ideas, perspectives, and plans have come to the team, which resulted in such a long period of doing things the same way (the bizarro world opposite of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” – the team was very broken, but nothing new was done). The coaches can only do so much with a crappy product, and it took so long to turn it over and turn it around with their way of doing things (it also helped we actually got some competent coaches in Zimmer and Fitzgerald – Lewis can’t do it all alone).

The real test of this organization is if they can keep this glimmer of success growing and stable for awhile.