Ian Allan
I just finished writing the first draft of the story on the Bengals. It will be altered as things change in the offseason, of course, but I’ve got an idea of where I think they’re headed.
I think they’re going to be pretty good.
As I look at T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Laveranues Coles, I don’t see a big difference between the two. Houshmandzadeh has caught 66 more passes and 12 more TDs over the last five years, but I think a lot of that difference can be attributed to Houshmandzadeh working with Carson Palmer. Coles has spent a lot of time working with lesser passers – Patrick Ramsey, Mark Brunell, Brooks Bollinger, Vinny Testaverde. During those last five years, Coles’ offenses have completed 163 fewer passes and thrown 37 fewer touchdowns.
Coles should be fine (thought it blows me away that the Bengals are paying him almost $10 million this year – it would have been slightly cheaper for them to just put the franchise tag on Houshmandzadeh).
On this team, however, the guy who catches my eye is Cedric Benson. He played very well last year, and I was shocked Cincinnati was able to re-sign him for only $7 million for two years. Benson has had a checkered career to this point, but I think he’s now figured out what it takes to succeed at the pro level. If I were starting an NFL team, I would rather have him starting at tailback in 2009 than a handful of more-heralded players, most notably LaDainian Tomlinson, Willis McGahee, Jamal Lewis, Julius Jones and Derrick Ward.
Benson averaged only 3.5 yards per attempt last year, lowest among all players with at least 200 attempts, but he faced a lot of tough run defenses – Pittsburgh (twice), Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington. In his five starts against defenses that didn’t rank in the top 8 against the run, Benson averaged 4.2 yards per carry and 91 rushing yards per game.
Thumbs up for Benson. I’m not sure how he’ll be valued by other fantasy owners, but my feeling is he’s going to be on a lot of my teams this year.
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Posted by JODY SMITH | Mar. 18 at 07:44 AM
If you're right about the Bengals bouncing back, do you think Ced Ben can approach Rudi Johnson's numbers when he had 3 straight 12 T.D. seasons?
Posted by IAN ALLAN | Mar. 18 at 08:06 AM
I see Benson as very similar to what Rudi Johnson was a few years back. Not a breakaway guy. Won't catch many passes. But a good inside runner and a clear, featured guy. If I were drafting today, I would expect Benson to likely land on my team.