Call Me Crazy, But I Like Cedric Benson In Cincinnati!

I will be the first to admit, when I heard on Tuesday that the Cincinnati Bengals signed former Bears running back Cedric Benson, I asked myself "Why does Marvin Lewis and Mike Brown hate me so much....what have I ever done to them?"

After allowing myself a few day to take a step back and settle down a little bit, I am actually starting to come around to the acquisition, actually, I am starting to LOVE it!

Call me CRAZY....I know! 

First of all, I know what the entire nation was thinking after we signed Benson, "What better team for that criminal to play for than the Bengals?" But that isn't entirely fair to "Beezy" considering he was never convicted of a single crime except an older charge stretching all the way back to his college days at the University of Texas. I realize that people are automatically going to consider Benson guilty, but the fact of the matter is ALL charges were dropped.

Second, did Benson REALLY have much of a chance to succeed in Chicago playing behind Rex Grossman and Craig Krenzel? Really? I know for a fact that if I were a defensive coordinator in the NFC North I would be stacking 8 in the box, forcing those the Bears to beat me through the air.

Third, it has been documented, for some reason, that when Benson arrived in Chicago he was NOT very well liked by his teammates. I even read reports that his own teammates were trying to hurt him during practice. I cannot say for sure that this is true, but generally where there is smoke there is fire.

I really like the athletic ability that Benson bring to the Cincinnati backfield. Chris Perry is NOT a starting running back in the NFL. Unfortunately we passed on the opportunity to draft Steven Jackson, but hopefully Benson can ease the pain a little bit. I honestly believe he is a better back than Rudi Johnson could have been at this point in his career. With a mix of Benson and Perry along with a potent air attack, Benson could shine in Cincinnati. 

Think about it....Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Ben Utecht, Chris "Slim" Henry and Benson/Perry....THAT sounds like a pretty darn good offense to me!

We'll see...but for now, I am pretty happy with what he brings to this team!