[Stardust]

Running Backs
Who’s back: Starter Cedric Benson and reserves DeDe Dorsey, Kenny Watson, James Johnson and J.D. Runnels.
Who’s new: Brian Leonard (trade with Rams), Bernard Scott (sixth-round pick), Fui Vakapuna (seventh round), Chris Pressley and Marlon Lucky (college free agents).
Who’s back after being gone: Jeremi Johnson, who was released in November before being signed in April.
Who’s gone: Chris Perry (released).

Looking back: Benson was signed before the fifth game of the season against Dallas and ended up starting the final 10 games. He ran for a career-high 747 yards and also had 185 yards receiving. He had three 100-yard games, including the final two games of the season. Perry started six games, with his best being Week 3 against the Giants, when he had 74 yards on 20 carries, including a 25-yard touchdown. Dorsey, Watson and Jeremi Johnson were injured for most of the year.

Looking ahead: Marvin Lewis has repeatedly said during the offseason that he wants to run the ball more, which they will need to do in order to keep pressure off Carson Palmer. In order to do that, the Bengals will have to turn back what has been a noticeable dropoff in the running game. The last three years, they have finished in the lower third in the league in run offense, including 29th last year (95.0 yards per game). During the playoff year of 2005, they were 11th in the league, averaging 119.4 yards per game.

Four downs
Carrying the load: Benson fits the profile of successful backs in the AFC North. He can carry the ball 20-30 times a game, has a physical style and can break open long runs when breaking into the secondary. He also can catch the ball out of the backfield as evidenced by the 72-yard screen pass against Washington. If he can maintain his late-season form, the Bengals might finally have a respectable running game.

Brian Leonard
Leonard’s role: He had some success in St. Louis, but was plagued by a shoulder injury last year. Leonard has good quickness and can get to the outside, but is known to be inconsistent. He is slow to recognize holes develop and is not known as a powerful inside runner. However, with Dorsey and Watson struggling here, Leonard will be given the first shot to back up Benson. Another advantage of having Leonard is that he can play fullback if others are injured.

Battling for spots: If past rosters are any indication, Lewis will keep four running backs on the roster. After Benson and Leonard, that leaves five players fighting for the other two spots. The biggest wild card will be Scott. He showed plenty of speed and ability to get to the outside during OTAs and minicamp, but the biggest question is how quick it will take for him to pick up blocking. Dorsey and Watson have been injury plagued during their careers here and will need unbelievable training camps to make the roster.

What about fullback? By drafting Vakapuna and signing Pressley, Lewis has fallback options in case Jeremi Johnson is not in football shape by the time camp opens. In other words, Lewis would not have to shift a tight end over to play fullback. Both Vakapuna and Pressley have the size to play fullback in the NFL and also have gotten some carries.

An Outsiders view
Robert Weintraub of Football Outsiders assesses the Bengals RBs: “As for Cedric Benson, his punishing style is beneficial, and the team wants to play more physically in the run game. But that also means the likelihood of injury goes up. We project him as a slightly below average back with a high injury risk. Bernard Scott looks to be the prime candidate to spell Benson and add a speed element, provided he behaves himself. I like Dede Dorsey, and Watson is still valuable on downs other than third, when he gets the ball despite everyone knowing he’s getting it.”

[bigjim4packers]

Packers all the way!!!