The Facts:
Everyone thought at the beginning of the season that Cincinnati's offense would be more run-based due to a rookie QB and WR. By the end of the year, which finished with a 9-7 record and a second playoff berth in three seasons, it was more slanted to the pass due to the progress of Andy Dalton and A.J. Green. Instead of Benson getting almost all of the carries, the workload was shared with Bernard Scott. With Benson not pleased over the evolution of the offense, many have wondered if this was his final season in stripes. “I don’t know what the future’s going to hold. You never know going into being a free agent, things like that,” said Benson, who signed a one-year deal during last training camp to remain with the team. “I don’t have any closed doors, so we’ll see what the future holds.”
Reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer
Fantasy Football Diehards Line:
Benson is the first Bengal since Rudi Johnson to have three straight 1,000-yard seasons and his 16 100-yard games in 56 Cincinnati games has made him one of the top backs in the AFC. However, no one was satisfied with the run game this past season. Before this season, Benson had 11 games of 25 carries or more. Ironically, his season highs in carries (25) and yards (121) came in the opener at Cleveland. Even though Benson’s carries decreased this season, his 273 were the fourth-most in the AFC. Overall, the Bengals 3.9 rushing yards per attempt was fifth-worse in the conference. Said Benson of the offensive changes: “I wasn’t a big fan of it. Granted I don’t make those decisions or calls and I have to find a way to make it work. It was something they started soon after the first game. There was a vision where they saw the offense going. I may not like it or agree with it but I’ll make it work if given the opportunity.” Acording to Enquirer staffer Joe Reedy, whether Benson gets that chance is one of the biggest question marks with the offense.
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