Tag: Cedric Benson (Page 3 of 7)

      NFL Week 16 MVP Power Rankings

      January 3, 2010 /

      It’s been two weeks since we last did these rankings, and while not much has changed at the top, the teams our top two guys play for have been very shaky. In fact, Philip Rivers’ Chargers are the only one on a roll heading into the postseason.

      1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—If Jim Caldwell benching his starting quarterback in the third quarter against the Jets proved anything, it’s that Manning is clearly and unequivocally valuable. His numbers (4405 yards, 33 TDs) don’t suck either.

      2. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints—There is no question that Brees hasn’t been the same since DeMarcus Ware terrorized him two weeks ago in the Superdome. But the MVP race is not based on a few games and Brees still has a league-high 109.6 QB rating, and leads the NFL with 34 touchdown passes.

      3. Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans—This guy was racking up yards even before the Titans started winning games this season. And he’s so far ahead of the pack right now, with his sights on 2000 yards and even Eric Dickerson’s record of 2105 yards for a single season. That’s saying something.

      4. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers—Yes, he has numbers — 4155 yards, 27 TDs to 9 picks, second to Brees in QB rating with 104.5. But here is why Rivers belongs on here—because all he does is win games.

      5. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings—Let’s not lose sight of the fact that Favre brought his Vikings back from a 17-point deficit in chilly Chicago before losing in OT. His season has been and continues to be bordering on magical.

      Honorable Mention— DeSean Jackson, Eagles; Aaron Rodgers, Packers; Cedric Benson, Bengals; Reggie Wayne, Colts; Jared Allen, Vikings; Vince Young, Titans; Elvis Dumervil, Broncos; Darren Sharper, Saints; Wes Welker, Patriots; Darrelle Revis, Jets; Andre Johnson, Texans; Dallas Clark, Colts; DeMarcus Ware, Cowboys

      NFL

      Bengals clinch AFC North with lackluster effort

      December 27, 2009 /

      Thanks to Cedric Benson’s 133 rushing yards, the Bengals beat the Chiefs 17-10 on Sunday to clinch the AFC North. It was Benson’s sixth 100-yard rushing performance of the season, which is a new franchise record for Cincinnati.

      The Bengals defense was sound today, much like it has been all season. They surrendered only 10 points and 172 passing yards, although they did allow Jamaal Charles to rush for 102 yards on 24 carries.

      But for as good as Benson and the defense looked, this wasn’t an overly impressive performance by Cincinnati. They battled San Diego last week, but outside of that game, the Bengals haven’t looked impressive since back-to-back wins over the Ravens and Steelers in mid November. They continue to struggle trying to make plays in the passing game and they seem to play down to their competition.

      This has been a great year so far for the Bengals and I realize they’re kind of playing with house money because they weren’t supposed to be this good. But that said, this isn’t a team streaking into the playoffs with a full head of steam. Much like other teams, they have plenty of wrinkles to iron out and little time to do it. It’ll be interesting to see if they can figure things out in time for their first playoff game or if they’ll be one and done.

      NFL

      NFL Week 14 MVP Power Rankings

      December 19, 2009 /

      The first four names on here, all quarterbacks, did nothing to hurt their MVP chances in Week 14. Each won their game, and helped their team win. Especially Drew Brees and Peyton Manning, who continue to roll along without a loss this season.

      1. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints—Against Atlanta, in what turned out to be another game too close for Saints’ fans comfort, Brees still completed 31 of 40 (77.5%) passes for 296 yards, 3 touchdowns and zero picks. His case for MVP keeps getting stronger.

      2. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Manning uncharacteristically threw three interceptions against Denver last weekend, but he still racked up 220 yards and 4 TDs, leading his Colts to victory again. Then he went ahead and threw for 308 yards, four more scores and 1 pick that wasn’t his fault Thursday night against Jacksonville.

      3. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers—This guy throws one of the best deep balls in the game, he’s extremely accurate and he just wins. Don’t think Rivers’ Chargers can’t upset the Colts again in the postseason too.

      4. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings—Not a great game against the Bengals, but the Vikings still won, and at this point in the season, that counts for something.

      5. Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans—The NFL’s leading rusher just keeps racking up yards and touchdowns. Johnson has 1626 rushing yards, with a realistic shot at 2000 and an outside shot at Eric Dickerson’s record of 2105 yards in a single season. He also has 42 catches for 391 yards and 13 total TDs.

      Honorable Mention— DeSean Jackson, Eagles; Aaron Rodgers, Packers; Cedric Benson, Bengals; Adrian Peterson, Vikings; Reggie Wayne, Colts; Jared Allen, Vikings; Vince Young, Titans; Elvis Dumervil, Broncos; Darren Sharper, Saints; Wes Welker, Patriots

      NFL

      Are the Bengals too one-dimensional offensively?

      December 13, 2009 /

      The Bengals haven’t gotten as far as they have this season by accident. They’ve won nine games by not killing themselves with mistakes, by running the ball and by playing solid defensive.

      But are they relying too much on their running game?

      On Sunday in Minnesota, the Bengals attempted 24 runs and 28 passes. That’s a nice, balanced offensive approach but it got them nowhere in a 30-10 loss to the Vikings.

      Marvin Lewis had to have known that the Bengals weren’t going to line up and just run the ball at will against the stout Minnesota front four. Granted, Cincinnati did manage to gain 119 yards on the ground, but Carson Palmer threw for just 94 yards despite completing 15-of-25 pass attempts. The Bengals had zero vertical passing game whatsoever.

      Following the loss, Chad Ochocinco hit the nail on the end when he summed up his team’s offensive game plan coming into Sunday:

      “I am not sure if we were really focused on getting the passing game going today,” Ochocinco said. “I think what we wanted to do was establish the run like we have been doing all year. We wanted to pass, as needed.”

      The Bengals shouldn’t change their identify based on their opponent, but that doesn’t mean that they also shouldn’t make adjustments in order to win the game. Yes, they had some success running the football against the Vikings. But it was apparent that the running game alone wasn’t going to help them beat Minnesota and yet Lewis and his coaching staff never adjusted.

      The Bengals are a damn good team and they played a great opponent in a tough environment. But in order for them to become elite, they need to find a way to beat teams through the air or else they’re going to have a tough time advancing in the post season.

      NFL

      NFL Week 13 MVP Power Rankings

      December 12, 2009 /

      The way the Saints have been winning each week has been like a gift to their fans. That is, it’s been a SURPRISE each week. Sometimes they dominate, sometimes they make it more interesting than it should be, and sometimes they flat out get a, well, gift, from the opposing team. Last Sunday it was the latter against a Washington team that let the Saints back in the game by missing a chip shot field goal. Drew Brees and company took care of the rest, and that’s why our man remains atop this list, with Peyton Manning right there behind him.

      1. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints—He’s got a 111.3 QB rating to lead the NFL—3536 passing yards, 69% completion percentage and 29 touchdowns to 10 picks. Oh, and yeah…his team is 12-0 and has already clinched the NFC South.

      2. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Not much different from Brees’ numbers—3685 passing yards, a ridiculous 70% completion rate, 25 TDs and 11 interceptions…and the same 12-0 record for his Colts, with a clinched AFC South.

      3. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings—A much more human game for Favre against Arizona Sunday night, but despite those 2 interceptions, he still threw for 275 yards and two scores. It just wasn’t enough, and even worse, the Cardinals may have gotten into the Vikings’ collective head.

      4. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers—Despite being sacked a league high 45 times, Rodgers had led his team to four straight wins and has them in position for a wild card berth. And he probably hates this comparison, but his numbers are very Favre-esque: 3399 yards, 25 TDs, 7 picks.

      5. Cedric Benson, Cincinnati Bengals—After missing a few starts due to injury, Cedric returned (albeit against Detroit) and promptly carried 36 times for 110 yards. Sure, there are two RBs with more yards per game (Chris Johnson and Steven Jackson), but Benson is making more of an impact for his team…the definition of MVP.

      Honorable Mention—Chris Johnson, Titans; Philip Rivers, Chargers; Adrian Peterson, Vikings; Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars, Reggie Wayne, Colts; Jared Allen, Vikings; Vince Young, Titans; Elvis Dumervil, Broncos; Darren Sharper, Saints; Randy Moss, Patriots; Wes Welker, Patriots

      NFL

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