Cedric Benson excels against Bengals

Earlier this week, we discussed comments that were made by Packers running back Cedric Benson in regards to facing his former team the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday evening.

Although he did not get to hand out the “whooping” that he planned on dishing out, Benson did perform well rushing for 38 yards on six carries.

He averaged 6.3 yards per carry which is a very, very nice place to be.

After the game he told the Cincinnati Inquirer that he is still missed in that locker room.

“Just lets me know those guys miss me over there. I guess the run game hasn’t gotten up to par in Cincinnati yet. Those guys know the type of player I am. They know how I work. Developed a pretty good relationship with those guys.”

The Packers have to be encouraged by what they saw in his limited action as Green Bay’s running game has not exactly been up to par until Benson’s arrival.

With the versatile Randall Cobb on deck in gadget support, Benson could get the opportunity to be the workhorse back as James Starks has fizzled out and Ryan Grant has hit the road.

What does this mean for Green Bay?

For one thing it would give Aaron Rodgers a break from feeling as if the game is always on his shoulders.

The average lifespan of a quarterback rises tremendously when he’s not tucking and running.

Looking back to last year’s playoff loss against the Giants, even though the Packers were trailing for a large chunk of the game, had their running game been able to soften the Giants pass rush with consistent blows from the ground attack, there is no telling how that situation would have played out.

The play action pass is still amongst the league’s most lethal weapons and when it’s not taken seriously it can work against you.

The idea of teams being forced to fear the run with a receiver like Jordy Nelson running free is scary.

The unspoken elephant in the room with the Packers offense is the injury bug that Greg Jennings has now been struck with.

Going down the tail stretch of last season he dealt with a semi-serious knee issue and so far this season he is battling concussions.

Jennings should be fine and he should generate nice numbers but as these things start to stack up, it’s worth mentioning.

This is all why Benson could be the located missing link for the Packers.

His ability to slow things down and grind out yardage will be a nice change of pace for a team that offensively is as explosive as they get.