Not surprisingly, given his recent string of trouble and lack of production on the field, Cedric Benson went unclaimed on waivers and straight to free agency.

Any team who had picked Benson up would have taken on the last two years of his contract. Benson was set to earn $820,000 this season.

Provided that Benson doesn't end up suspended for a long period of time, do you see any teams looking to bring him in at a bargain basement price? Humility can be a quick push toward maturity. The risk could turn out to be worthwhile, or it could be a complete waste of money.

Your running game has to be in pretty bad shape if you're going to consider picking up this idiot. Not only is he trouble, but he's mediocre trouble. Most of the time the guys who can't behave are amazing talents.

Benson is more talented than what he has shown on the field. Much of the problem in Chicago is the result of nobody being able to do anything in that backfield.

Thomas Jones was sent packing because Benson had overtaken him in the ability to convert on the field. that is how bad it has gotten in Chicago. Even Thomas Jones, who had done well, was struggling toward the end once total disrespect for the passing game, along with sub par o-line play set in.

I am putting into place my Houston Texans theory that nobody would buy into for several years. Replace the quarterback with a player that can earn the respect from his players, and you will see the offensive line improve, and the running game improve, without having to change out any other player.

and I am not claiming (before anybody jumps on this opportunity) that Benson is a stud running back. He is better (or can be better) than what he has shown in Chicago though.

No he isn't, he can't even finish a season.

Where in the heck did you come up with this? Everything I heard was he was shipped due to money, nothing else. In all the years the two competed, Jones out performed him each time...until he got hurt again, and again, and again.

You know, it was not all that long ago that the Chicago line was considered top notch. Injuries hurt them last year..but could be good. While I agree...a QB can drive a team, and make it better than it is. In this case......the issue WAS the rb, not just the QB or line.

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Expert on nothing, opinionated on everything...

From watching the games two seasons ago. Thomas Jones got to a point where he was getting hammered at the line on short yardage plays, while Benson was able to get those short yards. The transition began mid-season, and that is when the speculation began that Jones probably wouldn't be around the following year, and he wasn't.

Oh God. I hope the Texans stay away from him.

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2008 Black Knights Football

Ligaments: Wrecking your fantasy team since 2008

Some day, I swear to god, you have to take your rediculous Texas rose colored glasses off. At no point in his whole friggen career has Benson EVER outdone Jones. Good grief man..

Word!

This has nothing to do with the Texas Longhorns. I could care less what school a player is from once I am discussing them in regards to the NFL.

You can argue this all you want, but during the games that year, it was well discussed, even by the game announcers.

I am not saying that Benson was stepping up, it was more like Thomas Jones was stepping down in production.

Check the month of December 2006. Benson started getting more carries because Jones was wearing down late in the games. In fact, Benson carried the ball more than Thomas Jones during the month of December

Benson - 59 carries in the last 4 games
Jones - 49 carries

Both finished the season with a ypc of 4.1, and even though Thomas Jones had twice as many carries, both ended the season with 6 rushing touchdowns each.

I don't know why you want to argue with me about this, when all I am doing is stating what was being said during that season.

Could it be the zone blocking system that makes even mediocre linemen effective?

I could see him landing in Atlanta as Michael Turner's backup as a possibility.

I don't really think so. Denver was effective with zone blocking, but they did it with good linemen. Last year, they dipped into the area of having mediocre linemen, and it showed.

Houston moved to the zone blocking scheme, thinking that things were going to be all peachy, but until they got rid of that quarterback who has all the intelligence of a tree stump (sorry if I offended any tree stumps), the line and the offense still looked horrible.

As for Benson in Atlanta as Turner's backup, the only thing that would shy me away fro that though is what the team just went through with Vick. Would they risk another player with issues this year?

Eh. Vick was the starting QB and face of the franchise, so his situation stung a bit. Benson will get a backup job somewhere, and I chose Atlanta because Norwood's more of a change of pace than a starter's backup.

Let's keep an eye on the Lions situation. They're switching to zone blocking and have pretty poor linemen. Since they have Kitna as the common factor in both formats, we'll get an idea on how much weight the zbs should have.

Ah, but since Bensons, arrests were in Texas the Texans may have the clout to smooth the situation over.

That will be a good situation to watch. They did go get a right side anchor in the draft this year though. Haven't seen what they have or haven't done in free agency up to this point though.

Kitna going to be the guy all season? Curious if Stanton has a chance of being a factor at any point if Kitna struggles.

Recent report on Stanton:
Scouting Report: Drew Stanton - Detroit Lions: News, Blogs, Photos, Audio, Schedule & Stats - MLive.com

So you are saying the Raiders had a good line last year?

The Raiders line last year was mediocre to less than mediocre and had a carousel at the QB position. They ran the ZBS and had one of the top run offenses in the league last year.

I tend to agree with Orgazmo that the ZBS makes even mediocre linemen effective.

Good point.

However, I would consider the Raiders rushing offense last year as average at best.

I am looking beyond yards for the fact that this team was 4th in total rush attempts, not because the running game was so good, but because they had no other option but to run.

rushing average was 4.1 ypc, basically middle of the pack, and this is watered down even more by a large number of 2nd/3rd and long plays where they would run when a typical team would be passing.

Look further, in terms of touchdowns, and they are far closer to the bottom of the pack than the top.

You know, I was going to let this go, but I can't.

What you see, or the experts saw, or games or whatever, isn't what I saw. Or heard.

More than half the season they fully relied on Jones. In the first three months of the season Jones had over 220 carries. Was averaging over 4ypc. Benson was a bust his rookie year, but was able to get more carries in 2006 as his legs were fresher, and Jones was somewhat beat up. Benson only had 89 carries. In every head to head competition he had with Jones, he lost.

I still remember everyone being shocked that they dealt Jones, who only produced for the team, to keep Benson who couldn't stay healthy. I call out ..they were right too.

ZBS can be a great tool for mediocre linemen. It also allows you to go to smaller linemen that are quicker. Which is easier to find later in the draft vs. early. I am curious to see how Detriot does with it.