[sportscurmudgeon]

Cedric Benson used to ask out of games in the middle of drives because he was winded. That was after he went through all the training camp/OTAs/whatever that NFL teams have. Now he walks into the middle of a season...

If Benson carries on two successive plays this weekend, he'll probably need a blow.

If Cedric Benson is the answer to your problems in the running game, then you really didn't have much of a problem to begin with.

The thing that keeps Marvin Lewis safe for now is that his deal with the Bengals goes through the end of the '09 season. The Bengals' ownership is VERY thrifty - - they squeeze a nickel so hard that the buffalo craps - - and that ownership is not likely to fire a coach and then pay him a year and a half of salary to sit home and scratch his butt. Based on the record in Cincy and the cast of characters there, Lewis should have been fired last year.