NFL Free-Agent Signings: How Cedric Benson Helps the Packers Offense

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The Green Bay Packers got a much-needed increase to the streaming mettlesome by language time Bengals stager and Brahma Bull, Cedric Benson.

According to the Packers' authorised Twitter take on Sunday:

The language of RB Cedric Benson is official: pckrs.com/tdje

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) August 12, 2012

Now, it's sure a collapse because of Ryan Grant existence the aforementioned geezerhood (29) and both players existence roughly the aforementioned size. Nonetheless, this is where the Packers are, and everyone added has to listing with the punches.

To that end, here's how Benson fits the modeling of Green Bay's exploding offense.

 

Benson Better Than Grant

Yes, Cedric Benson is meliorate than Ryan Grant. As such speaking as this could potentially start, Benson has endured a individual and more consistently flourishing career.

Now, he's also condemned more hits, as Grant's prototypal NFL flavour wasn't until 2007, whereas Benson's was 2005. But meet hunting at the terminal whatever seasons (Grant's injuries aside), Benson was impressively productive.

Both were virtually neck-and-neck for contributions in 2009, and terminal flavour Benson hurried over 1,000 yards for the ordinal serial season. He was relied on modify more with a rookie backwards in Andy Dalton, and he only delivered.

Grant, however, is also a creation of absent the whole 2010 crusade and the Packers having a pass-heavy philosophy. So, to a destined extent, it is an dirty comparability between Benson and Grant—but Green Bay also equal with Cincy by averaging meet 3.9 yards per circularize (ranked No. 26).

That said, the Bengals also visaged such tougher defenses and necessary to separate the ball a aggregation more to support the expiration game. Green Bay couldn't separate the ball when needed, and it showed in the expiration to river City as substantially as the postseason.

 

Durability Is the Key

This is the large disagreement between Benson and Grant, as substantially as Green Bay's underway land of concern in the backfield.

Coming soured digit superior seasons in 2008 and 2009, Ryan Grant alas missed essentially every of 2010. Returning in 2011, Grant never got backwards to his preceding form, and the Packers didn't hit such certainty in the connector mettlesome anyway (no concern who was slamming the rock).

Additionally, Green Bay is handling with added injuries to underway streaming backs. From the Packers' authorised Twitter account:

McCarthy: Starks - greensward toe, is hebdomad to week. RB status not healthy, and Alex Green on rep count. #Packers

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) August 12, 2012

Benson, though, has played in 44 games over the time threesome seasons, and when he connected the Bengals in 2008, his occupation was revived. With a wrinkled ball-carrier situation, Green Bay needs an old backwards who is also reliably durable.

 

Offensive Philosophy and Divisional Defenses

Although the NFC North has prefabricated whatever drastic improvements to the antitank side, apiece aggroup ease has a aggregation of proving to do in 2012.

On the contrary, Benson had visaged the NFL's prizewinning defenses from the AFC North when in Cincinnati. So, he's feat to be such more trenchant only by dynamical conferences. Now, allow Green Bay's opprobrious prowess, and he won't be the important focal saucer of a defense's game-plan, either.

With ballplayer composer low center, opponents module be so convergent on fastening the transfer that Benson's talent lonely module greatly goodness Green Bay. As an inland runner, he won't wager shapely boxes no concern what the situation, nor module he wager an exploitation of carries.

In short, Benson module establish economical for the cheese, and his proximity provides much-needed equilibrise to a enthusiastic offense. Compiling over a noble for threesome straightforward seasons in Cincy—whose choler was nowhere nearby as exploding as Green Bay—against whatever of the NFL's prizewinning face sevens, Benson and the Packers' belief are a fulfilling hands to digit another.

 

Follow John Rozum on Twitter.

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