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The Bengals haven’t made it a secret that they seem to attract the troubled players and players that may not have played up to their potential.
They have kept Chris Henry after countless off the field problems and he finally seems to be done with his old actions.
They have acquired Cedric Benson after his troubles in Chicago, and he is now on of the best running backs in the league.
They drafted young Bernard Scott who has been arrested six times, but has been a very great talent for the Bengals. Their first round draft pick, Andre Smith, also had character issues during the NFL Combine.
In free agency they picked up Tank Johnson, and made a notion to grab quarterback Michael Vick.
So when the Bengals signed running back Larry Johnson, it was no big deal because what they have done has finally been working this season and they players labeled “busts” and “criminals” have led the Bengals to a 7-2 start and an early AFC North lead.
Larry Johnson was released from the Chiefs after he insulted his head coach and made gay slurs on Twitter.
A couple of years ago this would have been a very bad acquisition for the Bengals because they couldn’t control the players they had, and even before the season the Bengals were criticized because it hasn’t worked for them up to this point.
With a backfield full of players that have had second chances with the Bengals, how will Larry Johnson fit into the mix?
With Cedric Benson a little banged up I think this will relieve pressure off of the rookie running back Bernard Scott. Larry Johnson should be happy to be on a new team, and the Bengals will try to work him into the mix.
When Benson got a new change in scenery he made the best of the situation, and it has made the Bengals a much better team because of it. Larry Johnson has been a good running back on a bad team and I think that this could be a nice change of pace in the back field when they find out where he fits in the offense.
Marvin Lewis believes that Johnson can make an impact on this team, and his judgment has been pretty good so far this year.
Benson so far this season has rushed for 859 yards, and until two weeks ago was leading the league in rushing. When you add Larry Johnson to the mix, who at one point in time was one of the best running backs in the NFL, this could turn into a powerful backfield and will help the Bengals offense because you have to plan for so much more.
I’m not to sure that Johnson will make an immediate impact and Benson expects to play against the Raiders.
Bernard Scott is coming off a week where he was the difference in the Bengals win against the Steelers, and I think that they do need to work him in a little bit more because he’s more of the speed guy to equal the power of Benson and now Johnson.
Brian Leonard has an impact, but if Johnson learns the offense fairly fast he will possibly see less and less playing time.
Overall I’d say this is a fairly good decision for the Bengals, and we will see how it works as Johnson is expected to see at least a couple snaps Sunday against Oakland.
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