Over his four-year career with the Cincinnati Bengals, Cedric Benson averaged 19.8 yards per carry and had 25-or-more carries in nine of his 56 games. However, the days of one back carrying the workload in the Bengals' offense appear to be over, Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported Wednesday, as the team will move to a running back-by-committee approach in 2012.
A committee approach makes sense. The Bengals signed former New England Patriots running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis to a three-year, $9 million contract in March, but the "Law Firm" has never had more than 230 carries in a single season and has just two games with 25-plus carries on his resume.
The smaller Bernard Scott, 5-foot-10, 200 pounds, is the projected No. 2 back. He has just two games with 20-plus carries in his three-year career, one of which came in a spot start for Benson last season.
"I think me and BenJarvus are going to be ready to handle how many carries they want to give us," Scott said. "I think it will be pretty even, but you never know."
Together, Green-Ellis and Scott could form a productive "Thunder and Lightning" combination in the backfield. Though Green-Ellis has a bit more speed than he's given credit for, he is a strong inside runner who will be used in short-yardage and goal-line situations (24 rushing touchdowns the last two seasons). Scott, when healthy, is more of an outside runner.