Fantasy Football Reality Check: Bengals Sport Beast of a Running Game

Each Monday of the fantasy football season, we'll cut through the fantasy numbers put up by individuals and tell you what they really mean.

When it comes to running backs, it would seem one man's trash is the Cincinnati Bengals' treasure. Cedric Benson was starring in the role of the featured back for the Bengals and many believed he just needed a separation from Chicago to reach his immense potential. He was doing so in Cincy. Well, Ced supporters, it's becoming pretty apparent the Bengals' offensive line is the force. They can run with anybody.

In two games without Benson, Bernard Scott and Larry Johnson have stepped up to more than replace Benson's "lost" production. Like Benson, Scott (passed over repeatedly in the draft due to character concerns) and Johnson (cut by the Chiefs a few weeks ago) have been counted out by others and are now thriving.

In fact, Scott and Johnson are averaging more yards per carry than Benson was since he's been out. This is the bi-product of facing two of the worst run defenses in the NFL, but it also shows the ability of the Bengals to run the football with whatever running back is lining up behind Carson Palmer. It's the essence of a fungible position on this football team.

It doesn't matter who the Bengals running back is moving forward. Just as long as you know who it is and have him in your fantasy football starting lineup.

Other Reality Checks

• Vincent Jackson provides us with a good example of how fickle wideouts can be. Through nine weeks, Jackson was among the most productive wideouts in the NFL. In some fantasy football formats, he was actually the top receiver through those eight games. Since then, however, Jackson has been a major disappointment. In the last three games, Philip Rivers has completed 58 passes for 693 yards and five touchdowns. Jackson has been on the receiving end of just seven of those passes for 93 yards and zero scores. This was a guy who had 722 receiving yards and seven touchdowns through his first eight games. And he's been downright unusable in the past three weeks. Still, we've seen too much from him and know the inherent risks of all receivers to think about sitting him -- especially not in Week 13 against the Browns.

• I'm ready to call Terrell Owens a reliable start again in most fantasy leagues. It appears we jumped the gun on burying him. We've now seen two straight very good games from T.O. and he's seemingly in good with the new administration (these games both came immediately after Dick Jauron was fired). It appears Ryan Fitzpatrick trusts T.O. more than Lee Evans on the deep ball and it's paid off in the form of two long touchdowns. Of course, I would sit Owens next week. Why, you ask?

• Look no further than Steve Smith's "production" Sunday (one catch, five yards) as what Darrelle Revis can do to opposing receivers. At different times this year Revis has killed the fantasy value of Marques Colston, Andre Johnson, Randy Moss and now Smith. They aren't alone, but those are the biggest names and they are all -- at this point in everyone's respective careers -- tougher to cover than Owens. And, by the way, no one has allowed fewer touchdown passes than the Jets. Looking ahead on the schedule, it looks like Revis will lock down Owens, Antonio Bryant (Bucs, Week 14), Roddy White (Falcons, Week 15) and Reggie Wayne (Colts, Week 16 -- if Wayne and Peyton Manning even play). If you own any of those guys, you should try to look ahead on the schedule and find some replacement-types with soft matchups. Think about Johnny Knox (vs. Rams), Malcom Floyd (at Cleveland), Michael Crabtree (at Seattle) as possibilities for Week 13.

• Jason Witten is really just touchdowns away from being a steady TE1 in all leagues, especially in PPR leagues. Check out his game-log and you can see great week-to-week consistency everywhere but in the "TD" column. Those are bound to start coming, so stick with him. Defenses have to start eliminating Miles Austin in the red zone at some point.

• Call me crazy, but Josh Freeman is actually worth a look in deep fantasy leagues (especially ones where you can use a quarterback at the flex position). After a very solid 250-yard, two touchdown effort against Atlanta Sunday, it's apparent that Freeman is rapidly improving on the fly. He loves Kellen Winslow and has benefited from the reappearance of Antonio Bryant.

Now, we're not about to start saying Freeman's a QB1, but there's a possibility you lose yours before Weeks 15 and 16, whether to an injury or sitting out because the game doesn't mean anything (hello, Peyton Manning owners). The Week 15 opponent for Freeman is the Seattle team who nearly allowed a 300-yard game to Kyle Boller and the Rams. They rank in the lower quarter of pass defenses in the NFL and have allowed 20 touchdown passes in 11 games. Freeman will be a decent replacement there. Also, in Week 16 the Bucs will face the Saints. New Orleans has an average pass defense, numbers-wise, but they are dealing with a rash of injuries. There's also the mitigating factor that the Bucs won't be able to stop Drew Brees and company, meaning Freeman will be throwing all game long in catch-up mode. Just a lot of stuff to keep in mind (oh, and don't start Freeman in Week 14 against the Jets. See two bullet-points up).

• Dennis Dixon? Well, at least Ben Roethlisberger still has an able-bodied backup. Good for Dixon for having a better-than-expected debut against a good defense, but Big Ben will be back next week in all likelihood and Dixon's not worth a fantasy look.

• Ray Rice just gets the job done. Facing the stout Steelers' run defense? No problem, he'll just break off a big game via pass from the slot (44-yarder on a pivotal fourth down conversion). And he still gained 88 yards on the ground. He just doesn't gain less than 100 all-purpose yards and is usually over 120. He's a definite RB1 and don't think about sitting him the rest of the way.

• Chris Johnson Watch (because I predicted he'd be the top running back and reach 2,000 yards): 1,396 yards through 11 games. That's a pace of 2,030 yards and he'll need to average 121 yards per game to reach two grand. Also, he's averaging 6.5 yards per carry, which is flat-out insanity for someone with more than 200 rushes.