NFL Betting – Benson Goes To Jail; Does Not Pass Go

Cedric Benson had been one of the best stories in the NFL during the 2009-10 season, but prior to the start of training camp this year, a dark cloud is once again shadowing him – and the Cincinnati Bengals organization.

Benson was arrested and imprisoned on a charge of assault with injury incident from last month, which likely means that he could be heading for suspension. The charges stem from an incident where Benson punched a bar employee.

The Bengals are currently sitting 25-to-1 odds to win Super Bowl XLV but that could change very quickly if Benson is suspended.

To be clear, when a player is arrested and charged, he is in violation of the NFL’s conduct policy, which means that commissioner Roger Goodell – and the NFL – will do its due diligence, gather its facts and make a decision whether to suspend or discipline him.

We recently saw a somewhat similar incident where Vince Young got into a fight and the league decided to pass it over since it was his first brush-up with the law, but Benson is no stranger to trouble.

In 2008, Benson was arrested twice in a month but the alcohol-related charges were later dropped. When he was at the University of Texas, he was suspended a game for criminal trespassing.

Benson is coming off a career-year where he became an integral part of the Bengals offense. While the passing game struggled, Benson shouldered 301 carries with a 4.2 yards per carry average in just 13 games. The Bengals did get decent productivity out of backup Bernard Scott in the three games he missed, so that should make them breathe a little easier as the league reviews Benson’s case, but should the suspension be a long one, the Bengals could feel a significant brunt.

When Goodell took over, he did state that he would punish not only players, but teams if they had repeat offenses and the Bengals have been very consistently pushing those boundaries. While it isn’t exactly their fault, they could start to feel the wrath of Goodell should another incident pop-up.

In the mean time, the Bengals may have to live without Benson for probably 2-4 games maximum. Their Super Bowl odds should take a bit of a hit, which is disappointing since the Bengals odds were tempting to take after such an encouraging 2009 campaign.

If Benson is out for a prolonged period of time, expect the team to learn more heavily on the passing game and their new weapons Antonio Bryant and tight end Jermaine Gresham.