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Castoffs run well for the Bengals

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By Tom Archdeacon, Staff Writer 10:17 PM Sunday, November 29, 2009

CINCINNATI — Instead of a starched white collar, he wore a black polo shirt with orange piping. No Irish priest, he was the head coach of the 8-3 Cincinnati Bengals.

Still, Marvin Lewis now could pass for Father Flanagan, the guy who ran Boys Town, the famed orphanage for wayward lads.

Flanagan and his boys ended immortalized in a Spencer Tracy movie. Lewis — thanks to his stable of once-wayward running backs — will get his team into the postseason. And if you listen to Larry Johnson, Cincinnati could go “deep into the playoffs.”

If that happens, it will be thanks to Johnson and fellow Bengal backs Cedric Benson and Bernard Scott. Considered misfits and often worse by those who cast them off not long ago, the trio — along with Brian Leonard — now make up one of the best stables of running backs in the NFL.

Released by Kansas City three weeks ago — after two suspensions and lots of bad blood — Johnson rushed for 107 yards on 22 carries to help the Bengals defeat the Cleveland Browns, 16-7, at Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 29.

The rookie Scott, added 87 yards and last week against Oakland he ran for 119 yards. Seven months ago, his draft stock plummeted because he’d been kicked out of one college and had at least five arrests.

Benson, a former No. 1 draft pick dumped by the Chicago Bears after two alcohol-related incidents last year — was leading the NFL in rushing this season until a hip injury sidelined him two weeks ago.

Since they’ve become Bengals, the three, by all accounts, have been model teammates. So much for the days when malcontents poisoned the well here. Lewis finally has imposed his will and a team-first bunch has emerged.

People questioned adding Johnson, even though he’d had 1,700-yard rushing seasons in both 2005 and 2006. Since then his production had declined and his off-field incidents — using gay slurs, alleged night club scraps — had escalated.

“Coach Lewis wanted to meet with me personally and see where my head was at,” Johnson said. “He wanted me to understand what my role would be.

“I just wanted a second chance. With Ced and Bernard, I knew I couldn’t expect to carry the ball. They say, ‘Beggars can’t be choosers’ and I had to do some begging to get a team to give me a chance to be in their uniform, their locker room, their meeting room.

“Today Bernard and me — together — we did an awesome job. And it’ll be scary when Cedric comes back. Teams that can run the ball like this can grind their way into the Super Bowl.”

He claimed he’d be OK going into the background when Benson returns: “It’ll be hard going from 22 carries maybe back to zero, but the big thing is that we keep winning. Whatever they want me to do, I’m gonna have to do it. If it helps us, I can handle it.”

Sounds almost like the old Boys Town motto: “He ain’t heavy, Father, he’s m’ brother.”

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