RB situation?

[yo123]

Does anyone have any news on what your RB situation is looking like? I thought I saw that Chris Perry was named the starter and that it's possible that Rudi gets cut?

I just drafted Perry so any info is appreciated.

[PalmerToCJ]

As of this second, Perry is the starter. He looks really good but the guy is an injury waiting to happen. Perry has way more upside, IMO, than Rudi.

I hope Perry stays healthy and gets a hold of the starters spot for the Bengals sake.

For the record, I could've drafted Rudi really late in both of my leagues but waited and took Perry instead if that means anything.

[StripedWalrus]

Perry will get you some receiving yards every game even if he isnt the starting runningback....but the way it looks, Perry might be the starter, and I hope he is.

Rudi will not be cut.

[themaninblack]

Rudi is the starter if he's healthy. Perry has been pretty spectacular thus far in the preseason and I hope to god he is healthy this season. Having those two healthy is a godsend for the team.

[Geo]

Chris Perry should be the starter imo. The guy is healthy and ready to go, 1st round talent at RB who is young and can do it all on the field. I loved watching Rudi, but honestly it feels like there's a different Rudi in the NFL now and this guy can't even practice nevermind play - maybe age and workload completely caught up with him. I would go with Perry and have a talented receiving back Kenny Watson sub him some on passing downs.

I thought this might be Perry's contract year because Rotoworld said he signed a 5-year deal as a rookie, but Rotoworld and other sites also say he's signed through '09. That's a bit confusing, maybe the sixth year was voidable but obviously Perry didn't play enough to hit those marks. Anyway, he's got two years if not one year left on his rookie deal, give him the full shot and see if he's the guy for the future. You know he'll want to have a monster year.

Also, I was looking back at the 04 Draft and remembered that the Bengals could have had Steven Jackson if they didn't trade with the Rams.

6) Cincinnati traded its first-round pick (No. 24) to St. Louis for the Rams' first- and fourth-round picks (Nos. 26 and 123). St. Louis selected Oregon State RB Steven Jackson with the No. 24 pick. Cincinnati selected Michigan RB Chris Perry with the No. 26 pick and Mississippi OT Stacy Andrews with the No. 123 pick.

Hmm, that additional pick was used to get Andrews. S-Jax is a beast though. What do you guys think?

[themaninblack]

I think Perry will get plenty of reps but in our division I think you need a guy like Rudi(healthy) to pound the ball. Chris can do that better than I expected but Rudi is one of the best in the league when he's full go. This could be his last year if Perry proves he can handle the load.

Bengaldom will probably always be a bit bitter about the Stephen Jackson thing but if Perry can start to pay dividends and we get Andrews locked up we could end up getting the better of that deal.

On a side note I think we might always need to have a power back to complement Perry.

[PalmerToCJ]

The thing about Perry though is he was a power back at Michigan if I remember correctly. I saw that 40+ carry game he had at Michigan and he was running right at the other team. It's just we're used to him being more of a 3rd down back and hitting the outside. I don't see any reason (other than health, of course), he can't be an every down back in our system. A healthy Rudi is only an added plus. That's a big change in running style.

Chris Perry should be our starting RB. Or at least when Rudi is healthy he should get a bulk of the carries/snaps. He has to be out there on 3rd down, IMO.

They said they had Jackson/Perry ranked the same, so making the trade still assured them of one of the players. Chris Perry has a ton of talent, no way they could have foreseen the injury issues. While it sucks that we could've had Jackson, I'm not bitter about the move. Perry gives a lot to this team when healthy. Plus the fact that trade got us Andrews.