Training camp is finally here and FanHouse breaks down the most important position battles heading into the season, team by team

Here is an interesting battle: the Bengals coaching staff wants Rudi Johnson to start at running back for the team. The fans want Kenny Watson (or anyone else).

Usually I side with the team on matters like this ... even if this is the Bengals we are talking about. Still, the fans may have a point.

Last offseason, I wrote this which some Bengals fans didn't like. In it, I suggested that Rudi Johnson -- then one of the better running backs in the league -- would soon lose his starting gig. It wasn't that Rudi sucks, but that he has been overused for the last couple of years. He ranked near the top in total carries and near the bottom in yards-per-carry. That meant he gets hit quite often and lacks the ability to break off the big one.

The Bengals showed their hand drafting Kenny Irons in the 2nd round of 2007's draft ... a guy who can make a big play. While he was/is injured and hasn't played, the same principle was made when Kenny Watson wowed Bengals fans last season.

Rudi, as expected, broke down a bit and Watson took over ... creating bigger plays than Rudi did. Bengals fans saw what I had been seeing.

The coaches still don't, since Rudi has been a great back for the staff and gets paid nicely. So, technically, there is no "training camp battle" at the running back spot to the coaches. Rudi will turn 29 one month into the season ... and we all know how dreaded the age of 30 is to a running back.

However, everyone else will be watching. Marvin Lewis has stated that the team has gotten "too cute" and wants to run the ball more. Can Rudi keep up with that demand? Sure, Watson (along with DeDe Dorsey) will get his fair share of carries, but that may actually show everyone who is best for the current Cincinnati offense.

I would like to see Watson as the main guy with Rudi spelling him and in on short yardage plays. It may take a while for us to see that kind of arrangement, but maybe Kenny will blow them away in camp.