ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

[B]9. [URL="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5937"][COLOR=#000000]Clinton Portis[/COLOR][/URL], [URL="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=was"][COLOR=#000000]Washington Redskins[/COLOR][/URL][/B]
[B]Watch[/B]: [URL="http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80834d02"][COLOR=#000000]Portis highlights[/COLOR][/URL]
[B]Superpower[/B] -- Portis is simply impressive in terms of production. He is near the top of the league every year and is a tough player who will fight through bumps and bruises. He attacks the line of scrimmage and can make the first defender miss in the hole. He does not have elite size but knows how to finish his runs.
[B]Kryptonite[/B] -- He puts the ball on the ground too often and at times does so in critical situations. He can be aloof when he needs to take care of the ball, dropping easy passes to kill drives and missing blocks in pass protection. He has great physical tools but at times seems to check out mentally.

Full list: [url=http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/insider/news/story?id=3422768&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnfl%2finsider%2fnews%2fstory%3fid%3d3422768]ESPN - LT the clear choice as the best back in the NFL - NFL[/url]

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

Not sure where the pass blocking criticism comes from. He's been pretty well regarded in that area throughout the league.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

9th? Bag of crap.

Missing blocks? Truck of crap.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

"missing blocks in pass protection" ???

Word ? Word ????


I need to get some what he's tokin because it has got to be that FIRE !!!!!

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

CP has to be one of if not the best blocking RB in the league. Someone didn't do there homework.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

And Barber ABOVE him?! Give me a break.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

Well, the author of that one just ruined his credibility entirely. Missing blocks in pass protection? Now you're just making shit up.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

^^^ obviously a back without break away speed or history of consistently putting up 1200 plus yard seasons but does fall forward upon contact is better than a back who can make the first guy miss in the hole and has repeatedly put up 1200 yard seasons.

besides who actually pays attention to a back who lunges thru the air to lay out oncoming linebackers and linemen? (obviously not the writers for espn)

go skins!

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

They put multiple cupcakes above Portis... One word to describe Clinton - STUD!
The person(s) who put this article together must only pay attention to Fantasy Football Stats and not watch the way the game is played. He plays it like a man!!!
Completely under-rated...


[quote=BleedBurgundy;451490]Not sure where the pass blocking criticism comes from. He's been pretty well regarded in that area throughout the league.[/quote]

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

9th seems a bit low to me. He could be up a few slots but not into the top 5.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

not a terrible list actually, but addai and barber are too high and johnson's run only lasted 2 years till his OL fell apart and he looked... not so great. he's also 28 now with 2 good years vs portis who's 26 with 5.

so, i'd move portis up to 5 myself, mainly based on track record and production.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

I would put Portis at #6.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

Adrian Peterson at #2 struck a nerver in me. Yeah he had a great rookie season, but lets see if he gets bitten by the "sophomore slump" before we rank him at #2 in the league.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

@ stj: Agreed, let's see A.P. maintain that for a few years before we "crown his ass..."

This does look like something put together based solely on FF numbers.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

portis is one hell of a running back,no matter what anybody says.he's going back to play in a system he starred in denver,hopefully he'll put up better numbers,stay uninjured,and
make the pro bowl this year.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

PUT DOWN THE CRACK PIPE!!!

This writer must be on drugs! How can Adrian Peterson be rated #2 back overall when he is not even the starter on his own team? Peterson is a great talent, but he isn't #2. There are two other names that jump out at me, #3 Steven Jackson and #5 Larry Johnson. Here we have two often injured backs. Steven Jackson is way overrated, he is not that good. Larry Johnson is past his prime. He was once a top five back but just like Shaun Alexander, he is on the downside of his career.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

[QUOTE=hail_2_da_skins;451628]PUT DOWN THE CRACK PIPE!!!

This writer must be on drugs! How can Adrian Peterson be rated #2 back overall when he is not even the starter on his own team? Peterson is a great talent, but he isn't #2. There are two other names that jump out at me, #3 Steven Jackson and #5 Larry Johnson. Here we have two often injured backs. Steven Jackson is way overrated, he is not that good. Larry [B]Johnson is past his prime. He was once a top five back but just like Shaun Alexander, he is on the downside of his career.[/B][/QUOTE]

Oh, really? That's an interesting take, or you could consider that the Chiefs offensive line has been destroyed by retirements and injuries and he's had only 1 down year. He had consecutive 1700+ yard seasons before he went down and only played 8 games last year. Granted he was only averaging 3.5 a carry, but to say the guy is done at 28 after only playing 2 full seasons as a starter is a bit of a stretch.

LJ is running behind garbage and he did look like he quit on some runs last year, but done? I think that's a bit of an exaggeration.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

LJ definitely isn't past his prime. And Steven Jackson is the real deal. He was banged up last year and still managed to crack 1,000 yards.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

You think Peterson being too high is ridiculous? He got a vote when ESPN was doing the "top 10 best backs of all time" list. That's insane.

As for Portis' ranking, I don't care that he's ranked #9. I don't like the fact that they criticized his pass blocking skills though, pass blocking has actually been one of Portis' better strengths.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

[quote=Mattyk72;451641]LJ definitely isn't past his prime. And Steven Jackson is the real deal. He was banged up last year and still managed to crack 1,000 yards.[/quote]

I saw a report that the Chiefs are planning on reducing LJ's carries this season to protect him from injury.

[QUOTE][B]Chiefs | Team to lessen workload for L. Johnson[/B]
Tue, 3 Jun 2008 14:31:01 -0700
Charles Robinson, of Yahoo! Sports, reports the [URL="http://www.kffl.com/team/21/nfl"]Kansas City Chiefs[/URL] are planning to lessen the workload of RB [URL="http://www.kffl.com/player/5896/nfl"]Larry Johnson[/URL] (foot). Head coach Herm Edwards said Johnson is not going to carry the ball 40 times and will be lucky to touch the ball 30 times in a game.
[/QUOTE]

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

[quote=Buster;451660]I saw a report that the Chiefs are planning on reducing LJ's carries this season to protect him from injury.[/quote]

That would be the smart thing to do, however it seems like even going back to NY when he had Martin and Jordan as his backs Herm Edwards always says he wants to keep his #1 back fresh, and he always ends up pounding the hell out of his #1 anyway.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

re: pass blocking, sometimes Portis does sell out to make a block and totally whiffs on it because he lunges at the guy and misses -- I mean it's right there on the tape for everyone to see.

Obviously it's not for lack of effort, I've never seen any back work harder trying to protect the passer than Portis does, and that's certainly a credit to his character and team oriented attitude. He does seem to lack proper pass blocking fundamentals.

Of course, he is surprisingly successful on the whole, I mean lunging like he does you'd think he'd whiff all the time -- and he really doesn't. Just to the people who think he's never missed a blocking assignment before: You don't know what you're watching.

I think 9th is about where I would put him, theres a few people who shouldn't be ranked above him on this list that are, but also 2-3 guys they have below him that should probably be higher.

Overall, this is a pretty good list, though they seem to be guzzling the Peterson kool-aid at a fast pace.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

How did they get that Portis puts the ball on the ground to much in critical situations? He didn't have a lot of fumbles. They were stupid fumbles but no to many?

If he mentioned Betts as being the fumbler then yes. or Rock but Portis? and the Pass Protection? He does have trouble with the 300 pound lineman sometimes but he almost always takes out the LB or DB on pass rushes.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

[quote=SBXVII;451685]How did they get that Portis puts the ball on the ground to much in critical situations? He didn't have a lot of fumbles. They were stupid fumbles but no to many?

If he mentioned Betts as being the fumbler then yes. or Rock but Portis? and the Pass Protection? He does have trouble with the 300 pound lineman sometimes but he almost always takes out the LB or DB on pass rushes.[/quote]
Last year Portis had six fumbles and lost five. He had an off year and people remember the past year not years back.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

[quote=Buster;451660]I saw a report that the Chiefs are planning on reducing LJ's carries this season to protect him from injury.[/quote]
Well that adds up nicely since they drafted Jamaal Charles in the second round.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

[QUOTE=Mattyk72;451641]And Steven Jackson is the real deal. He was banged up last year and still managed to crack 1,000 yards.[/QUOTE]

I'm glad he's not in our division. I told the Cowpoke fans during that draft they were idiots for taking Julius Jones over Jackson... they reacted like fanboys.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

[quote=itvnetop;451725]I'm glad he's not in our division. I told the Cowpoke fans during that draft they were idiots for taking Julius Jones over Jackson... they reacted like fanboys.[/quote]
Well include me in the minority on that one. I was totally ticked during that draft when Jackson fell to Dallas and they traded out of the first round.

Adding insult to injury, we all saw how Julius Jones worked out in Dallas, when they let him pack his bags for Seattle.

Another wasted draft pick.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

portis top five no doubt am taking him in fantasy with the four pick

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

[quote=jdlea;451636]Oh, really? That's an interesting take, or you could consider that the Chiefs offensive line has been destroyed by retirements and injuries and he's had only 1 down year. He had consecutive 1700+ yard seasons before he went down and only played 8 games last year. Granted he was only averaging 3.5 a carry, but to say the guy is done at 28 after only playing 2 full seasons as a starter is a bit of a stretch.

LJ is running behind garbage and he did look like he quit on some runs last year, but done? I think that's a bit of an exaggeration.[/quote]

I stand by my comments on Larry Johnson and Steven Jackson. I live in St Louis and unfortunately the Rams and the Chiefs are on television in this market every week. When you see guys this much, you see their flaws. Both players in my view are overrated, that doesn't mean that I don't think they are good. Not top five.

You're analysis about Larry Johnson is right. His offensive line sucks and it affects his production but I also think he is injury prone. Steven Jackson is a big, strong and physically imposing running back but he runs like a finesse back. That commercial they made of him plowing over Steelers was such a joke. The guy runs out of bounds whenever possible and rarely gets extra yards after first contact.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

I might rate Portis a little higher but there are a lot of better backs in the league. I have no clue how this guy says Portis cant block because i remember him stopping Derrick Brooks in his tracks in the playoffs "05". I would be hard pressed to even name a back that blocks as well as CP. And Marion Barber ahead of Portis is just BS. All we have seen of Barber in his career is comming in late in games with fresh legs, running all over tired beaten teams. He might play well as a starter now but I remember when we played them last year ......... He had negative yards. And what is all this BS about Elite size........ Its all bogus..... Emmit Smith..... LT..... Barry Sanders. Stop trying to tell me you need more then heart.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

Don't know where they got him missing critical blocks in pass protection. Maybe they got him mixed up with Laddell Betts?

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

As GTripp pointed out Portis tends to lunge and as a result he does miss blocks on occassion. I'd say overall he's a good blocker for a back and he's not afraid to stick his nose in there, but his lunging does result in some missed blocks.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

[quote=Mattyk72;451986]As GTripp pointed out Portis tends to lunge and as a result he does miss blocks on occassion. I'd say overall he's a good blocker for a back and he's not afraid to stick his nose in there, but his lunging does result in some missed blocks.[/quote]

Yeah, occasionally he misses a block, but who doesn't? I know a lot of analysts, including John Madden, insist that Portis is the best tailback in the game without the football. I'll never forget that Bucs game in 2005 when he literally put Shelton Quarles to sleep.

Re: ESPN: Best backs in the league
 

I'm not denying that I've seen Portis whiff on blocks because I have, but more often than not I've seen him just completely throw himself at a defensive player and just stop the defensive guy in his tracks. He's def. got the heart and even though I don't think he's the best blocking back out there, he does a good job of it in my book.