Interesting tidbit about our running game

[5RINGS]

I remember I said on this board that Julius Jones was better than Portis. I was wrong. I think it's sad that you are giving up on this guy.

Portis is a complete back, AND he plays with intensity AND he is a great team guy AND he is 24!! Whenever you guys want so get rid of him, PLEASE CALL RICHARD BURTON I mean CALL JERRY JONES!!!

There isn't a Running Back that ever existed who can create his own holes. I haven't seen gaping holes for Portis to scat through. I haven't seen sealed off corners for him to turn. When the DLine is in the backfield all day, and run blitzes are pretty much guarenteed, there isn't a back in existance who will thrive in the NFL. The yards he is getting are all hard won.

Alexander has some big holes to run through. And he has a Top tier Fullback. LTomlinson has a great line and the other great blocking fullback in the league. What does Portis have??

[skins052bgr8]

Originally Posted by 5RINGS

I remember I said on this board that Julius Jones was better than Portis. I was wrong. I think it's sad that you are giving up on this guy.

Portis is a complete back, AND he plays with intensity AND he is a great team guy AND he is 24!! Whenever you guys want so get rid of him, PLEASE CALL RICHARD BURTON I mean CALL JERRY JONES!!!

There isn't a Running Back that ever existed who can create his own holes. I haven't seen gaping holes for Portis to scat through. I haven't seen sealed off corners for him to turn. When the DLine is in the backfield all day, and run blitzes are pretty much guarenteed, there isn't a back in existance who will thrive in the NFL. The yards he is getting are all hard won.

Alexander has some big holes to run through. And he has a Top tier Fullback. LTomlinson has a great line and the other great blocking fullback in the league. What does Portis have??

Great Points 5 Rings, I could not agree more. The full back put into a situation where he is used as a Power back against some of the top run D's in the league this year. He is seperated himself from personal success for the good of the team, and damn does he have heart. No back would have stats much better than Portis.

[MTK]

I'm really tired of talking about Portis and "the trade".

What's done is done, Portis is our RB and we need to make the best of things.

Personally I like CP and what he brings to the table. I think as the offense continues to evolve the coaches will find ways to use him best and CP will continue to adjust to the system. He's taken some steps forward this year in running the counter and has shown much more patience over last year. He plays through injuries, he blocks and he can catch out of the backfield. I think in a lot of ways he's really underappreciated around here.

We can't go back and change the trade, what's done is done.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

It's hard to prove a whole lot against the NFL's #1 run defense.

[Redskins8588]

say what you want to about Portis, but the real problem, like someone mentioned earlier in this thread, is the lack of an 2nd WR. Yeah Cooley does well but once Moss is doubled and Cooley is taken away who is our next option?

Remember back when we made the playoffs in '99? We did have 2 downfield threats in Westbrook and Connell. Say what you will about them but they did keep opposing D's honest.

This year all we have for a downfield threat is Moss, take that away and stack the box and we are done.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by TAFKAS

Saw this in the Wall Street Journal:



We've played seven of those teams and from that:

Only Julius Jones (93 yards in week one) has run for more than the 87 Portis ran for against San Diego

No one has run for more than the 103 yards Portis ran for against Denver

No one has run for more than the 121 yards Portis ran for against Chicago

No one has run for more than the 144 yards Portis ran for against Tampa

But I guess the problem is when he got those runs.

The problem is that we do not turn yards into scores.

[Twilbert07]

Yeah, Portis needs to get into the end zone more. Look at LT to see how much of an impact TDs make.

[celts32]

As i have said from day 1...the Portis trade was a disaster. I don't care about Bailey and i don't even care about the wasted 2nd round pick that we threw in for some reason. What i do care about is that Portis is a BAD FIT for Joe Gibbs offense. Putting a back like Portis in Joe Gibbs offense is like putting a square peg in a round hole...it's not working. If you think it is working then why do we line up in shot gun formation on 3rd and 2 at crucuial points in a game? Gibbs built a hall of fame coaching carreer with a power running game as the basis for everything. Portis is a pretty good player...he is just not the player the redskins needed. I have alwasy felt that the skins made that trade out of convenience...denver had a player who didn't want to be there and we had a player who didn't want to be here so lets get together and trade our headaches. And now the skins have 50 million invested in a running back who can not move the pile and play the smash mouth between the tackles football that Gibbs built his reputation playing. Is Gibbs play calling at the end of a game any different now than it was 15 years ago? The answer is no...15 years ago in the 4th quarter with a lead Gibbs called running plays and ran out the clock becasue he had the personel to get it done. This is not Portis's fault it's the redskins fault for bringing him here.

[jdlea]

I would like to know why Portis not really being an ideal fit for Joe Gibbs' offense is Portis's fault. First of all, if he didn't fit, Joe shouldn't have gotten him.

However, as it stands, he's the league's 9th leading rusher and he's averaging 4.2 ypc. That's more than Willis McGahee and Rudi Johnson, numbers 6 and 8 on the list. The problem is the system he's running in. Joe Gibbs' unwillingness to adapt to the strengths of his players is the damn problem.

I'd also like to know why Portis's running is always a problem when we lose games? The only time you all didn't want to bench him after a loss was the game against the Bucs.

Another big problem is what Southpaw mentioned, as it stands we have the #9 back in the league and the #15 quarterback according to yards.

Other good teams:

Seahawks: Alexander #1, Hasselbeck #8
Colts: Edge #3, Peyton #10
Cincy: Johnson #6, Palmer #2
Chargers: LT #5, Brees #7
Giants: Tiki #2, Eli #6

Are you noticing some sort of trend here? Those are all teams who rely on their offense. All of the other good teams rely on D. Since the Skins have shown they really can't rely on defense too much, they need a more balanced attack.

[Master4Caster]

Thanks for that stat. I'm listening to more Clinton bashing on the John Thompson show -- Clinton has supporters on the show, too -- and your comparison helps put things in perspective.

It takes ten other guys to deliver the ball to the back (or receiver) to make a play, and evey one of them has to perform for the play to work. If it isn't working, it doesn't just fall on the ball carrier. Sure, I would like to have Tomlinson or Alexander on the team, but they weren't available. Any thought that the Skins would have landed them is wishful thinking. Any thought that Tomlinson or Alexander would perform here as they do on their current team is Snyderitis. Haven't we had enough of that?

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by jdlea

I would like to know why Portis not really being an ideal fit for Joe Gibbs' offense is Portis's fault. First of all, if he didn't fit, Joe shouldn't have gotten him.

However, as it stands, he's the league's 9th leading rusher and he's averaging 4.2 ypc. That's more than Willis McGahee and Rudi Johnson, numbers 6 and 8 on the list. The problem is the system he's running in. Joe Gibbs' unwillingness to adapt to the strengths of his players is the damn problem.

I'd also like to know why Portis's running is always a problem when we lose games? The only time you all didn't want to bench him after a loss was the game against the Bucs.

Another big problem is what Southpaw mentioned, as it stands we have the #9 back in the league and the #15 quarterback according to yards.

Other good teams:

Seahawks: Alexander #1, Hasselbeck #8
Colts: Edge #3, Peyton #10
Cincy: Johnson #6, Palmer #2
Chargers: LT #5, Brees #7
Giants: Tiki #2, Eli #6

Are you noticing some sort of trend here? Those are all teams who rely on their offense. All of the other good teams rely on D. Since the Skins have shown they really can't rely on defense too much, they need a more balanced attack.

The defense still only allowed 17 points to a very good offensive team. I would not say the skins cannot rely on our d. The o does have to score some points.

[jdlea]

I just meant that the Skins can't just trot out a good defense and try to control the ball all day in the hopes that that will be enough to win the game. The defense hasn't been great at holding the lead especially when we don't control the ball late in games. Denver and Chicago stop the run and run the football. We haven't really shut down a running back in a few weeks. The ones we have stopped, we've let the team throw on us. The defense is too inconsistent right now to just try to rely on that to win games.

We need a balanced offensive attack to go along with a pretty good d in order to win.

[Southpaw]

Originally Posted by firstdown

The defense still only allowed 17 points to a very good offensive team. I would not say the skins cannot rely on our d. The o does have to score some points.

The defense had a seven point lead with less than a quarter to go. I agree, there needs to be more production out of the offense as a whole, but the offense didn't let the Chargers march down the field, and tie the game, when they had been holding them in check for the previous three quarters.

[mason4415]

As far as I'm concerned, everyone on here who is hating on Clinton Portis knows absolutely nothing about football. Other than LT, I wouldn't want any other back in the league right now. Honestly. Do you think Alexander, James, or any other back in the league would be able to have success in our offense? Our quarterback is MARK BRUNELL! I guarantee you that if Clinton was on the Colts right now, that he would be having a better season than Edge. And if Edge was on our team, he would have a helluva time out-producing Portis at this point. On top of that, look at the Run Defenses we have gone against!!!

In fact, if we would've won 2 or 3 of the past 3 games, there wouldn't be a problem at all. The problem with this team has been COACHING! I love Gibbs, and I think he'll turn it around, but it's the coaching. Against the Raiders, a better pass defense than run defense, we try to pass when up 10 points! Against the Chargers, the NFL's number 1 rushing defense, and weak pass D, we try to run!!! It's not about being conservative or not running the clock, it's about playing to your opponents weaknesses and getting first downs!!!!!!

[Longtimefan]

Originally Posted by celts32

As i have said from day 1...the Portis trade was a disaster. I don't care about Bailey and i don't even care about the wasted 2nd round pick that we threw in for some reason. What i do care about is that Portis is a BAD FIT for Joe Gibbs offense. Putting a back like Portis in Joe Gibbs offense is like putting a square peg in a round hole...it's not working. If you think it is working then why do we line up in shot gun formation on 3rd and 2 at crucuial points in a game? Gibbs built a hall of fame coaching carreer with a power running game as the basis for everything. Portis is a pretty good player...he is just not the player the redskins needed. I have alwasy felt that the skins made that trade out of convenience...denver had a player who didn't want to be there and we had a player who didn't want to be here so lets get together and trade our headaches. And now the skins have 50 million invested in a running back who can not move the pile and play the smash mouth between the tackles football that Gibbs built his reputation playing. Is Gibbs play calling at the end of a game any different now than it was 15 years ago? The answer is no...15 years ago in the 4th quarter with a lead Gibbs called running plays and ran out the clock becasue he had the personel to get it done. This is not Portis's fault it's the redskins fault for bringing him here.

I can concur to a greater extent with the sentiments you share because they do have merit. How many games has Clinton been used to run out the clock and preserve wins in the 4th qtr.? & How many 100yd. games does he have against NFC East opponents?