Portis v. Betts: The Grass is Always Greener

[MTK]

Betts hasn't done much of anything this year to warrant more carries. I just find it curious that people want to bench a guy averaging 3.9 yards per carry for a guy averaging 2.9. The fact that both guys are struggling so much to me points to a bigger issue. Mainly the injuries and inconsistency along the OL.

[hooskins]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Betts hasn't done much of anything this year to warrant more carries. I just find it curious that people want to bench a guy averaging 3.9 yards per carry for a guy averaging 2.9. The fact that both guys are struggling so much to me points to a bigger issue. Mainly the injuries and inconsistency along the OL.

I agree with that. Both seem to struggle, yet when Betts does no one even complains, but when it is Portis everyone starts saying "injury prone", "something is missing", etc etc. It seems very silly, and as Matty said if you wanna blame anyone blame the Oline.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by hooskins

I agree with that. Both seem to struggle, yet when Betts does no one even complains, but when it is Portis everyone starts saying "injury prone", "something is missing", etc etc. It seems very silly, and as Matty said if you wanna blame anyone blame the Oline.

With both of them struggling onl one thing has changed and that the injuries to our O line and one would have to assume thats the problem with the running game. One reason Portis takes more of a hit than Betts is what the team is paying him compared to Betts.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Betts hasn't done much of anything this year to warrant more carries. I just find it curious that people want to bench a guy averaging 3.9 yards per carry for a guy averaging 2.9. The fact that both guys are struggling so much to me points to a bigger issue. Mainly the injuries and inconsistency along the OL.

Ultimately you're dead on Matty, and the fact is that this offensive line is one of the worst in the league, and it will be impossible to rush behind it with anyone consistently.

But the point is this: Portis is averaging 3.8 yards an attempt now on 115 carries for 433 yards. That's a crapload of carries to still be in the 3.8 range.

Betts only has 47 attempts through 7 games. 2.9 y/a possibly reflects on an unlucky streak in a small sample size.

I think a lot of us would like to see what Betts can do taking the lead on Portis for awhile. If he can give the running game some semblance of competancy, even if that's only 4.2 yards/carry, our offense can make a drastic improvement. If Betts is useless, give Rock a chance when he gets healthy. Both Betts and Rock have been effective runners in the past (as of course has Portis).

Portis' blocking has been too inconsistent this season to warrant keeping him in the starting lineup as a pass blocker. Even when the blocking is good, he's not creating the big play.

This offense is just terrible right now, has been for the last two games, and something has to be done. We can't really do anything with the line right now, so we either have to change the back or the quarterback or the receivers.

P.S.-I'm not suggesting we change the quarterback.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Ultimately you're dead on Matty, and the fact is that this offensive line is one of the worst in the league, and it will be impossible to rush behind it with anyone consistently.

But the point is this: Portis is averaging 3.8 yards an attempt now on 115 carries for 433 yards. That's a crapload of carries to still be in the 3.8 range.

Betts only has 47 attempts through 7 games. 2.9 y/a possibly reflects on an unlucky streak in a small sample size.

I think a lot of us would like to see what Betts can do taking the lead on Portis for awhile. If he can give the running game some semblance of competancy, even if that's only 4.2 yards/carry, our offense can make a drastic improvement. If Betts is useless, give Rock a chance when he gets healthy. Both Betts and Rock have been effective runners in the past (as of course has Portis).

Portis' blocking has been too inconsistent this season to warrant keeping him in the starting lineup as a pass blocker. Even when the blocking is good, he's not creating the big play.

This offense is just terrible right now, has been for the last two games, and something has to be done. We can't really do anything with the line right now, so we either have to change the back or the quarterback or the receivers.

P.S.-I'm not suggesting we change the quarterback.

Changing the feature back only makes sense if you think the other guys can do a better job. After having watched Betts for years, I love the guy and want to see him get more carries, but I don't see him doing a better job than Portis. I'm frankly tired of hearing complaints about Portis when the guy is usually getting hit before he gets to the line of scrimmage. Hopefully the line will improve and this entire discussion will be a moot point.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

Changing the feature back only makes sense if you think the other guys can do a better job. After having watched Betts for years, I love the guy and want to see him get more carries, but I don't see him doing a better job than Portis. I'm frankly tired of hearing complaints about Portis when the guy is usually getting hit before he gets to the line of scrimmage. Hopefully the line will improve and this entire discussion will be a moot point.

Well of course, but I think Portis' performance leaves a lot to be desired.

If Portis was a little quicker, he wouldn't get hit near the line quite so often. The line has been bad, but so has CP.

I think a change at RB would help. I don't think it would help a lot, because the line is still bad, but even if it just helps a little, it's a good move then, is it not?

Of course, if the line gets it together, Portis or Betts could have success. I just want the back in there that gives us the best chance to win, and at this point in time, I can't really say that it's Clinton Portis.