The Silver Lining From Today's Cloud

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by canthetuna

they're neck and neck in yards and tds (with portis having the edge in yards over all of them) and portis started the year splitting time with betts, played behind an o line completely wrecked with injuries, and they all have the advantage of playing against defenses that will consistently protect against a deep ball... whereas all of the defenses we face know we want to pound the ball... may as well be facing 4-5 fronts and still getting the job done. That's the only reason he doesn't have the YPC... well, that and the fact that he hasn't been healthy in two years... 2 weeks ago he had his first two consecutive days at practice in almost 2 full years...

You're entitled to your opinion, but I think you couldn't be any farther from reason.

Portis' YPC in Washington: A respectable 4.09 (4.2 this season)

Westbrook's YPC in Philly: An obsured 4.7! (4.8 this season!)

Barber in Dallas: 4.6 YPC (5.4!!!!! this season)

And for kicks, Jacobs is averaging 5.6 YPC this year as a starter.

You can make all the excuses you want for the guy, but you might as well save them. The point is not to show how ineffective Portis is. His production levels here have always been very respectable.

The point is that the "reason" you speak of definitely supports my case. The three teams in our division all have great running games, and we do not. The back is only a percentage of that running game, but the biggest percentage. Portis just hasn't been as effective as the other three guys. He just hasn't. That's not really my opinion, that's easy to see.

My opinion is that going foward, those three guys will continue to average higher than Portis because they are quicker and/or more powerful runners with better vision.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

My opinion is that going foward, those three guys will continue to average higher than Portis because they are quicker and/or more powerful runners with better vision.

They're also playing in offenses that are much more balanced and have good passing attacks. Teams look at the Redskins and say, "If we stop Portis, we win." Teams look at Dallas and the NYG and don't say, "We've got to stop Barber" or "We've got to stop Jacobs." Moreover, Barber and Jacobs look like very good backs, but their body of work is pretty limited. I'll give you Westbrook, dude's insane and a bigger threat than Portis.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

They're also playing in offenses that are much more balanced and have good passing attacks. Teams look at the Redskins and say, "If we stop Portis, we win." Teams look at Dallas and the NYG and don't say, "We've got to stop Barber" or "We've got to stop Jacobs." Moreover, Barber and Jacobs look like very good backs, but their body of work is pretty limited. I'll give you Westbrook, dude's insane and a bigger threat than Portis.

But we certainly have the horses to be balanced.

If a team had a big hole in pass coverage, you better bet that Al and JC would try to exploit it. Teams really can't afford to stack the run against any team anymore because every team has an able QB.

Except Minnesota...and Tennessee.

Their (Barber and Jacobs) body of work is definitely limited. At this point though, we know what we are having in Portis. The early returns on Jacobs and Barber are incredibly impressive. I can only assume they will continue (which is an assumption, nevertheless).

[SouperMeister]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

But we certainly have the horses to be balanced.

If a team had a big hole in pass coverage, you better bet that Al and JC would try to exploit it. Teams really can't afford to stack the run against any team anymore because every team has an able QB.

Except Minnesota...and Tennessee.

Their (Barber and Jacobs) body of work is definitely limited. At this point though, we know what we are having in Portis. The early returns on Jacobs and Barber are incredibly impressive. I can only assume they will continue (which is an assumption, nevertheless).

Put Portis in the Dallas offense with their huge O-line and great passing weapons and he puts up 1,600 yards every year. The most notable thing about Jacobs is how injury prone he has been despite relatively few carries. I'd still take Portis over either. I've already said that Westbrook is a great fit for Philly because they spread the field, and run a ton of draws and screens to get him the ball in space. He would not survive the pounding that Portis is asked to absorb in this offense.