Portis v. Betts: The Grass is Always Greener

[dgack]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

He's rushed for 333 yards the last 2 games. Not bad for a 3rd down back.

I know this isn't what you guys are specifically calling out, but to me this just proves one of my original theorems -- that prior to the last 2 games, we have been calling the wrong plays for an effective run game with the staff we have.

I think even CP was saying this a few weeks ago, that the playcalling has been anything but productive for him.

I also still think that we're leaning too hard on him and that's dangerous. As I said several posts ago, we are getting CP his yards through quantity -- he's carried a whopping 66 times in the past 2 games! When you consider the most heavily worked RB in the league -- Willie Parker -- gets 23.6 carries a game, I think we should all be a little concerned about CP seeing 30 and 36 carry games.

However, it appears that Ladell's penchant for coughing up the ball in key situations is still very much an issue, so certainly it's difficult to say right now he should be in there instead of Clinton. That said, Portis has the dubious honor of being tied for 8th on the NFC's fumbles leader list (ugh, J-Cam is first), so it's not as though Betts is alone in his woes here.

In any event, IMO, the important numbers of the past two games are the rushing average and the long runs. I hope these continue to climb while the actual number of carries fall, because we are still WAY down the charts on big rush plays and could be doing a lot better in yards per carry.