Portis staying?

[Slingin Sammy 33]

Originally Posted by Beneil (diehard since 87)

Question, if ANYONE can have success in Shanahan's system, why has nobody done as well in it since Portis? If players are interchangable, why didn't Shanahan get any rings after Elway and Terrell Davis were gone?

Portis had a monster 2002 & 2003, however Denver's rushing attack remained solid with many different backs after Portis left. From 2004-2008 the Broncos were in the top ten in the NFL in Total Yds Rushing and Yards Per Attempt each year (except 2008 Total Yds at 12th).

I don't think Shanahan's system should be questioned and while Portis did have two great years that was 6-7 years ago. Here are some Redskins backs and their carries per year along with 3 other "workhorse" backs

Riggo 2916 carries / 14 years / 208 avg. carries per year
Larry Brown 1530 / 8yrs / 191 avg
Byner 2095 / 14 yrs / 149 avg
E. Campbell 2187 / 8 yrs. / 273 avg
E. George 2865 / 9yrs. / 318 avg
LT 2880 / 9 yrs. / 320 avg

Portis 2176 / 8 yrs / 272 avg.
However since Portis has been a Redskin, in the years he was healthy for 16 games, he has carried the following load: 343 / 352 / 325 / 342.
This is a monster workload. Even great backs with this type of workload break down at 8 or 9 years. I seriously doubt we see Portis return to his previous form.