Portis vs. Betts

[freddyg12]

Portis definitely should see the ball less than in 05. The good thing about that is Betts earned some carries this year for 07- he deserves to get the ball at least 10 times a game.
I wonder if Blalock can earn some time as the 3rd down back? If Portis & Betts split a lot of carries, I wouldn't be surprised to see Blalock used a bit even if LB & CP are healthy, since he knows the offense well & I recall reading that he's a decent pass protector.

However they do it, I don't care, just don't overwork any one of these guys till crunch time.

[skinsfan_nn]

Since I don't have a magic ball. I'm hoping both have a REALLY STRONG SEASON.

CP needs to make this a statement season,being this COULD be his last IMO! LB coming off a GREAT year, needs to hold on to the football, and I believe he will.

What a great position to be in at RB if both can stay healthy. Let's not forget about the addition of Blaylock, nice depth at RB and Teams.

[81+83+84=Posse]

Just joined the board. Good to be here.

CP is one of the five best backs in the league IMO. He was a slasher in Denver, and then he basically reinvented himself when he arrived in Washington. He became a power back who still has the speed to get to the outside. Clinton will have a monster season this year. I'm guessing he and Ladell will be used much like Holmes and Johnson were. Clinton gets two series, then Ladell gets one.

Alot of what happens with CP and LB will depend on Jason Campbell. People talk about how great Betts was last year, but the running game didn't really take off until Gibbs put Campbell in. Nobody respected Brunell's ability to push the ball downfield, and as a result neither Portis nor Betts really put up great numbers behind him. (Except for CP's dominance against Jacksonville.) Campbell comes in, they're going deep four or five times a game, and all of a sudden Betts is running wild. I get goosebumps when I think of the kind of numbers a healthy Clinton Portis could have put up in the 2nd half last year. Here's to him doing it in 07.

[Redskin Rich]

Originally Posted by 81+83+84=Posse

Just joined the board. Good to be here.

CP is one of the five best backs in the league IMO. He was a slasher in Denver, and then he basically reinvented himself when he arrived in Washington. He became a power back who still has the speed to get to the outside. Clinton will have a monster season this year. I'm guessing he and Ladell will be used much like Holmes and Johnson were. Clinton gets two series, then Ladell gets one.

Alot of what happens with CP and LB will depend on Jason Campbell. People talk about how great Betts was last year, but the running game didn't really take off until Gibbs put Campbell in. Nobody respected Brunell's ability to push the ball downfield, and as a result neither Portis nor Betts really put up great numbers behind him. (Except for CP's dominance against Jacksonville.) Campbell comes in, they're going deep four or five times a game, and all of a sudden Betts is running wild. I get goosebumps when I think of the kind of numbers a healthy Clinton Portis could have put up in the 2nd half last year. Here's to him doing it in 07.

Welcome to the board... very cool name... you must have been on this type of thing before.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by 81+83+84=Posse

Just joined the board. Good to be here.

CP is one of the five best backs in the league IMO. He was a slasher in Denver, and then he basically reinvented himself when he arrived in Washington. He became a power back who still has the speed to get to the outside. Clinton will have a monster season this year. I'm guessing he and Ladell will be used much like Holmes and Johnson were. Clinton gets two series, then Ladell gets one.

Alot of what happens with CP and LB will depend on Jason Campbell. People talk about how great Betts was last year, but the running game didn't really take off until Gibbs put Campbell in. Nobody respected Brunell's ability to push the ball downfield, and as a result neither Portis nor Betts really put up great numbers behind him. (Except for CP's dominance against Jacksonville.) Campbell comes in, they're going deep four or five times a game, and all of a sudden Betts is running wild. I get goosebumps when I think of the kind of numbers a healthy Clinton Portis could have put up in the 2nd half last year. Here's to him doing it in 07.

Welcome to the board and you bring up a great point. Did anyone else notice that once JC took over the running game just totally took off? I think some of it was better blocking but I would bet that we no longer had 9 guys lurking around the LOS. I can remember very well the 1st games against Dallas, NYG and Philly and we just could not back guys off the line. The defenses just did not respect our deep passing game and would just dare us to throw it deep. I think if CP had been healthy he would have just exploded towards the end of last year.

[GusFrerotte]

Yeah, it is a total crap shoot. I hope I am wrong about CP and the week 10-11 thing, but I just see him getting brutally punished this season. I mean we do play 9 playoff teams this year, and the prognosticators aren't showing any love. I just got a look at Lindy's Pro Football preseason issue.. WE get 3rd in the division. Street and Smith also has us 3rd. Sporting News and Athlons both have us last. I sure hope Saunders offense clicks with our guys, so we can show all these sportswriters up.

[kirbyfan]

I always liked how Betts ran but he just seems to be one of those guys that will never get his big chance.

[70Chip]

My numbers are:

Portis 280 ATT 1300 YDS 8TD 15 REC 175 YDS

Betts 135 ATT 650 YDS 8TD 40 REC 400 YDS

[EARTHQUAKE2689]

Originally Posted by 70Chip

My numbers are:

Portis 280 ATT 1300 YDS 8TD 15 REC 175 YDS

Betts 135 ATT 650 YDS 8TD 40 REC 400 YDS

add 250 yards rushing and 6 tds to Portis.

[724Skinsfan]

Fumbling can be corrected (hopefully). The thing that seperates Portis from Betts is tenacity. Portis runs like that extra inch is going to save his life. Betts runs hard and fast but seems to let the play die just a little bit before it's actually over.

[81+83+84=Posse]

The first 2 seasons he has 8 fumbles losing 6 of them, 4 in 2004, so I guess we are in agreement Portis is not a great back. Betts has had 8 fumbles in 5 seasons for us, Portis 6 in three, I do believe you will find that Portis averages more fumbles per season than Betts.

Portis also had significantly more carries than Betts in that time frame.

[heybigstar]

I hope that we limit Portis's carries the first 1/2 of the season, lower then he has ever had.

I would be thrilled to see Portis enter the next offseason injury-free...

[KLHJ2]

Fact: regardless of rushing yardage last season, the few games that CP did play in, he was in the top three in the league in scoring and they almos all came on the big play. He is still the man. Betts has had 1 count it 1 healthy season. He is nothing more than a breath of fresh air for CP until he can prove that he can do it week in and week out, season in and season out.

[offiss]

Hopefully they complement each other, Betts is quicker to the hole and hits it with more power, Portis is more of a finesse type back, and a home run hitter, Portis needs to shed some weight and get back the agility he has lost since he decieded to bulk up he will never be a power back.

I could see at some point Betts becoming a first and second down back depending on what we do first down, and allow Portis to be more of a third down back, although he would be more than your usual third down type back because his running abilities are better than the usual 3rd down speedster. Perhaps the sharing of the work load will serve to keep the both of them healthy, remember Betts has had a history of injuries before last season, which is IMO opinion the only thing that has held him back from being a top back in the league.

All said and done, I feel Betts will get more yards I believe the coaches will stick with Portis early, but Betts will eventually force their hand for his ability to move the chains on a cinsistant basis.

[Pocket$ $traight]

Originally Posted by offiss

Hopefully they complement each other, Betts is quicker to the hole and hits it with more power, Portis is more of a finesse type back, and a home run hitter, Portis needs to shed some weight and get back the agility he has lost since he decieded to bulk up he will never be a power back.

I could see at some point Betts becoming a first and second down back depending on what we do first down, and allow Portis to be more of a third down back, although he would be more than your usual third down type back because his running abilities are better than the usual 3rd down speedster. Perhaps the sharing of the work load will serve to keep the both of them healthy, remember Betts has had a history of injuries before last season, which is IMO opinion the only thing that has held him back from being a top back in the league.

All said and done, I feel Betts will get more yards I believe the coaches will stick with Portis early, but Betts will eventually force their hand for his ability to move the chains on a cinsistant basis.

How is Betts quicker than Portis? Portis is a home run threat. Last year was a tale of two running games. Betts was able to run in the downhill offense. Portis ran in the poodle offense.

If the roles were reversed last year (meaning Betts started the year and Portis finished it) Betts would have struggled big time. Portis would have scored at least twice as many TD's as Betts. One, Portis is much better in space and two, he wouldn't have fumbled as many times and would have finished off those drives instead of handing the ball (and games) away.

I also disagree that Betts is a more powerful runner than Portis. He does not get as low. Portis isn't a power back? Rewind to the last 6 games of '05 and try again.