ESPN/FF: Portis not worthy of No. 12 pick

[MattFancy]

I don't see a problem with Portis at #12. There are too many RBCs now and Portis is one of the few that doesn't split alot of carries. They say Betts will be more involved, but I won't believe it until I see it. Portis is a very consistent fantasy RB if he stays healthy all season. Yeah he tailed off at the end of last year, but he was banged up and the rest of the offense was horrible. I expect CP to have at least 1200yds and 8TDs this year.

[Passizle]

I dont draft and Redskins for my FF teams. Bad karma...

[GaryGreenMonk]

I agree with him, only because all it will take is 1 injury on the right side of our OL to blow our running game to hell.

[Passizle]

I don't see a problem with Portis at #12. There are too many RBCs now and Portis is one of the few that doesn't split alot of carries. They say Betts will be more involved, but I won't believe it until I see it. Portis is a very consistent fantasy RB if he stays healthy all season. Yeah he tailed off at the end of last year, but he was banged up and the rest of the offense was horrible. I expect CP to have at least 1200yds and 8TDs this year.

Plus, as much as I hate to admit it, Portis has some wear on the tires. His career has reached its apex IMO. In all the mocks I have been in, Portis has gone anywhere rom late second to late third in 12 team leagues. I cant say I disagree.

[MattFancy]

Plus, as much as I hate to admit it, Portis has some wear on the tires. His career has reached its apex IMO. In all the mocks I have been in, Portis has gone anywhere rom late second to late third in 12 team leagues. I cant say I disagree.

Late 3rd, really? He's a steal at that point. Yeah he has taken a beating the last few seasons, but he keeps on ticking. Name 12 RBs you would take over Portis in a draft, I sure can't.

[duenni]

I took Portis with my second pick I believe. My Fantasy Team is as follows:

Starters:

Tom Brady, QB

Clinton Portis, RB

Willie Parker, RB

Chris Chambers, WR

Terrell Owens, WR

Laveraneus Coles, WR

Chris Cooley, TE

Nate Kaeding, K

Redskins, DST

Bench:

Matt Hasselbeck, QB

Felix Jones, RB

Patrick Crayton, WR

Tony Scheffler(crap), TE

Cardinals, DST

I Chose Portis because I think he'll put up even bigger numbers this year. He was the number one fantasy rb the first half of last year.

scheffler could be huge for you this year!! Orton has looked his way quite a bit this pre-season

[ncr2h]

I don't even play FF, but I laugh every time these stupid rankings underrate Portis.

Barring injury, Portis will be in the top 5 in the NFL in carries. Period.

That means he's going to get more attempts to score you points than almost any other player. Add to the fact that he's been in the top 10 rushers pretty much every season he's been in the league as well as having a nose for the end zone, and you've got pretty much guaranteed fantasy points.

He's one of the safest bets out there. That doesn't mean I think he should be the first guy to go, but there are tons of guys probably being taken ahead of him that aren't time tested like Portis is.

[MattFancy]

I sent Christopher Harris an e-mail about his great research. Wonder if I'll get a response. I also asked who he would take over Portis besides the obvious guys. I'll post a response if I get one.

[scruffylookin]

Ordinarily I wouldn't worry or even post in a FF thread.

I don't play so I don't really care.

I do think it's fair to think CP might not be a high draft pick as a running back simply because he has not had the huge TD season while here in DC (15 or more). I think it's also fair to downgrade him because of concerns over the passing game and the offensive line around him.

But what I think is unfair and laughable (and what made me want to post) is to suggest that his first action of the season last week against the top D in the league somehow suggested he was a lesser player than he has been.

What game was this guy watching?

Clinton hit the holes (when they were there).

He made a man miss in the backfield and gained a few yards on a carry that should have been a loss.

He ran into a wall as the Pitt D stuffed the left side and he was able to bounce it and turned a no gain into a two yard gain.

Clinton looked as good as ever in the Steeler game.

[Passizle]

Late 3rd, really? He's a steal at that point. Yeah he has taken a beating the last few seasons, but he keeps on ticking. Name 12 RBs you would take over Portis in a draft, I sure can't.

Peterson

Jones-Drew

Forte

Williams

Slaton

Westbrook

Tomlinson

Gore

Jacobs

Johnson

Jones

Lynch

and a few others in no particular order... All Redskins players are lousy for FF. Thats a fact.

[MattFancy]

Peterson

Jones-Drew

Forte

Williams

Slaton

Westbrook

Tomlinson

Gore

Jacobs

Johnson

Jones

Lynch

and a few others in no particular order... All Redskins players are lousy for FF. Thats a fact.

Lynch is suspended for the first 3 games.

Jones? Julius or Thomas? Either way that's crazy. Neither of them do anything special and both split carries.

Westbrook is questionable, he gets hurt alot and is already hurt. Plus how many carries will McCoy take away from him.

I'm not saying Portis is the best RB in FF, but he's not a scrub either. He's very consistent. In the 6 years he's played the majority of the games, he averages 1,446.5 yds and 10.84 TDs. Why would you not want that on your fantasy team? Even his time as a Redskin has been good. When healthy he averages 1,395 yds and 9 TDs. Again, who doesn't want that?

[ncr2h]

Forte

Slaton

Gore

Johnson

Jones

Lynch

and a few others in no particular order... All Redskins players are lousy for FF. Thats a fact.

You serious? I mean, I don't play FF, but all of these guys have either proven that they're consistently worse than Portis or they've had one good season that wasn't even as good as a typical Portis season.

[Passizle]

Lynch is suspended for the first 3 games.

Jones? Julius or Thomas? Either way that's crazy. Neither of them do anything special and both split carries.

Westbrook is questionable, he gets hurt alot and is already hurt. Plus how many carries will McCoy take away from him.

I'm not saying Portis is the best RB in FF, but he's not a scrub either. He's very consistent. In the 6 years he's played the majority of the games, he averages 1,446.5 yds and 10.84 TDs. Why would you not want that on your fantasy team? Even his time as a Redskin has been good. When healthy he averages 1,395 yds and 9 TDs. Again, who doesn't want that?

Most are entering there prime... where Portis is on the downside IMO. Point is... those guys can get better. I dont thinPortis will get better as the years go on.

I was talking about T Jones. He led the AFC in rushing last year. The Jets have a GREAT offensive line... and the fact that they split carries means he will stay fresher longer. Plus, he is the goal-line guy. Washington is not.

Portis was good last year, but we have majo questions about QB and O-line. Thast not good for a RB. Especially one who has not been able to stay durable through an entire season.

[NoCalMike]

Hasn't Betts supposed to have had "a bigger role" in the offense, going on for what 5 seasons now? Every time they try to expand his role, he kind of gets exposed, and it never works out.

[bushwack]

Portis will be a stud this year when it comes to fantasy, no one at ESPN besides Matthew Berry (who's a Skins fan) bothers to look at a player's schedule. This upcoming season Portis plays 9 defenses who finished in the bottom half against the rush last season; and out of those 9 defenses, 5 out 6 were the worst in the league against the run:

Detroit (32nd) @ 172.1 ypg

Oakland (31st) @ 159.7 ypg

Kansas City (30th) @ 158.9 ypg

St. Louis (29th) @ 154.7 ypg

Denver (27th) @ 146.1 ypg

Atlanta (25th) @ 127.9 ypg

Carolina (20th) @ 119.5 ypg

Tampa Bay (19th) @ 118.8 ypg

New Orleans (17th) @ 117.8 ypg

With the way the o-line has looked thus far in preseason I believe Portis can have a career year in yards and touchdowns. If the o-line stays healthy, I wouldn't be surprised if Portis is in contention to be the MVP of the league this year.

[MattFancy]

Most are entering there prime... where Portis is on the downside IMO. Point is... those guys can get better. I dont thinPortis will get better as the years go on.

I was talking about T Jones. He led the AFC in rushing last year. The Jets have a GREAT offensive line... and the fact that they split carries means he will stay fresher longer. Plus, he is the goal-line guy. Washington is not.

Portis was good last year, but we have majo questions about QB and O-line. Thast not good for a RB. Especially one who has not been able to stay durable through an entire season.

Ok but some of the guys on the list have the same questions. What about LT? He's older than Portis and had a down year last year. Yet people are still saying he's a top 10 fantasy back. Why is that?

What about Frank Gore? He certainly has QB questions. Can Johnson, Forte, and Slaton avoid a sophmore slump? Plus, Johnson has LenDale to take away critical goal line carries. Can MJD handle being an every down back now? He's always split with Taylor and the Jags OL is nothing special.

See so every one of those RBs has questions. So to say Portis isn't as good or better than them is crazy. I'm not saying that just because I'm a Skins fan, I'm just simply looking at numbers and situations.

[MattFancy]

Portis will be a stud this year when it comes to fantasy, no one at ESPN besides Matthew Berry (who's a Skins fan) bothers to look at a player's schedule. This upcoming season Portis plays 9 defenses who finished in the bottom half against the rush last season; and out of those 9 defenses, 5 out 6 were the worst in the league against the run:

Detroit (32nd) @ 172.1 ypg

Oakland (31st) @ 159.7 ypg

Kansas City (30th) @ 158.9 ypg

St. Louis (29th) @ 154.7 ypg

Denver (27th) @ 146.1 ypg

Atlanta (25th) @ 127.9 ypg

Carolina (20th) @ 119.5 ypg

Tampa Bay (19th) @ 118.8 ypg

New Orleans (17th) @ 117.8 ypg

With the way the o-line has looked thus far in preseason I believe Portis can have a career year in yards and touchdowns. If the o-line stays healthy, I wouldn't be surprised if Portis is in contention to be the MVP of the league this year.

Really good point! So 7 games against teams with a rush defense ranked 20th or lower. Nah, don't want him on my team lol

[BlackBush]

I think the point should be to try and get Portis later and don't overvalue him. That way you may get a better WR in the 2nd and still get portis as a value pick in the 3rd. If you pick him early you miss out on a top WR like Wayne.

[MattFancy]

In my league that I have Portis in, I took him in the 2nd. I also have Andre Johnson, Roddy White, Ronnie Brown, and a few other solid players.

[ballin86]

I took Portis with my second pick I believe. My Fantasy Team is as follows:

Starters:

Tom Brady, QB

Clinton Portis, RB

Willie Parker, RB

Chris Chambers, WR

Terrell Owens, WR

Laveraneus Coles, WR

Chris Cooley, TE

Nate Kaeding, K

Redskins, DST

Bench:

Matt Hasselbeck, QB

Felix Jones, RB

Patrick Crayton, WR

Tony Scheffler(crap), TE

Cardinals, DST

I Chose Portis because I think he'll put up even bigger numbers this year. He was the number one fantasy rb the first half of last year.

1st...who in the world did you take in the first round?? TOM BRADY...wow

Who did you take in the 3rd??? TO...because willie parker has been going between rounds 6 and 10 in most drafts...also never take the skins defense and if scheffler is crap so is the rest of your bench...no offense or anything but thats a pretty bad fantasy draft lol

[bushwack]

I don't know how many people caught this great nugget of info from our old pal JLC on NFL.com pertaining towards Portis and his fantasy value:

http://chat.nfl.com/front/index/411

dl, sterling

01:17 PM ET

you used to cover the skins...how many elite years does portis have left?

Jason_lacanfora_hs_09_sm

Jason La Canfora, NFL Network

I'd be very, very afraid. Offensive line in tatters and still no downfield threat (so everyone crwods the box). Portis hasn't been the same last few years, never a home run hitter in DC (except for his first carry), Betts in line for third-down duty, Portis been breaking down in the second half of the season with regularity. They just don't get in the end zone much as a team and always chance Sellers or more likely Betts get those short-yardage carries. I don't beleive the Redskins as a team have a run over 35 yards since 2005. Pretty stunning.

No down field threat?:doh: Last time I checked Moss was still on the team and was a solid down field threat. Obviously he didn't watch the Steelers game where Betts failed his audition to be an option as a goal line back, so I don't see Betts taking caries away from Portis on 3rd downs on the goal line. I'm still confused on how he got a promotion from the WP, but glad he's not covering the Skins any longer.

[bushwack]

What about Frank Gore? He certainly has QB questions. Can Johnson, Forte, and Slaton avoid a sophmore slump? Plus, Johnson has LenDale to take away critical goal line carries. Can MJD handle being an every down back now? He's always split with Taylor and the Jags OL is nothing special.

See so every one of those RBs has questions. So to say Portis isn't as good or better than them is crazy. I'm not saying that just because I'm a Skins fan, I'm just simply looking at numbers and situations.

Yeah, in my keeper league I kept Portis and Chris Johnson over Gore because Gore has more injury questions and will most likely miss at least 2 games at some point this season. Also, Gore has never had double digit touchdowns in any season, the best he had was 9 TDs in his career year in '06.

I still like Johnson even with FatDale there because Johnson can break one off at any time and his workload will increase this year unlike Forte's. I agree with MJD, I don't know if he can handle a full workload, he's never had 200 carries in his career, much less 300+ carries during a season.

Exactly, every RB has questions, and all the 'experts' say Portis's injuries will catch up with him; however, all of Portis's major injuries came in '06 with a shoulder and wrist injury. Portis has never dealt with any major knee, foot, or thigh injuries in his career, which is why I believe Portis has at least 1, if not more, elite seasons left in his body.

[Passizle]

Ok but some of the guys on the list have the same questions. What about LT? He's older than Portis and had a down year last year. Yet people are still saying he's a top 10 fantasy back. Why is that?

What about Frank Gore? He certainly has QB questions. Can Johnson, Forte, and Slaton avoid a sophmore slump? Plus, Johnson has LenDale to take away critical goal line carries. Can MJD handle being an every down back now? He's always split with Taylor and the Jags OL is nothing special.

See so every one of those RBs has questions. So to say Portis isn't as good or better than them is crazy. I'm not saying that just because I'm a Skins fan, I'm just simply looking at numbers and situations.

I think your missing my point. I dont think Portis is a worse runing back than those guys. I think he is a worse "fantasy football" running back than those guys.

Portis plays in one of, if not THE toughest division in the league. Strike one...

Portis is on the wrong side of twenty. Strike two.

The Redskins offensive line is a HUGE "?". Strike three.

Jason Campbell is another HUGE "?". Strike four.

The Redskins offense as a whole ranked in the bottom of the league last year. Strike five.

There are other factors too, but IMO, Portis is a huge gamble and a reach in the second round. IMO, he is living on his rep in FF drafts and not serious projections.

LT plays in a weak division with a GREAT QB, WR and front five. He will get alot of goal line carries. Plus, he is finally healthy again. Age is a concern too, but I think the talent on the offense trumps that problem.

Gore is also in a very weak division rushing against team that were in the bottom of the pile in rush defense. Hill has looked pretty good in pre-season and Gore is just tough to bring down.

I dont beleive in the "sophmore slump" myth. Guys produce, or they dont. I have a hard time beleiving that for some mystical reason, that the second year thy play they just get worse.

Dont get me wrong here. There are no "locks" in FF. Just educated guesses. Portis is a good back, but I woud not draft him until the middle to end of the 3rd if he was available there. That would be good value.

[ACW]

Let's see:

-AP

-Turner

-Mau-Jo

-Forte?

-Maybe Jacobs

CP is Top 10

[Passizle]

I don't know how many people caught this great nugget of info from our old pal JLC on NFL.com pertaining towards Portis and his fantasy value:

http://chat.nfl.com/front/index/411

dl, sterling

01:17 PM ET

you used to cover the skins...how many elite years does portis have left?

Jason_lacanfora_hs_09_sm

Jason La Canfora, NFL Network

I'd be very, very afraid. Offensive line in tatters and still no downfield threat (so everyone crwods the box). Portis hasn't been the same last few years, never a home run hitter in DC (except for his first carry), Betts in line for third-down duty, Portis been breaking down in the second half of the season with regularity. They just don't get in the end zone much as a team and always chance Sellers or more likely Betts get those short-yardage carries. I don't beleive the Redskins as a team have a run over 35 yards since 2005. Pretty stunning.

No down field threat?:doh: Last time I checked Moss was still on the team and was a solid down field threat. Obviously he didn't watch the Steelers game where Betts failed his audition to be an option as a goal line back, so I don't see Betts taking caries away from Portis on 3rd downs on the goal line. I'm still confused on how he got a promotion from the WP, but glad he's not covering the Skins any longer.

No offense, but Moss is really not a threat. Skins fans way over rate the guy. He is NOT Steve smith and is a #2 on ay other team in the NFL. Plus, with the "?" that is Campbell, Moss's value goes down even further.