Per:Roto:NFL Network 's Steve Wyche"hearing" Clinton Portis' days in Washington ...

[mdpell]

Exactly. Should we be drafting a running back? No, not when we need so many other players.

I agree that we can't be making any luxury picks early in this draft. I dont think we are going to take Spiller with pick 4 but a mid to late round RB? Why not. Any guy we draft is going to be 50 50 at best of contributing to this team anyway. I would say RB is becoming a NEED for this team.

[Titaw]

Agree 100%. Don't be surprised if Shanny takes Spiller @ 4 and grabs McCoy in round 2.

Shanny does not take RBs in the first round.

Expect a RB in the later rounds.

McCoy in the 2nd round, a trade with SF for their 2 first round picks. Get an offensive lineman and a corner/lb/safety (best available) with those picks. Take another OL in the 4th, 6th and 7th best available.

RB can come from anywhere, I'd expect to see Mason, Alridge, Dorsey, Ganther and some other fresh faces in camp this year.

[D-Day]

My sense is CP will be gone too. Shanahan had success replacing running backs all the time in his system, and finding efficient ones from all kinds of places. To me, that would lead him to have confidence that you don't need to overpay or put up with too much garbage when it comes to the RB position.

Throw on top of that the fact that, fairly or unfairly, CP has come to be the player that symbolizes the "me first, I get special treatment" culture of the organization, the fact that he's hitting the age wall and has a lot of miles on the tires, and that an uncapped year could essentially allow him to be cut at no expense other than the hit to Dan's wallet — and I think it all adds up to a pretty compelling argument for why he won't return.

Now, having said all that, I think he's talented and plays all out when he's on the field. He plays with real passion, when he wants to. He makes too much money to be traded, but if he is cut, I fully expect that he gets himself in better shape, signs some sort of modest contract with a team like the Pats (after all, he can afford to thanks to all that guaranteed money he'll be getting from Dan), and shows that he can be a real effective contributor for another season or two.

Agreed, but CP is not guaranteed any future money at this point. All his bonuses have been paid, just not accounted for on the cap. So in essence if the cap does go away then cutting CP will save Dan his salary this year of 7.5 million and cost him not one more red cent.

[redskin faithful]

Im not sure if I agree with this. Shanahan made a point to say that he loves his toughness. In my opinon CP knows this maybe his last shot and will go with anything that Shanahan asks of him. Whether it be OTA's etc...

(taken from Shanahans press conference)

Mike Shanahan

On his impressions of running back Clinton Portis over the last few seasons, and how he plans to use him going forward:

“It’s hard to say that right now. I’ve got to go back and look at all of the film. Just to watch a game and not be around Clinton [Portis] in the offseason program, not watching him on a day-to-day basis, judging him would not be fair to him, and not be fair to you. Like all players, as they get older, the key is how they work in the offseason program, and what they do to make themselves better as veterans. I’ve been around some veterans that have been very successful, and all of the sudden they quit working out, and as a running back you can fall off of a cliff. If you make a commitment that you’re going to be the best that you can possibly be, or you’ve got the passion and the work ethic to be as good as you can possibly be, then you’ve got a chance to be something special. Looking at Clinton a year ago, in the first half of the season, you could see how well he played. To say that right now, with the injuries and what’s happened would be obviously premature at this time. I do love his toughness. He was obviously very productive when he was with Denver.”

[D-Day]

Exactly. Should we be drafting a running back? No, not when we need so many other players.

Shanahan is known for finding running backs.

Just a question though, Look at this as a business that it is.

Would you or anyone else consider CP worth 7.5 million dollars in salary and possible team crippling Salary cap problems in the future.

Take into account that Shanahan basically described in his ideal players everything that CP is not.

Now his age and the other issues he has had.

All that for even 4 yards per carry is not worth it too me as a fan or as a business person. Remember Allen is here to run the Business, I wonder how he feels about it. I think Shanahan was setting the tone in his presser and to allow Portis to stay after describing the Anti Portis as the player he wants would make him lose a lot of credibility amoungst the fans and players.

The negatives stack is much higher then the positives on CP. Of course we will all see and should he be here next year I will cheer just as loudly.

[XtremeFan55]

I think some of you miss the point.

If you want to get more production out of the team as a whole...then you have to get rid of the prima donnas....like Portis....who set a bad example of being above the team and dictating when he would practice and taking himself out of the game whenever he felt like it.

changing the culture is the number one thing necessary to turn this ship around.

so it doesn't matter if Portis is slightly better than anyone else we have...his negatives outweigh his positives and this is not the same Portis that Shanahan had 6 years ago.

and...I think moving training camp away from Ashburn is another great move to build the team concept and to get them out of their club med comfort zone and to concentrate on being football players.

[addicted]

Shanahan is known for finding running backs.

Yes he is, he drafted Portis after all

Just a question though, Look at this as a business that it is.

Would you or anyone else consider CP worth 7.5 million dollars in salary and possible team crippling Salary cap problems in the future.

Regardless of that and I get you, if we release Portis we still owe him that money minus I believe a million. So do you think getting rid of Portis is worth a million dollars if your Dan Snyder? He's gotta pay the man if he's playing or not and Portis for 1 million is a no brainer, I'd take Portis for a million any day

Take into account that Shanahan basically described in his ideal players everything that CP is not.

What exactly are you referring to? I assume (could be wrong) that you mean him not practicing. Well that's true however that doesn't mean that CP won't practice and train again does it? Do you not give Zorn or Stump any of the blame for CP being out of shape? Isn't the job of coaching motivating the players? Shanny and company have let the overpaid millionairs know on record that being out of shape is unacceptable. Guess what? Hanyesworth was reported as already training. CP needs to talk to Shanny and get his butt in the weight room. Shanny will motivate CP

Now his age and the other issues he has had.

The man is 28 years old. His age isn't really an issue, what is an issue is how many times the man has run in the NFL. We can't do anything about that as a team, Either CP wants it or he doesn't. Time will tell either way

All that for even 4 yards per carry is not worth it too me as a fan or as a business person. Remember Allen is here to run the Business, I wonder how he feels about it. I think Shanahan was setting the tone in his presser and to allow Portis to stay after describing the Anti Portis as the player he wants would make him lose a lot of credibility amoungst the fans and players.

The negatives stack is much higher then the positives on CP. Of course we will all see and should he be here next year I will cheer just as loudly.

Eh I think from a business point of view CP has to stay. I also think that 4 yard average is better then anyone on the roster now can produce. And I think CP can fix his issues with being out of shape if he's motivated. If he's not motivated then he's gone. I think that is the center of the issue and what people should be asking CP.

[deepo11]

What about Mcgahee for a couple years??? He has looked when he has played this year and been a playoff machine.