WPC: Portis to the haters: “I’ve got something for y’all”

[Enter Apotheosis]

In 2003 and 2004 Portis averaged 5.3 YPC and over 3,000 yards for the Broncos. In a more limited role I don't see why Portis couldn't get 4.8 YPC this year.

Anything less than 4.5 ypc in this system represents a failure on the part of whoever our starting RB is barring some sort of offensive line collapse.

[Burgold]

:ols: Is that you Sellers?? You might wanna get one of those concussion proof helmets bro.

Thing was, it wasn't just Sellers. It was Sellers and Mike Williams and Betts and Rock and Campbell and a host of others who went public with their complaints about his effort and lack of leadership.

He absolutely let the team down. He half arsed it for a year and a half, feigning injuries from before day one to skip practice.

He needs to reprove himself... on the field and to his team

[themurf]

It's amazing to me just how much personal distaste for Clinton Portis: The Character clouds people's judgment of Clinton Portis: The Player.

What can I say, most people would rather cheer for a team player than someone who time and time again makes it all about him.

I agree that on the field, Portis is a player no one can knock. His blocking alone shows that he is capable of being a good team player when the game is on the line. Maybe if he went "Sean Taylor" on the media and stopped talking all together it'd be easier for more folks to get behind him again.

I just can't bring myself to blame folks either in the locker room or in the stands for tiring of Portis' off-the-field shenanigans.

[HailGreen28]

Here we go CP.... Here we go!

*boom* *boom*

Here we go CP.... Here we go!

*boom* *boom*

[frankez99]

CP suffered from too much P.P.S ("Portis Pockets Straight") and the advantage of being Snyder's BFF.

Hopefully he can "straighten" out his game this season. Say what you want, but CP is part of the losing culture in DC and he isn't above criticism.

I think the whole team is feeling the paradigm shift Shanny and Allen have laid out.

I hope CP re-invents himself this year. I love CP the person; he's personable and humorous. I haven't loved CP's game as of late though.

Come on CP.

[Santana_89]

Thing was, it wasn't just Sellers. It was Sellers and Mike Williams and Betts and Rock and Campbell and a host of others who went public with their complaints about his effort and lack of leadership.

He absolutely let the team down. He half arsed it for a year and a half, feigning injuries from before day one to skip practice.

He needs to reprove himself.

When did I miss the memo on BMW being a leader:ols:? Campbell's ...ummm NOT A LEADER as has been said by PORTIS and COOLEY.Betts,Cartwright and Sellers weren't too much of a leader considering they brought in McNabb and he's been the VOCAL LEADER and LEADER by example. Sellers told Portis that he should call the other players out and when Portis asked that Yoder be put in to block instead of Sellers ,he(MS) went to his friends at the Post and on CSN and leaked the story..Gee I'll follow him and his example ANY DAY:rolleyes:. Do I need to mention that SELLERS sat out last year for more money instead of being a leader and leading his team? Campbell's home pouting and Betts and Cartwright are no longer Redskins so they really don't even matter.

EVERYONE that donned that Burgundy and Gold jersey last year LET THEMSELVES,their teammamtes, the FANS and the organization DOWN. It's NOT just Portis or Haynesworth or Landry they're the easy targets. EVERYBODY in a REDSKINS uniform NEEDS TO PROVE THEMSELVES this year.

[Burgold]

EVERYONE that donned that Burgundy and Gold jersey last year LET THEMSELVES,their teammamtes, the FANS and the organization DOWN. It's NOT just Portis or Haynesworth or Landry they're the easy targets. EVERYBODY in a REDSKINS uniform NEEDS TO PROVE THEMSELVES this year.

Well, I agree with this part... although honestly, Haynesworth didn't let the team down. He was great when he played. Portis wasn't. Not in game 1 and not in his last game. More, Portis folded up his tent and went home. Came in so out of shape that he needed O2 after practically every carry and couldn't finish off any runs. He abandoned his team.

And it wasn't just last year. It's been a year and a half of really bad performances.

[stoney26]

A running back is only as good as his offensive line. If the line plays well, Portis will get his stats. If the line plays like it did last year Portis will look bad. Simple as that.

[Atlass]

Anything less than 4.5 ypc in this system represents a failure on the part of whoever our starting RB is barring some sort of offensive line collapse.

It all depends when you get the carries. If Portis starts and gets all the first down run carries, but is not in the game when the run on passing downs than his YPC could be lower.

The situational back that carries just a few times will have the best YPC average. The starter that only gets the "hard" carries will have the lowest. You could see Portis as the starter with a 4.5 average and 1,100 yards while the other two backs get 1,000 yards combined and a 5.3 YPC average.

Altogether they average 4.9 YPC and get 2,100 yards between them.

[frankez99]

A running back is only as good as his offensive line. If the line plays well, Portis will get his stats. If the line plays like it did last year Portis will look bad. Simple as that.

Same goes for QB's; but many don't feel that way in here.

[Enter Apotheosis]

What can I say, most people would rather cheer for a team player than someone who time and time again makes it all about him.

Which is perfectly understandable. However, as fans we're a very inconsistent bunch regarding what we're willing to tolerate. A lot of the time it correlates directly to our record on the most recent season... even when the player in question can hardly be held individually responsible for the entire team's shortcomings. At this point I, for one, am just not all that concerned about character these days. I want to see performance on the field and I want to see an organizational structure that is capable of effectively handling all of the characters on the team.

I figure that's really the only way I can be even remotely consistent when guys like John Riggins and Dexter Manley are still held in high regard despite doing things that we would now consider completely unforgivable.

[HailGreen28]

Which is perfectly understandable. However, as fans we're a very inconsistent bunch regarding what we're willing to tolerate. A lot of the time it correlates directly to our record on the most recent season... even when the player in question can hardly be held individually responsible for the entire team's shortcomings. At this point I, for one, am just not all that concerned about character these days. I want to see performance on the field and I want to see an organizational structure that is capable of effectively handling all of the characters on the team.

I figure that's really the only way I can be even remotely consistent when guys like John Riggins and Dexter Manley are still held in high regard despite doing things that we would now consider completely unforgivable.

Like you alluded to. Winning "cures" everything.

[Atlass]

A running back is only as good as his offensive line. If the line plays well, Portis will get his stats. If the line plays like it did last year Portis will look bad. Simple as that.

Sure the OL as a whole. Not as any one individual. You have to take into consideration the system that is in place. The ZBS does not really on the brute strength of it's lineman, but it's teamwork and smarts. The OL will be moving, blocking on levels, and shielding the DL from the RBs NOT overpowering them.

You might look at this line and say there is no talent BUT you have not seen them play together in this system where the sum of the parts is greater than any one individual.

[RenegadeTK]

beautiful. cant wait to see him out on the field this season.

[Santana_89]

Well, I agree with this part... although honestly, Haynesworth didn't let the team down. He was great when he played. Portis wasn't. Not in game 1 and not in his last game. More, Portis folded up his tent and went home. Came in so out of shape that he needed O2 after practically every carry and couldn't finish off any runs. He abandoned his team.

And it wasn't just last year. It's been a year and a half of really bad performances.

Yeah and after the Oline broke down (in 2008)Sellers,Betts,Cartwright ,BMW nor Jason Campbell stepped up and made plays CONSISTENTLY when they needed to be made. You can talk about being a leader and wear the pretty little C on your uniform. As Julius told Bertier in Remember the Titans .... Attitude reflects LEADERSHIP captain;)

[Burgold]

Honestly, Betts, Rock, and even off the street nobodies like Ganther were either equal or outperformed Portis and for a back of Portis' pedigree that's ridiculous. If you want to tell me that you believe that Portis was in great shape, really keyed in on the game plan, practiced his heart out, and gave everything he could on the field... I can only conclude that you haven't watched a Redskin game for two years.

Quinton Ganther broke more tackles in one game than Portis did in all of 2009. That speaks of effort and heart.

[themurf]

A running back is only as good as his offensive line. If the line plays well, Portis will get his stats. If the line plays like it did last year Portis will look bad. Simple as that.

Barry Sanders scoffs at you.

[Enter Apotheosis]

It all depends when you get the carries. If Portis starts and gets all the first down run carries, but is not in the game when the run on passing downs than his YPC could be lower.

The situational back that carries just a few times will have the best YPC average. The starter that only gets the "hard" carries will have the lowest. You could see Portis as the starter with a 4.5 average and 1,100 yards while the other two backs get 1,000 yards combined and a 5.3 YPC average.

Altogether they average 4.9 YPC and get 2,100 yards between them.

You seem to be assuming the old "thunder and lightning" combination where the bigger, physical back wears down the defense and the smaller one comes in and breaks off the big runs as a change up. That's not always how it works. In fact, I believe Shanahan has a history of being somewhat more back-agnostic when it comes to splitting carries based on situation than most coaches who have used the RBBC. He holds the same expectations for every back he plugs in and if they aren't up to snuff he won't hesitate to upgrade.

[Laxpunk2006]

I think Portis has a legitimate shot to bounce back but it's up to him. He had a lot of little injuries last season that were just adding up and wearing on his body. The fact that he missed the second half of the year should be good for his body.

He has a lot of carries on him but he's only 29. A lot of guys on this site talked up Thomas Jones as a better back than Portis (the NYJ OL will do that) but he's two years older and has more career carries. I believe if Portis really wants to show up September in the best shape of his life he can have a great season. It's just up to him if he truly wants to work that hard. There is a wall RB's hit when their careers end but I don't believe Portis has hit it yet.

[Enter Apotheosis]

Honestly, Betts, Rock, and even off the street nobodies like Ganther were either equal or outperformed Portis and for a back of Portis' pedigree that's ridiculous. If you want to tell me that you believe that Portis was in great shape, really keyed in on the game plan, practiced his heart out, and gave everything he could on the field... I can only conclude that you haven't watched a Redskin game for two years.

Quinton Ganther broke more tackles in one game than Portis did in all of 2009. That speaks of effort and heart.

All of our backs looked exactly like Portis did: up and down from game to game, showing flashes of potential but not able to maintain. All of them did worse on a per carry basis than Portis as well. That doesn't tell you that Portis is bad, it tells you two things you should already know:

1. We had an extremely suspect offensive line.

2. There are a lot of guys in the league who can step up and deliver at the runningback position. Feature backs just happen to be able to maintain their output across a higher total number of touches and are more consistent from year to year.

[Burgold]

All of our backs looked exactly like Portis did: up and down from game to game, showing flashes of potential but not able to maintain. All of them did worse on a per carry basis than Portis as well. That doesn't tell you that Portis is bad, it tells you two things you should already know:

1. We had an extremely suspect offensive line.

2. There are a lot of guys in the league who can step up and deliver at the runningback position. Feature backs just happen to be able to maintain their output across a higher total number of touches and are more consistent from year to year.

I agree with everything except one thing. Portis' decent yards per carry was based on an outlier. If you removed his 78 yarder (one run) his ypc was I believe the worst on the team for the year. That one yard accounted for nearly 20% of his total yardage. Any statistician would throw it out if you were studying trends.

Even if you don't though, saying that Portis did microscopically better than Quinton Ganther with an arguably better line (the line he played with at the beginning of the season) is an incredible indictment against someone who is supposed to be as good as Portis. How many said he's a top five running back?

You guys are making me come down harder than I mean to on Clinton, but don't be blind and don't pretend he was something he wasn't. He was terrible on the most important metrics: As a player and as a teammate.

[Enter Apotheosis]

I agree with everything except one thing. Portis' decent yards per carry was based on an outlier. If you removed his 78 yarder (one run) his ypc was I believe the worst on the team for the year. That one yard accounted for nearly 20% of his total yardage. Any statistician would throw it out if you were studying trends.

For the sake of being picky, Ganther was still worse even if you take away Clinton's run. If you take away all runs of 20+ yards on account of those runs being outliers he was also a tiny fraction of a ypc better than Cartwright as well. That's neither here nor there, though, when you consider that Portis has a long history of being a bit on the streaky side and putting up big numbers only when he can break a big run or two. It's just the way things play out with his running style and is not atypical in the NFL.

Even if you don't though, saying that Portis did microscopically better than Quinton Ganther with an arguably better line (the line he played with at the beginning of the season) is an incredible indictment against someone who is supposed to be as good as Portis. How many said he's a top five running back?

You guys are making me come down harder than I mean to on Clinton, but don't be blind and don't pretend he was something he wasn't. He was terrible on the most important metrics: As a player and as a teammate.

I'm not pretending anything, I'm merely pointing out that he's not as much of a disappointment on the field as people have been claiming he is ever since he got hurt. We've plugged this guy into a running scheme he wasn't well-suited for, we've plugged him into a scheme that wasn't well-suited for anyone, we've increased his carry load beyond his established optimum level, and we've put him behind a line whose performance is impossible to predict from one season to the next. He's inconsistent from game-to-game and he's only been around 4.1 ypc total in his career here... yet his inconsistency is strangely consistent in and of itself. Portis didn't suddenly become a boom or bust back whose stats were propped up by one outlying game just last season, that's who he has been throughout his career.

We've all loved his play in the past... people are just flaking on his play now because the team sucked the big one last season and many have soured on his off-field antics.

[icbmayday]

We will see if CP can keep his cool this season

[dfbovey]

Did Portis have anything done to the bone spurs he had last year?

[Atlass]

You seem to be assuming the old "thunder and lightning" combination where the bigger, physical back wears down the defense and the smaller one comes in and breaks off the big runs as a change up. That's not always how it works. In fact, I believe Shanahan has a history of being somewhat more back-agnostic when it comes to splitting carries based on situation than most coaches who have used the RBBC. He holds the same expectations for every back he plugs in and if they aren't up to snuff he won't hesitate to upgrade.

Well, I guess.

What i was saying is whichever back that gets the most carries will have the lowest YPC. I'm pretty sure whoever starts the game will get the most carries. That being said if Willie Parker is the 3rd down back he could average 6 YPC in this system. In 2005 Mike Anderson was the starting RB for the Broncos. He gained about 1100 yards and averaged about 4.7 per carry. Tatum Bell had over 900 yards that season but he averaged an amazing 5.5 YPC. Bell had speed to break the big gains off and was especially efficient when running on passing downs. Of course anyone who watched the team that year knew that Anderson was the guy that the offense truley relied on.