Homer: Ryan Torain is the man ... for now

[themurf]

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Anyone who has been a fan of the Washington Redskins for more than a day or two should know by now that there’s no such thing as a quiet week out at Redskins Park.

Sure, the Redskins pulled it together last weekend to earn a much-needed victory against the Philadelphia Eagles after back-to-back disappointments against Houston and St. Louis, but much has changed in the few days since the win.

Rookie tackle Trent Williams sounds cautiously optimistic that he’ll be able to play against Green Bay this weekend, which is fantastic because it means Stephon Heyer will hopefully no longer be prominently involved. And Hunter “the punter” Smith is expected to re-sign with the Redskins because Josh Bidwell is old/ineffective/injury-prone.

But not all is sunshine and lollipops at Redskins Park. Not after it was announced that running back Clinton Portis will be out at least four to six weeks with a third-degree separation of his groin.

You’re not going to believe this, but a running back needs his legs and groin to be relatively healthy in order to be effective. Unfortunately for Portis, this injury was apparently severe enough that the groin separated from the bone. [Editor’s note: Ouch.]

That leaves the recently reacquired Ryan Torain as the primary ball carrier and Chad Simpson as his backup, even though neither was on the 53-man roster when the season started. Remember when the Redskins boasted a ridiculously deep backfield of Portis, Larry Johnson and Willie Parker? Yeah, well that didn’t exactly work out for them, did it?

The only other running backs in the building are Keiland Williams and Javarris James, both of whom currently reside on the practice squad.

Folks who pay way more attention to these types of injuries than I do point out that former Jacksonville running back Fred Taylor suffered a similar groin injury in the second week of the 2001 season and didn’t play again the rest of the year. So the four-to-six week time frame might be a bit optimistic.

The smartest thing Portis and the Redskins can do is to have patience with the situation. No sense rushing the 29-year-old back into the lineup – especially when the chances of re-aggravating an injury like that can be high.

Which leaves Washington with Torain. Now, before you get overly excited after the 24-year-old’s solid outing against the Eagles (18 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown), please remember that Torain has had health concerns of his own since he came into the NFL.

In 2008, Torain broke his left elbow during training camp and was inactive for the first seven weeks of the season. Once he finally recovered from that, a torn ACL ended his rookie campaign after he saw action in just two games.

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[TheismannQuote]

HomerMcFanboy: Not drinking the kool-aid

Good points. Cautious optimism. Portis' injury seemed severe when you listened to interviews of Shanahan and Portis - stating that the MRI results are still pending. Frankly, all that money for a No.1 RB and you better beleive those results would be alot faster than 3 days.

Seeing as it is such a severe injury but does not require surgery ... what will need to happen for the Redskins to place him on IR? If Torrain does suffer some injury and they're in need of a roster spot to make a move at RB, then what?

Funny out of all the depth at RB and WR brought in to camp, there are still have major question marks.

[SlobberKnockinFootball]

Need to change that background color on the article. Navy blue w/black font?

[authentic]

Ryan Torain is the man!!!..

should have just left it at that....Especially after he 'Truck Sticked' Quinten Mickell

[Dick Edds]

nice write up Homer ... totally agree with all points ... excited to see Torain, but who knows how good he really is and how long he can last. Fingers crossed he can take over the starting role and give s a couple 100 yard games and some red zone/goal line td's, and that Portis can heal quickly enough to re-join us in mid season (at least a s the 3rd down back). HAIL.

[terrifNick21]

Ha. James was gone pretty quick.

[rd421]

I seem to remember Shanahan saying LJ was released due to not being able to get enough carries to get it going....well there are plenty of carries now and it looks like still no LJ

[TheGreatBuzz]

Thank God we got Hunter back. He can carry some of the RB load.

[Champskins]

Sign DeDe Dorsey! He is a very versatile guy and we could get him for cheap. He is in the UFL right now but hes only 26 and is annually the league MVP in the UFL and has a Super Bowl ring with the Colts. Dude is a beast and with Shanahan getting hidden talent all of the time this guy would be a huge complement with Torrain and Williams

[kbltheman]

Best case scenario: Torrain and the running game do well over the next four weeks and the team gets to 4-4 or 5-3 at the bye week. Clinton comes back following the bye week playing like he did in the beginning of the Philly game (the first game after the bye week is home vs Eagles btw) and the Redskins have a solid running back tandem going forward in a drive for the playoffs.

Worst case scenario: Torrain struggles and/or gets injured and (Keiland Williams/Simpson/James) don't perform in CP's absence, the team can't run and gets to the bye week at 3-5 or 2-6. Clinton comes back and tries to make a go of it but can't get it done and the team and Clinton are both out of it by the end of November.

[bishtw]

Thank God we got Hunter back. He can carry some of the RB load.

This made me laugh!!:ols:

[JohnnyUtah]

Solid solid article. Thanks, as always, for posting a well-written and insightful piece.

I really think (hope) that Torain can be our guy since CP went down. Loved the way he just ran hard against the Eagles. Hope he can keep it up.

[lavarisgone]

I still don't get why Torain was on TPS and K.Williams was on the 53 man roster, only to have that reversed in two weeks? Torain has been a pet project for Shanny since Denver 2008, wonder why he didn't make the 53 to begin the season.

[LetThePointsSoar]

Good article murf... here's to hoping Torain proves us all wrong and stays healthy all year and is a force to be reckoned with.

[mossomo]

I still don't get why Torain was on TPS and K.Williams was on the 53 man roster

Mike plays roster games to throw opposing teams off balance and keep em guessing.

[TheLongshot]

I still don't get why Torain was on TPS and K.Williams was on the 53 man roster, only to have that reversed in two weeks? Torain has been a pet project for Shanny since Denver 2008, wonder why he didn't make the 53 to begin the season.

Shanahan said that he thought Torain would clear waivers easier than Williams because of his injury history. Just because you get down to 53 doesn't mean that is the 53 you are going to end up with for most of the season. There are always moves being made to improve the talent and mix of the roster.

[Pedro]

I still don't get why Torain was on TPS and K.Williams was on the 53 man roster, only to have that reversed in two weeks? Torain has been a pet project for Shanny since Denver 2008, wonder why he didn't make the 53 to begin the season.

'Cos he had the best chance of clearing waivers in the minds of our FO.

[WhoRUSupposed2Be]

JohnnyUtah's sig is funny. You can't tell if she's going up and down or being propelled back and forth

Back to the subject matter. Let's see what he does first before putting a bag over our mouths and hyperventilating.

[TheShredder]

I'd point out that a year of unfortunate injuries doesn't immediately mean the guy is made of glass. He's a big, strong, down-hill runner that lowers his shoulder and seeks the extra yards. What more could you ask for in a young RB? He injured his elbow and got stacked up and bent backwards until his ACL popped...That doesn't mean the guy is injury prone. It means the guy unfortunately had a couple of major injuries back in 2008. It's been 2 years and prime time for a young guy with an ACL injury to be fully healthy and ready to hit the gaps.

Coach Shanahan likes the one cut, downhill runners. He runs them hard. You might be able to make the argument that Shanahan has a history of using up the best years of young RB's. He get's them to produce and run their assess off from the beginning of OTA's until they get traded or go on IR. For some reason he always has a fresh horse in the stall waiting to run. It's probably for a reason. He uses them up and discards them.

I would look for youth at the RB position from here on out. Torain, Williams, and Simpson are just what Shanahan ordered. The young guns will run just like the others before them and will produce. It's just a matter of how long they can do it.

HTTR!!!

[Champskins]

http://blog.redskins.com/2010/10/07/ryan-torains-durability-and-other-links/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Matt Terl is showing you some love Homer

[Fat Stupid Loser]

JohnnyUtah's sig is funny. You can't tell if she's going up and down or being propelled back and forth

She is clearly faking. Looks like she's trying to get her underwear out of her crack.

[themurf]

I'd point out that a year of unfortunate injuries doesn't immediately mean the guy is made of glass. He's a big, strong, down-hill runner that lowers his shoulder and seeks the extra yards. What more could you ask for in a young RB? He injured his elbow and got stacked up and bent backwards until his ACL popped...That doesn't mean the guy is injury prone. It means the guy unfortunately had a couple of major injuries back in 2008. It's been 2 years and prime time for a young guy with an ACL injury to be fully healthy and ready to hit the gaps.

Coach Shanahan likes the one cut, downhill runners. He runs them hard. You might be able to make the argument that Shanahan has a history of using up the best years of young RB's. He get's them to produce and run their assess off from the beginning of OTA's until they get traded or go on IR. For some reason he always has a fresh horse in the stall waiting to run. It's probably for a reason. He uses them up and discards them.

I would look for youth at the RB position from here on out. Torain, Williams, and Simpson are just what Shanahan ordered. The young guns will run just like the others before them and will produce. It's just a matter of how long they can do it.

HTTR!!!

I'm pretty sure I made my case, whether you choose to agree with it or not is up to you. But I see a young man who is always injured, who has just 40 total carries since he came into the league in 2008 and I refuse to automatically assume that he's the answer for all the team's problems. I also see a guy who stands straight up when he runs with the football and fear that, because of this, he leaves himself awfully exposed to big hits from defenders. I like the kid and really hope he does well, but it wouldn't surprise me if a month from now he's sitting next to Portis and the team is looking for someone else to step up and fill the void.

[TheLongshot]

I'm pretty sure I made my case, whether you choose to agree with it or not is up to you. But I see a young man who is always injured, who has just 40 total carries since he came into the league in 2008 and I refuse to automatically assume that he's the answer for all the team's problems. I also see a guy who stands straight up when he runs with the football and fear that, because of this, he leaves himself awfully exposed to big hits from defenders. I like the kid and really hope he does well, but it wouldn't surprise me if a month from now he's sitting next to Portis and the team is looking for someone else to step up and fill the void.

I keep thinking he's going to end up like Kelvin Bryant, who was another upright runner we had that was always hurt.

[TheShredder]

I'm pretty sure I made my case, whether you choose to agree with it or not is up to you. But I see a young man who is always injured, who has just 40 total carries since he came into the league in 2008 and I refuse to automatically assume that he's the answer for all the team's problems. I also see a guy who stands straight up when he runs with the football and fear that, because of this, he leaves himself awfully exposed to big hits from defenders. I like the kid and really hope he does well, but it wouldn't surprise me if a month from now he's sitting next to Portis and the team is looking for someone else to step up and fill the void.

You stated the obvious without looking more into the reality.

Torain got unlucky and is now healthy and built like a brick house!

He has been training for over 20 months at Triple Threat in Arizona. They are top notch and no joke. Check out where Ryan Torain has been working out to get this shot:

Torain will produce or die in the process!

HTTR!!!

[Guest Spearfeather]

40 carries for 185 yards are impresssive numbers, regardless. Yes, that's all he's done since 2008, but.....he's only played in four games, and didn't start in any of them. I can't wait to see what this guy does with 25 - 30 carries in a game.