bubba9497 Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Redskins' Portis would like to smack Cowboys http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/football/9748762.htm IRVING - Redskins coach Joe Gibbs has asked his running back, Clinton Portis, to please tone down his smack talking. And he has. Kind of. What he called to tell Cowboys safety Roy Williams on Wednesday was tame by Portis standards. "He was like, 'Yeah, man, my mom is going to have good seats to see me score on y'all,' " Williams said. "I was just laughing. He is talking about where she is sitting and all." Portis and Williams have a friendship born from a chance meeting at an NFL orientation. So Portis can talk smack to him. Portis has been able to talk smack to everybody else in the NFL because hardly anybody has been able to shut him down in his two-plus NFL seasons, which is the only way to shut him up. He had 1,591 yards his rookie year in Denver, despite missing two games, and added another 1,508 yards last season, his last in a Broncos uniform. Ask anybody who has played against him, sometimes you can just hear a tremendously frustrating day coming on. "Smack, smack, smack, he talks a lot of smack," said Cowboys defensive end Marcellus Wiley, who saw and heard plenty of Portis while playing for the San Diego Chargers. "It gets louder as the game goes on and he does better. So the key is to get after him early and try to stay after him. That's the only way." Which is what Wiley has been preaching to his teammates all week. Portis officially became a Cowboys nuisance March 4 when Gibbs traded Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey and a second-round draft pick to Denver for him. What the Redskins gave up was a lot. What they got back was what they desperately coveted: an almost as-good-as-guaranteed 100 yards rushing per game. "It wasn't a guessing game," Gibbs explained. What had people guessing was, why Portis? He is hardly your "prototypical" Gibbs power back. "I'm accustomed to any back that can make yards," Gibbs said. "In John Riggins, we had a huge fullback who was very strong and made a lot of yards for us. Earnest Byner was 220 pounds, solid as a rock, good pass receiver, made a lot of yards for us. We had Terry Metcalf and Joe Washington. They were small backs and darters who made a lot of yards for us. I think as a coach you don't care what the package looks like, as long as you can make yards." Portis has done that in his two games in a Redskins uniform, rushing for 217 yards and a touchdown. He just has not been as prolific as he was in Denver, with only 69 yards last week against a less-than-stout New York Giants defense, and two fumbles. In fact, take away his 64-yard touchdown run in his debut, and Portis has averaged a mere mortal and very Troy Hambrick-ish 3.1 yards per carry. It has led to talk that maybe the Broncos system made Portis, not Portis making the system. He does not do well with such talk. "Man, I really don't care about the talk about a system," Portis said. "If you think a system is what makes backs, it's for the media to perceive. You can draw up all the X's and O's that you want, but when you get on the field, it never happens that way." Which is why the Cowboys' defense has spent almost all week tucked away in film rooms. Linemen and linebackers and safeties and cornerbacks have studied Portis' every twitch with attention usually reserved only for Halle Berry films. What they have learned is that Portis, not unlike a lot of good backs, gets a lot of his yards cutting back and is extremely dangerous when allowed to bounce outside. "He has great vision," Wiley said, "and he has the feet to go where he sees." What the Cowboys defenders, who rank 26th in the NFL against the run, say they have to do is what all defensive players say they have to do when facing a good back. Get a lot of guys around the ball. Stay in their gaps. Swarm him when he has the ball. What the Cowboys can't do is what they did against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday: stop them, stop them, stop them, let down for a single play and give up a big run. Because Portis is the kind of back for whom a single big run gets him rolling. His legs. And his mouth. And will Gibbs' ban stop this? Not likely. "When we get on the field, coach Gibbs can't hear what I'm saying," Portis said. Which is good because you can bet Portis will be pointing out his mom for Williams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big z Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 thanks bubba, great article.... i think portis needs another gamebreaker run on monday night for all the country to see.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chachie Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 I hope our boy backs his smack. That's all I have to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Are you ready for some football? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXREDSKINS44 Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Nice article Bubba. I hope he can back it up!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matador36 Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 I can't wait! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isifhan Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Is breaking the single game rushing record on this game too much to ask??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riggins44 Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Now, I don't know if Portis or Smoot would be funnier to have miked Monday night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Made Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Originally posted by riggins44 Now, I don't know if Portis or Smoot would be funnier to have miked Monday night. Does anyone know if one of our players is gonna be miced up or will it be someone from the cowboys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cphil006 Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Why would anyone want to play for the Cowboys. I hope a fan sets KeyShaun on fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins26 Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Once again, just like the Giants, the Cowboys seem to know exactly what to do to stop him and sound committed to doing so. Which is why we should comeout passing. Or with something like a flea flicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illone Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 The swagger is a good thing..... I can't wait to see him back it up on MNF..... Guys like this you know are gonna bust their a$$ trying.... it's a Miami thing:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rypien11 Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Cowboys are going to approach the game just like the Giants did on the defensive side of the ball. Alot of 8 man fronts, daring us to run on them. Cannot abandon the run but have to do something to get that 8th man out of the box. Whomever the Skin's Qb is he is going to have to stretch the field and get the 8th man out of the box. If Pat is the Qb: My first offense playcall would be play-action pass. The pass being a crossing pattern to Coles. Pat loves to throw the crossing pattern and does it well. If they blitz change it to a slant instead of a crossing pattern. If Mark is the Qb: Play action naked bootleg hitting Cooley or the TE/H-back. Hell if his hamstring is ok I might even try a naked bootleg with Mark running the ball. I think Portis will do most of his damage in the second half of the game after the defense is loosed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 I think I agree with you (kind-of). Right now, I think Dallas is a lot more scared of the run than the pass. The drawback, if you pass first, is that, if the 1-10 pass isn't complete, then you're at 2-10, and they'll be comming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweepea436 Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Love this guy. I haven't owned a Redskins jersey since highschool, but I had to go out and get his. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLiNT0N P0RTiS Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 I love this article! Your right! No one can shut Portis down and i mean no one! Screw those cowgirls, Portis is gonna be running all over them this coming monday! Hail! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLiNT0N P0RTiS Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 I hope Portis is miked up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLiNT0N P0RTiS Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 I could hear him now, "How you liek that stiff arm Roy?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoverCorner41 Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Portis wont be the one doing the smacking..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illone Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Originally posted by CoverCorner41 Portis wont be the one doing the smacking..... :doh: I can see this thread going the distance now. I certainly hope you have the nuts to come back in here after the game on Tuesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeSkins Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 A Sooner and a Hurricane friends, who'da thunk it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselPwr44 Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Originally posted by illone :doh: I can see this thread going the distance now. I certainly hope you have the nuts to come back in here after the game on Tuesday. That's just it illone. Oh, he'll be back if the Cowbums win Monday but if they lose, you'll never see him around here again.:2cents: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoverCorner41 Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Originally posted by DieselPwr44 That's just it illone. Oh, he'll be back if the Cowbums win Monday but if they lose, you'll never see him around here again.:2cents: no, ill be the first one say good game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helluvaskinsfan Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 bubba is the article guru Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skin_finatic Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Awesome Article.....when is monday night 3 days....OMG!!! the wait is killing me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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