Big Score 1 Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 After studying Clinton Portis on tape during the offseason, Redskins coach Jim Zorn is preparing the seven-year vet for a bigger role in the offense. Portis, who finished sixth in the league in rushing with 1,262 yards, is spending his offseason training at the team's complex. "We think that he can be a 1,800-yard back this season," assistant head coach/running backs Stump Mitchell said. "Running behind that offensive line, he should average four-and-a-half to five yards per carry." The Redskins are keeping their blocking schemes intact and believe that continuity will allow Portis to thrive as their feature back. Furthermore, the Redskins are contemplating expanding Portis' role as a receiver after the vet hauled in a career-high 47 passes last season. "We know that he was productive as a receiver last season, but most of his receptions were of the 'check-down' variety," Mitchell said. "We will see how he runs routes during mini-camps and O.T.As (Organized Team Activities) and determine if we can make him a bigger part of the passing game. He is a complete player with an unbelievable set of skills and we must find a way to maximize his talent." sportsillustrated.cnn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chappy Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 I posted this link inside the thread below but being that it's pretty good news for the off-season, I guess having it's own thread isn't a bad thing. http://forums.thehuddle.com/index.php?showtopic=242804 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avernus Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 (edited) I posted this link inside the thread below but being that it's pretty good news for the off-season, I guess having it's own thread isn't a bad thing. http://forums.thehuddle.com/index.php?showtopic=242804 did you win all your leagues last year? j/k edit: If true, I really wonder how long he'll hold up with such a workload.. Edited March 29, 2008 by Avernus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 edit: If true, I really wonder how long he'll hold up with such a workload.. You read my mind (pretty easy read, actually, if you can wade through all the trash). Working backwards from Portis' ypc with WAS, if he's going to get to 1800 yds rushing, he's going to have to carry the ball a ton. Portis' history is that he'll have a difficult time holding up to that kind of workload. This is the kind of thing that makes Portis dynasty owners go on first blush, but upon further review ought to send up some warning signals that at a very minimum they had damn well better be dealing for Betts in the offseason, or they may end up with a significant hole in thier scoring for a random period during the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDFFFreak Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 I'm guessing Portis will snap by mid to late season... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avernus Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 You read my mind (pretty easy read, actually, if you can wade through all the trash). Working backwards from Portis' ypc with WAS, if he's going to get to 1800 yds rushing, he's going to have to carry the ball a ton. Portis' history is that he'll have a difficult time holding up to that kind of workload. This is the kind of thing that makes Portis dynasty owners go on first blush, but upon further review ought to send up some warning signals that at a very minimum they had damn well better be dealing for Betts in the offseason, or they may end up with a significant hole in thier scoring for a random period during the season. I would try to trade him in lieu of this news....but if the other person does not buy it then I might take a risk and let him play a few games and then trade him.... regardless....the idea here is to trade Portis before week 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfish247 Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 (edited) I would try to trade him in lieu of this news....but if the other person does not buy it then I might take a risk and let him play a few games and then trade him.... regardless....the idea here is to trade Portis before week 4 I seem to remember quite a few people on this site saying the same thing last offseason. I guess if you assume that an RB will miss time due to injury or give way to his backup... eventually it will be true. Consider the Huddle's top 10 keeper rankings circa 12/28/07... LT... iron man, fair enough. AP (missed 4 of 16 possible pro games)... torn LCL, broken collarbone, high ankle sprain. Missed 4 games in '07, 4 games in '06, 4 games in '05. Westbrook (11 of 96)... almost always on an injury report. Has never played in 16 games and missed 7 games in '04/'05. SJax (7 of 64)... missed 4 games due groin and back injuries. '06 was his only complete season, injury free. Before that various nagging knee/ankle/hip injuries. Addai... well documented history of leg injuries before being drafted including a torn ACL. This year was limited by a shoulder/neck stinger and some nagging leg injuries. Gore... where to start--two serious knee injuries, shoulder surgery, broken hand. LJ (since '05 missed 8 of 48)... missed 8 games in '07 due to a knee injury. MBIII... no serious injury history however has yet to carry a full load. Portis (12 of 96)... missed 8 games in '06 due to a broken hand. In '03/'04 he missed 4 games due to leg injuries but has played in 16 games 3 times. Marshawn Lynch (3 of 16)... missed 3 games due to a high ankle sprain. Now consider the nature of the injuries above. Almost all have missed time or been limited with groin/knee/ankle issues. Portis' only cause of significant missed time was due to a broken hand. He played with his dislocated shoulder for 8 games then broke his hand. A relatively flukish injury compared to knee and ankle problems. Rehab from the broken hand would've had him out for about a month so instead of bringing him back for a few final games the Skins decided to also operate on the shoulder. Otherwise it seemed they were going to wait until after '06 to fix the shoulder. The 4 games he did miss due to leg injuries were back in '03/04. I'm not saying I'd rank Portis ahead of AP, Westbrook, SJax, Addai etc. but on average he hasn't missed any more games AND/OR have a lengthier injury history than most of the top RBs today. Most importantly for an RB, he certainly hasn't suffered or been afflicted with serious or nagging leg injuries like most of the above. Also consider that of the RBs above, only LT and MBIII do not have extensive injury histories... a first ballot HOFer and a guy who has yet to surpass 250 touches in a single NFL season. Edited March 31, 2008 by kingfish247 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avernus Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 I seem to remember quite a few people on this site saying the same thing last offseason. I guess if you assume that an RB will miss time due to injury or give way to his backup... eventually it will be true. Consider the Huddle's top 10 keeper rankings circa 12/28/07... LT... iron man, fair enough. AP (missed 4 of 16 possible pro games)... torn LCL, broken collarbone, high ankle sprain. Missed 4 games in '07, 4 games in '06, 4 games in '05. Westbrook (11 of 96)... almost always on an injury report. Has never played in 16 games and missed 7 games in '04/'05. SJax (7 of 64)... missed 4 games due groin and back injuries. '06 was his only complete season, injury free. Before that various nagging knee/ankle/hip injuries. Addai... well documented history of leg injuries before being drafted including a torn ACL. This year was limited by a shoulder/neck stinger and some nagging leg injuries. Gore... where to start--two serious knee injuries, shoulder surgery, broken hand. LJ (since '05 missed 8 of 48)... missed 8 games in '07 due to a knee injury. MBIII... no serious injury history however has yet to carry a full load. Portis (12 of 96)... missed 8 games in '06 due to a broken hand. In '03/'04 he missed 4 games due to leg injuries but has played in 16 games 3 times. Marshawn Lynch (3 of 16)... missed 3 games due to a high ankle sprain. Now consider the nature of the injuries above. Almost all have missed time or been limited with groin/knee/ankle issues. Portis' only cause of significant missed time was due to a broken hand. He played with his dislocated shoulder for 8 games then broke his hand. A relatively flukish injury compared to knee and ankle problems. Rehab from the broken hand would've had him out for about a month so instead of bringing him back for a few final games the Skins decided to also operate on the shoulder. Otherwise it seemed they were going to wait until after '06 to fix the shoulder. The 4 games he did miss due to leg injuries were back in '03/04. I'm not saying I'd rank Portis ahead of AP, Westbrook, SJax, Addai etc. but on average he hasn't missed any more games AND/OR have a lengthier injury history than most of the top RBs today. Most importantly for an RB, he certainly hasn't suffered or been afflicted with serious or nagging leg injuries like most of the above. Also consider that of the RBs above, only LT and MBIII do not have extensive injury histories... a first ballot HOFer and a guy who has yet to surpass 250 touches in a single NFL season. you act like he wasn't coming off a bad season with injuries and all sorts of bad luck....not to mention the team he plays for.. also, I've been weary of Portis ever since his 2nd season...and I had him his rookie season, so he never burned me.. in his 6 seasons, last year was his 2nd lowest average in yds per rush...and although he did well in the passing game, I just would have trouble putting him inside my top 10 and news like this usually prompts me to put a RB in my top 10.... you can say what you want, but my philosophy on which RB's to avoid has worked wonders usually unless I'm stuck at a certain spot on the draft board where I don't like many players as it is.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 I'm still waiting for someone to explain how Portis is going to get to the 450 carries he'll need to hit 1800 yds rushing at the 4.02 ypc he's put up since he's joined WAS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 I'm still waiting for someone to explain how Portis is going to get to the 450 carries he'll need to hit 1800 yds rushing at the 4.02 ypc he's put up since he's joined WAS. If his carries goes up and his YPC goes up it will get him there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avernus Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 If his carries goes up and his YPC goes up it will get him there. how many RB's survive that many carries to begin with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Score 1 Posted April 1, 2008 Author Share Posted April 1, 2008 how many RB's survive that many carries to begin with? Portis Washington numbers for regular season games played in / games started, rushing attempts & rushing yardage 2004 23 WAS RB 15 15 343 1315 2005 24 WAS RB 16 16 352 1516 2006 25 WAS RB 8 7 127 523 2007 26 WAS RB 16 16 325 1262 4 yrs WAS 55 54 1147 4616 If Portis continues running at his current Washington average of 4.0 ypc, he will indeed need a massive number of carries (450 as BB pointed out). However, Portis has proven he can be a workhorse back during his time in Washington. Every year he's been there, except the year he suffered a seperated shoulder in pre season then a broken hand later that same season, he's toted the rock a minimum of 325 times. Line continuity & health + Campbell progression??? + Zorn changing up Joe Gibbs antiquated run plays & Portis (assuming no injuries) hitting 1,800 yards is not that far fetched. He certainly has the natural talent & ability to hit it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avernus Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Portis Washington numbers for regular season games played in / games started, rushing attempts & rushing yardage 2004 23 WAS RB 15 15 343 1315 2005 24 WAS RB 16 16 352 1516 2006 25 WAS RB 8 7 127 523 2007 26 WAS RB 16 16 325 1262 4 yrs WAS 55 54 1147 4616 If Portis continues running at his current Washington average of 4.0 ypc, he will indeed need a massive number of carries (450 as BB pointed out). However, Portis has proven he can be a workhorse back during his time in Washington. Every year he's been there, except the year he suffered a seperated shoulder in pre season then a broken hand later that same season, he's toted the rock a minimum of 325 times. Line continuity & health + Campbell progression??? + Zorn changing up Joe Gibbs antiquated run plays & Portis (assuming no injuries) hitting 1,800 yards is not that far fetched. He certainly has the natural talent & ability to hit it. again...I'm going to stay away from this one and let the story tell itself... I'm not going to tell you not to put him in your top 10... I'm just not going to put him in mine and I'll only draft him at a bargain like I did last year where I used him in a trade to get SJax and it paid off in the longrun.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piratesownninjas Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Portis really is strange to me... Last year a lot of people said he was done, and that Betts would take his job, he then plays 16 weeks and is a top 5 back... This year everyone still doubts him. I have a ton of runningbacks in a dynasty and no one will offer anything of value for him in return... It's perplexing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avernus Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Portis really is strange to me... Last year a lot of people said he was done, and that Betts would take his job, he then plays 16 weeks and is a top 5 back... This year everyone still doubts him. I have a ton of runningbacks in a dynasty and no one will offer anything of value for him in return... It's perplexing. I felt like the only person who didn't think Betts was anything special that he was just another player who was AWOL up until his contract year, but I'm shocked he didn't get hurt as often as he normally does... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfish247 Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 First, I don't think he'll sniff 1800 rushing yards. That's like a coach/player projecting 2000 yards in the offseason. It's a worthy goal but it's just not realistic. I really don't understand the injury perception with Portis. Why is it shocking that he played 16 games last season? Going into '07, he played in 13 or more games in a season 4 of his 5 years. Now 5 of 6 seasons playing in at least 13 games. 1500+ total yards in 5 of 6 seasons. 11 or more TDs in 4 of 6. There's this perception that Portis is fragile. Consider the pariah of fragile RBs, Fragile Fred, over his first 6 seasons... missed 24 of 96 possible games to Portis' 12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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