Carl Poston suspended by the NFLPA for two years

C) And this one, I must admit, I'm not really "in the know" about.....but from what I've heard, Portis is a young kid with a huge chip on his shoulder. Several of his former prisonmates/teammates (at Miami, I'm not sure which term they use ;-) have expressed some displeasure with Portis' attitude....namely Willis McGahee & Jeremy Shockey.

Somehow, not getting Shockey vote of approval raises Portis in my estimation.

Does Portis have an attitude? Sure seems like it, but he's walked the walk. 1591 and 14 TD's in thirteen games last year. 1508 and 14 TD as a rookie. A career 5.5 YPC.

His attitude isn't anti-team, it's pro Portis. I've never heard him say he wants to make more than Plummer, or Smith, or whoever - he wants to make more. I have to assume the Redskins are willing to address his desires if they'll make this deal.

there is one more scenario that seems to have slipped through the cracks, namely the Skins are using this time to determine Champ's market value and then adjust their offer accordingly.

While I'm in favor of trading Champ for Portis, the inclusion of a 2nd round pick is a bit much. Portis is a stud, no doubt, but Champ Bailey is no slouch. He's been to 4 Pro Bowls for a reason, and somebody is going to let him touch the ball on offense and special teams and see how special of a player he really is.

I'd love to have Portis in the backfield next season, Michael Wilbon in the washingtonpost says that it's easier to find a franchise back than a shutdown corner. Need proof, Stephen Davis 4th round pick, Priest Holmes undrafted and even Clinton Portis, 2nd round pick. I'd much rather keep Champ and try to find a back in the draft with our 2nd round pick. But I like Redskins, not imports.

Keep in mind that Portis faced The Raiders (worst Rushing D in the entire NFL), the Chiefs (3rd worst Rushing D in the NFL) and the Chargers (one better than the Skins as far as rushing D.....and we all know how poorly the Skins did against the run) twice a year. I'm sure there's the old "chicken/egg" question too.....did he post great #s because he went against crummy rush D's, or did those teams have such poor stats due to facing a stud RB twice a year. Of course, all of those teams had to face LT & Priest Holmes twice a year too, so there are tons of questions to be answered. I will say that against Baltimore and New England, Portis put up a mere 86 yards and 111 yards respectively.

86 yards against the Ravens and 111 yards against the Pats ain't bad at all.

I love Champ, but Postis is just what Coach Gibbs wants running his ground attack!

When you consider that the "strong" combination of Marcel Shipp & Jeff Blake in Arizona rushed for more than that against the Ravens, I'd say that it ain't all that great either. Portis is being made out to be the next Walter Payton after only 2 years (versus perhaps the worst Rush D division in the league). To me, that's not worth Champ Bailey & a 2nd rounder.

Middle of last season the argument was "best back: Portis, Holmes, or Lewis?"
If you have a chance to get any player discussed in that argument, essentially for a player that already plans on skipping out, for less money (initially) I think it's a no-brainer.

As soon as we start breaking down how he did against specific teams, then i think we're just looking for weaknesses. But the facts and figures all point to Portis being a top 3 back for most of his career.

I'm not cool w/ handing over the 2nd round pick either, but in my opinion this is another example of Shanahan's arrogance, presupposing that anyone can take Portis' place, and basically punishing Portis for wanting to secure his future NOW, after 2 1500 yd seasons when he was making nothing (by NFL standards).
I've never liked Shanahan. He's the Teflon coach. He gets too much credit for Denver's success, and too little blame for their failures. Take him to the cleaners on this one. Letting Portis go is 100% foolish.

2 seasons is hardly a career. He's done VERY well in those 2 years, but against very poor rush defenses. If he's as good as he thinks he is, however, then I say sign him up to a contract that is incentive laden. He'd undoubtedly be the starter, and would get the carries, so I say, give him big time bonuses for TDs and 1500+ rushing yards. Again, if he's as good as he (and many of you) say he is, those accomplishments (and the bonuses) should be easy to attain. My guess is that he's too cocky to accept something like that....he wants guaranteed big $$$. As a long time Skins fan who's been burned time and time again, I'm a bit skeptical about how "great" of a steal this would be.

2 seasons is hardly a career. He's done VERY well in those 2 years, but against very poor rush defenses. If he's as good as he thinks he is, however, then I say sign him up to a contract that is incentive laden. He'd undoubtedly be the starter, and would get the carries, so I say, give him big time bonuses for TDs and 1500+ rushing yards. Again, if he's as good as he (and many of you) say he is, those accomplishments (and the bonuses) should be easy to attain. My guess is that he's too cocky to accept something like that....he wants guaranteed big $$$. As a long time Skins fan who's been burned time and time again, I'm a bit skeptical about how "great" of a steal this would be.

3000 yards is a career - for any back on our roster. As for Portis (or any player wanting guaranteed dollars, "duh". Is Coles's contract an impediment to his ability? He certainly got a guarantee in the form of his signing bonus - something we should certainly expect here, as well. If this trade happens, expect a similar deal to Laveraneus (7yrs/$35mil/$13mil bonus). It will put Portis in the elite, where he wants to be.

Portis right now is one of the top 5 best backs in the NFL and is only just getting started. I would pull the trigger on this deal in a second.