Portis vs. Betts

and good point by irish. if Betts starts fumbling again, Gibbs will have him carry less and less

I think the key to having Portis lead our team in rushing is to rush Betts more often. If Portis gets 30+ touches a game I am pretty sure he will go down half way through the season, but if you keep Portis around 15-20 carries and Betts at about 5-10 I think that is a good formula for a successful and injury free season.

Thoughts?On a single season basis, it doesn't make a huge difference.

But this is becoming absolutely critical to extending Portis' career. Keep him under 350 carries this year. At age 26 now, if Portis continues to be used at 2005 levels, hes going to continue to have 2006 kind of health.

You still want him to touch it about 20 times every week, but you definatly want to use some other players when the situation isnt as crucial.

Before CP got the freakish injury in preseason last year, how many of us truly thought that he would break down during the season? Had he shown that in 2005 when he carried the team on his back late in the season right to the 2nd round of the playoffs? Or in 2004? Can't seem to remember that being the general consensus around 'Skin fans. Now all of a sudden, CP is injury prone, and is not able to handle the load. Are you serious? Cp is going to return to form and dominate. My prediction is we'll be riding his 1600+ yds from scrimage to the playoffs

Portis will gain more, say maybe 500-600 more yards IMHO. I saythat as I can see CP go down with an injury around week 10-11.

Portis definitely should see the ball less than in 05. The good thing about that is Betts earned some carries this year for 07- he deserves to get the ball at least 10 times a game.
I wonder if Blalock can earn some time as the 3rd down back? If Portis & Betts split a lot of carries, I wouldn't be surprised to see Blalock used a bit even if LB & CP are healthy, since he knows the offense well & I recall reading that he's a decent pass protector.

However they do it, I don't care, just don't overwork any one of these guys till crunch time.

Since I don't have a magic ball. I'm hoping both have a REALLY STRONG SEASON.

CP needs to make this a statement season,being this COULD be his last IMO! LB coming off a GREAT year, needs to hold on to the football, and I believe he will.

What a great position to be in at RB if both can stay healthy. Let's not forget about the addition of Blaylock, nice depth at RB and Teams.

I hope that we limit Portis's carries the first 1/2 of the season, lower then he has ever had.

I would be thrilled to see Portis enter the next offseason injury-free...

Seems strange to predict injuries... but hey whatever gets you through the offseason I guess.

I think CP will come back strong this year. I think he'll be determined to get back on track, and Saunders will ease his workload by giving Betts more work.

I also think that CP will come on strong this year, but I have disagree.

It isn't strange to predict injuries.

I can say right now that I expect Shawn Springs to get hurt some time during the year. Outside of the Skins, I expect that Donavan McNabb goes down at some point this year.

Do I think that Portis will avoid the injury bug all year? No. As a matter of fact, I think that it should be easy to predict that. He is coming off of shoulder surgery and is the kind of guy who loves to slam his shoulders into other guys without regard for his own health. That is why I love him, but that is what scares me. I see him playing most of the games, but playing a hurt a lot and missing a couple. With some luck, next year he will be full strength for the whole season IMHO.

Just joined the board. Good to be here.

CP is one of the five best backs in the league IMO. He was a slasher in Denver, and then he basically reinvented himself when he arrived in Washington. He became a power back who still has the speed to get to the outside. Clinton will have a monster season this year. I'm guessing he and Ladell will be used much like Holmes and Johnson were. Clinton gets two series, then Ladell gets one.

Alot of what happens with CP and LB will depend on Jason Campbell. People talk about how great Betts was last year, but the running game didn't really take off until Gibbs put Campbell in. Nobody respected Brunell's ability to push the ball downfield, and as a result neither Portis nor Betts really put up great numbers behind him. (Except for CP's dominance against Jacksonville.) Campbell comes in, they're going deep four or five times a game, and all of a sudden Betts is running wild. I get goosebumps when I think of the kind of numbers a healthy Clinton Portis could have put up in the 2nd half last year. Here's to him doing it in 07.

Just joined the board. Good to be here.

CP is one of the five best backs in the league IMO. He was a slasher in Denver, and then he basically reinvented himself when he arrived in Washington. He became a power back who still has the speed to get to the outside. Clinton will have a monster season this year. I'm guessing he and Ladell will be used much like Holmes and Johnson were. Clinton gets two series, then Ladell gets one.

Alot of what happens with CP and LB will depend on Jason Campbell. People talk about how great Betts was last year, but the running game didn't really take off until Gibbs put Campbell in. Nobody respected Brunell's ability to push the ball downfield, and as a result neither Portis nor Betts really put up great numbers behind him. (Except for CP's dominance against Jacksonville.) Campbell comes in, they're going deep four or five times a game, and all of a sudden Betts is running wild. I get goosebumps when I think of the kind of numbers a healthy Clinton Portis could have put up in the 2nd half last year. Here's to him doing it in 07.


Welcome to the board... very cool name... you must have been on this type of thing before.