Clinton Portis

There is no question that you put ur best player in the game on the field for those 4 plays...that player being Clinton Portis. Aside from having more game experience, he also draws more attention from the defense (i.e. the initial play action pass to Sellers would have been more wide open and would have had a better chance at working). In addition Portis is better at the goal-line no question and he does well after first contact.

That being said, it was just one game and if you really want to search for answers, I think our bigger problem is the play-calling throughout the entire 2nd half and our defense's inability to play pass defense. Eli is a good QB when he has time and he proved it by leading those 3 drives. Why can't Carlos Rogers play in coverage? If those Giants receivers had caught some very catchable balls we could have been blown out and it wouldn't have mattered whether we could have scored on our last possession. Another obvious problem that is going to come back to us is that our O-line is not fast enough, to pick up blitzes or to pull and do some of those more elaborate (Joe Gibbs style) run blocks. Somebody earlier said we are about a 7-9 team. I wouldn't go that far b/c we have the benefit of an easy schedule so i'd say 9-7 or so.

yeah I wouldve rather had portis searching for paydirt than betts... but in that situation on the one yardline I wouldve handed it to sellers or done a QB sneak...

Agree'd...whats wrong with your 280+ pound FB plowing in from a yard out and whatever happened to letting your rather big QB sneak it in? They rushed when they didn't have to(something Campbell will learn to take control of) and didn't have the right back in the game but you still need to score there with three shots even if it is with what is in reality a real good back up running back.

They need to find their offensive identity and Portis needs to play a bigger role in that if they are to contend for the playoffs.

There is no question that you put ur best player in the game on the field for those 4 plays...that player being Clinton Portis. Aside from having more game experience, he also draws more attention from the defense (i.e. the initial play action pass to Sellers would have been more wide open and would have had a better chance at working). In addition Portis is better at the goal-line no question and he does well after first contact.

That being said, it was just one game and if you really want to search for answers, I think our bigger problem is the play-calling throughout the entire 2nd half and our defense's inability to play pass defense. Eli is a good QB when he has time and he proved it by leading those 3 drives. Why can't Carlos Rogers play in coverage? If those Giants receivers had caught some very catchable balls we could have been blown out and it wouldn't have mattered whether we could have scored on our last possession. Another obvious problem that is going to come back to us is that our O-line is not fast enough, to pick up blitzes or to pull and do some of those more elaborate (Joe Gibbs style) run blocks. Somebody earlier said we are about a 7-9 team. I wouldn't go that far b/c we have the benefit of an easy schedule so i'd say 9-7 or so.

What schedule are you looking at? Easy?

Detroit (2-1) dangerous offense, doesn't bode well for our coverage problems
at Green Bay (3-0) probably the 2nd best in the NFC at this point
Arizona - another good corps of wide receivers, doable
at New England (3-0) don't need to say anything here
at NY Jets - probably doable
Philadelphia - intra-division, always tough
at Dallas (3-0) probably the best in the NFC at this point
at Tampa Bay (2-1) solid defensively, but doable
Buffalo - if there's a cream puff on the schedule, this would be it
Chicago - a defensive struggle, but doable
at NY Giants - payback time, but a difficult game on the road
at Minnesota - probably doable
Dallas - at least we're at home

Not an easy schedule, but nothing's really changed. Most people wouldn't have us better than 2-1 now anyway, we just lost the wrong game.

It's not hard to see that Portis has a lot more athleticism then Betts. On 3rd down if that's Portis in the backfield Pierce doesnt get a clean hit and he reaches the ball into the endzone. Last year our O-line was great, Timmy Smith could have run for 100 yards a game. Betts is not the franchise RB that can carry a team. He is however a very servicable backup who can step in and be solid if unspectacular.

PORTIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE GAME!!!

Bad call Gibbs/Saunders.

How the hell is that the bottom line, when Betts had the opportunity to tie up the game and failed twice? It sounds like your only defense of Betts lack of ability is that Portis had a bad play too. That's a ridiculous argument.

And as far as the Portis fumble; it was a bad exchange. Portis never even had possession of the ball. And the dropped pass is bad, but those plays happen. What's your defense for Betts' less than two yard rush average?

No man, Betts is better because Portis fumbled and dropped a pass. It doesn't matter what Ladell Betts did or didn't do, the argument ends at Clinton fumbled. Betts's continued red zone ineffectiveness has nothing to do with this argument. Or Clinton's averaging 3 yards more per carry yesterday than yesterday. Clinton fumbled a handoff on twice the workload...that means Betts should be in there...even if he can't average 2 yards a carry, break a tackle or score with 2 opportunities from the 2 yard line. :rolleyes:

No man, Betts is better because Portis fumbled and dropped a pass. It doesn't matter what Ladell Betts did or didn't do, the argument ends at Clinton fumbled. Betts's continued red zone ineffectiveness has nothing to do with this argument. Or Clinton's averaging 3 yards more per carry yesterday than yesterday. Clinton fumbled a handoff on twice the workload...that means Betts should be in there...even if he can't average 2 yards a carry, break a tackle or score with 2 opportunities from the 2 yard line. :rolleyes:

DID you just argue with yourself? You can't base what portis is gonna do on the next play based on his last play.

yeah... if we're talking about fumbling tendancies and we're saying we should play betts over portis due to them... wow. thats all i can think to say...

I re-watched this play and there was a gaping hole outside that he could've hit had he looked at it, but it looked like he was just searching for a quick cut-back lane and I dont know if he would've had the speed to get there anyway. I know CP could've, but we'll never know if he wouldve... however Mike Sellars would've been my call at least one of those times...

Let's make this simple.

Betts, 596 career carries, 9 tds. (avg of a TD every 66.22 carries)
Portis, 1433 career carries, 55 tds. (avg of a TD every 26.05 carries)

Yeah, I have a problem with Betts carrying the ball with the game on the line instead of Portis.

Nuff Said!

I'm pretty sure Portis was hurting the entire 2nd half. He came out on that last drive. We could all say shoulda coulda woulda at this point. Only real thing is none of that matters now. I'll guarantee ya it won't happen again. We also gotta remember that the game was not lost on that pathetic drop in the backfield. It was the 21 unanswered points and ineffective offense the entire 2nd half. You leave a defense out there what do you expect!? Can't wait til after the bye week. Can't believe players don't have to report!? What kinda bullcrap is that?

All this Betts Portis stuff is a none factor, neither is capable of knocking a LB, or a DL backwards, so it really didn't matter which one was in because they were going to have to run through someone because there is no way our line was going to block all those defenders, especially on an off tackle play when the Giants are selling out like they were out of desperation, the guy who can run through people is Sellars, and Gibbs just doesn't get it. I am tired of hearing how Portis would have scored, when is the last time he ran through anyone? He has been stopped continuously in short yard gut plays since he's arrived in DC, he is not a short yardage back.

Yes he's been finding the end zone but smash mouth is not his bread and butter. Sellars just may be the best short yardage back in the league, I have never seen the guy stopped on a short yardage play, let alone 4 carries in a row, Gibbs has the horses, he just don't know how to ride'em.