Portis v. Betts: The Grass is Always Greener

Sorry, but this whole debate seems kind of pointless. At this point we're not evaluating the RB on his individual merits because the line is completely debilitated. With a very, very few exceptions a RB is probably only going to be as good as his offensive line. Same goes for about 99% of QBs.

The problem with this argument is now you're lowering the bar for CP so he can trip over it like "99%" of NFL RB's. We didn't trade the best corner in pro football to the Broncos for some guy who's just as good as any other average NFL back. At the time, he was being compared to guys like LT in terms of franchise career potential.

I mean, the fact that anybody is even looking in Ladell Betts' direction should say something loud and clear about how healthy and effective Portis has been in the last 2 years.

Betts hasn't done much of anything this year to warrant more carries. I just find it curious that people want to bench a guy averaging 3.9 yards per carry for a guy averaging 2.9. The fact that both guys are struggling so much to me points to a bigger issue. Mainly the injuries and inconsistency along the OL.

Betts hasn't done much of anything this year to warrant more carries. I just find it curious that people want to bench a guy averaging 3.9 yards per carry for a guy averaging 2.9. The fact that both guys are struggling so much to me points to a bigger issue. Mainly the injuries and inconsistency along the OL.

I agree with that. Both seem to struggle, yet when Betts does no one even complains, but when it is Portis everyone starts saying "injury prone", "something is missing", etc etc. It seems very silly, and as Matty said if you wanna blame anyone blame the Oline.

The answer is that for what each is being paid, we're basically getting roughly equal contribution from both of those guys. Look, I don't see how anybody can look at CP's numbers and think he is not losing it. It's right there, staring you in the face.

Using that logic, we should dump every guy playing at a skill position. I guess Cooley's best days are behind him too since he got a fat contract and hasn't done much this season. Moss should be dumped too. We should also dump JC since his numbers aren't looking too hot. Why not just dump the entire team and look to free agency?

The problem with this argument is now you're lowering the bar for CP so he can trip over it like "99%" of NFL RB's. We didn't trade the best corner in pro football to the Broncos for some guy who's just as good as any other average NFL back. At the time, he was being compared to guys like LT in terms of franchise career potential.

I mean, the fact that anybody is even looking in Ladell Betts' direction should say something loud and clear about how healthy and effective Portis has been in the last 2 years.

To repeat what has been repeated many times before, Champ Bailey was not going to stay in D.C. He told the coaches that they HAD to leave D.C. So, we can complain about losing Bailey all we want, but it was going to happen anyways. And, I distinctly remember everyone being estatic when Portis came to town. Finally, the guy totalled more than 3,000 yards in his first two seasons in D.C. and broke the franchise rushing record. So, I have no reason why people still insist on complaining about the trade.

Portis is the better back of the two. But he is clearly not the back he once was.

If he doesn't pick it up, I see CP departing at the end of this season.

The problem with this argument is now you're lowering the bar for CP so he can trip over it like "99%" of NFL RB's. We didn't trade the best corner in pro football to the Broncos for some guy who's just as good as any other average NFL back. At the time, he was being compared to guys like LT in terms of franchise career potential.

I mean, the fact that anybody is even looking in Ladell Betts' direction should say something loud and clear about how healthy and effective Portis has been in the last 2 years.

I don't think Portis deserves to be completely let off the hook. I would agree that his production has declined, but his production has declined right along with our offensive line. He was banged up last year, and I think he still has some lingering knee problems this year.

Like I said before, even if we had LT right now I don't think he'd get much behind this offensive line. Portis' production is down, but so is everyone else's, and just like John Madden says, "it all starts with the offensive line."

I just wish I could find someone to point fingers at with respect to the offensive line. The trainers is all I can think of, and I have a hard time blaming them for injuries.

CP is the better back. Like most said, he is better in pass protection. However, I credit one of JC's fumbles in the NE game to Portis missing his block.

I think Portis needs to rest. Just because he has more talent, doesn't mean that he is always the better choice. I would also like to see a game where one back gets all the carries. Let's see if that can get somebody into a rhythm, and whether that will improve our rushing attack.

Portis rushed 11 times for just 27 yards Sunday, and is averaging 3.4 yards per carry over the last six games as the feature back, but Gibbs said he is mulling no changes and is not inclined to use running back Ladell Betts, who surpassed 1,000 yards last season, more often. . . . The Redskins have been prone to fumbles, a problem that recurred Sunday. Quarterback Jason Campbell fumbled three times, and the Redskins have fumbled at least three times in four of their last five games. They have 15 fumbles in that span, losing seven. "They did a great job of making plays on the ball," Campbell said.

Betts hasn't done much of anything this year to warrant more carries. I just find it curious that people want to bench a guy averaging 3.9 yards per carry for a guy averaging 2.9. The fact that both guys are struggling so much to me points to a bigger issue. Mainly the injuries and inconsistency along the OL.Ultimately you're dead on Matty, and the fact is that this offensive line is one of the worst in the league, and it will be impossible to rush behind it with anyone consistently.

But the point is this: Portis is averaging 3.8 yards an attempt now on 115 carries for 433 yards. That's a crapload of carries to still be in the 3.8 range.

Betts only has 47 attempts through 7 games. 2.9 y/a possibly reflects on an unlucky streak in a small sample size.

I think a lot of us would like to see what Betts can do taking the lead on Portis for awhile. If he can give the running game some semblance of competancy, even if that's only 4.2 yards/carry, our offense can make a drastic improvement. If Betts is useless, give Rock a chance when he gets healthy. Both Betts and Rock have been effective runners in the past (as of course has Portis).

Portis' blocking has been too inconsistent this season to warrant keeping him in the starting lineup as a pass blocker. Even when the blocking is good, he's not creating the big play.

This offense is just terrible right now, has been for the last two games, and something has to be done. We can't really do anything with the line right now, so we either have to change the back or the quarterback or the receivers.

P.S.-I'm not suggesting we change the quarterback.