Clinton Portis on the JT Show

I understand where your coming from but I have to say Zorn started calling people out first. Zorn was the one calling out the Rookies on public TV saying they were out of shape, and didn't understand the plays. Then he started with the Vets and Monday blaming Portis for not knowing the blocking scheme for which he was in the meeting on then saying there was no blocking shceme. Hell, Sellers looked bad out there Sun. I kept screaming at the TV when Sellers would let the first CB run right by him then take on the LB. Why wouldn't he take on the first guy and hope to block him into the second?

I think Zorn has bitten off more then he can chew. HC, OC, play caller, playbook writer, draft picker, ....on and on. I know he has help but for whatever reason Zorn is looking like he tripped and can't get up. The offensive shceme is not working cause the other teams have figured it out. He can't incorporate more cause the players are having a hard time with all the different plays and players forgetting assignments. Then top it off with all the injuries. Our train has ground to a halt. Zorn needs to man up and fix it and that does not include embarrasing individuals in order to get the job done. At certain times it might be needed but not from the start in preseason and every game there after. Lloyd deserved being called out after numerous games. Arrington deserved being called out after screwing up his assignment several times during several games. Zorn took the wrong approach and the team has jumped from his ship. If he wants to get them back he needs to man up and stop blaming others. Maybe have private meetings or a team meeting about what needs to be done but you can't speak your mind on TV and Radio about others and then not expect for the same to happen to you. It's not fair and not right and the players probably feel this way. Some of you would say ...but Zorns the boss so they have to eat it. No they don't. People expect to be treated with respect and to get respect you have to give it first.

Couldn't have said it better myself!

Doesn't Zorn kind of remind you of George Bush? They both screw everything up for everybody then blame Clinton for all of their problems!

:)

Couldn't have said it better myself!

Doesn't Zorn kind of remind you of George Bush? They both screw everything up for everybody then blame Clinton for all of their problems!

:)

I assume you are kidding, but really, when did Zorn blame Clinton for any offensive or team problems. Again, all I have ever heard out of Zorn is respect for Portis' baller mentality. I think he respects the hell of CP.

The team has definitely jumped from his ship? I wish I had the same locker room source as some of you guys.

He does not expect the same to happen to him? Has he made any complaint about Portis venting his frustrations? Made any comment about Portis needing to keep his mouth shut? This whole thing is an overblown mess simply consisting of a bunch of competitors that are individually trying to do their part and not succeeding.

It's also a lot of simple miscommunication and poor choice of words. Zorn says Portis misses practice, and Portis says "I never miss practice. I'm always there." Well he probably is, but I think Zorn's point was it's not the same as actually participating in the practice. It's like that old joke

Teacher: "Why'd you miss school yesterday?"

Student: "I didn't miss it. I was absent, but I didn't miss it"

irish
Portis seems like the kind of player thats great when the team is winning and everything is going well but now that he and the team are having a hard time he starts pointing fingers and finding someone to blame. Under Gibbs CP could do what he wanted and he knew Gibbs would cover for him or take the blame, for better or worse Zorn doesnt work that way and CP doesnt like it. I think CP showed the real CP yesterday and unfortunately he's a no-class baby who is not smart enough to realize that Zorn was protecting him in a game the Skins couldnt win.


If Zorn ever put Portis on the bench because he gave up on a game in which the team was behind by 14 points then I say fire Zorn right now. A game they could not win? I could not disagree with you more, rirsh. They should have won that game.

The Skins were never in that game from the beginning. It was over in the second quarter because when Balt is in the lead at halftime, they dont lose. I think deep down Zorn knew they wouldnt win (he'd never ever say that) and that CP was hurting so he tried Betts to see what he could do. He wasnt giving up on the game but he understood reality and was trying to protect the only good offensive player he has.

The other thing that nobody seems to want to acknowledge is that maybe CP wasnt ready and didnt understand the schemes. Zorn's honesty has been praised on this site but now that he's said a fan favorite wasnt quite ready to play he is ripped. It amazes me how loyal the fans are to this bunch of players that hasnt done anything. Coaches have changed but a lot of the core players have stayed the same. I'm starting to think this core group that hasnt won squat is the problem.

just a follow-up here

Later, Zorn publicly addressed Portis’ concerns.

“Well, any time you don’t go in, that’s the way you feel,” Zorn said. “And he is a big part of our offense and he’s sitting on the bench, he’s got to feel like he’s benched, I don’t blame him for that.”

As for whether Portis should be placed on injured reserve, Zorn said: “No, I think he’s gotten himself healthy, I think he felt a lot better after this game and I’m looking forward to having him out there on every snap, practicing [and] getting ready for the Cincinnati Bengals so we can use him as our every-down back.”

NFL.com Blogs » Blog Archive Portis, Zorn speaking through media « (http://blogs.nfl.com/2008/12/09/portis-zorn-speaking-through-media/)

^What a jerk. How does he get away with such disparaging remarks?

Sorry but I find it funny that people aren't jumping on CP for airing crap like this out to the media. He is a veteran player and should know nothing tears a team apart more then doing crap like this. If TO did this, we would be commenting about how TO is such a cancer and glad he isn't on our team. Portis is probably the best player on our team and needs to be a leader and true leaders of teams know you keep this in the locker room.

In respect to Portis, Jim Zorn has repeatedly praised him and given him lattitude with respect to practice. Perhaps JZ was trying to set a boundary for the team because it seemed like more and more people were missing practice time. Big shots don't like boundaries, kids don't like boundaries, I doubt many people like boundaries. BUT once made clear most everyone respects them.
I believe most coaches that won't set boundaries on their stars do not last as a head coach. (although they may get a lot of chances -ie Norv)

Agreed. However the coach needs to make a decision about Portis. Either he's hurt and needs a week or two off in which case pull him aside and tell him...."Hey I'm going to rest you." or " hey I'm going to use you the first half and see how you do cause I know your hurting and if it's not going well I'm playing Betts." These are adults. The coach needs to communicate with them let them know why he's doing what he's doing. Hell even if it means going over to him during the game and say " hey it's not working I'm putting Betts in to keep you healthy." I don't know but waiting till the day after to explain why he did what he did on TV/Radio with giving the employee a curtisy call or meeting telling him why he did what he did is BS. I know the media may have trumped him with the question as to why CP was on the bench but there are tactful ways to approach that. Tell the audience he simply wanted to see if Betts could give the team a spark cause he was healthy ....you don't go out on TV and say "Oh it was cause Portis didn't practic and didn't know the blocking scheme and was really stinking up the joint out there.

If I were Portis I would claim injuries for the year and go on injured reserve and let Zorn eat his words and figure out what he can do with Betts or Cartwright. Hell maybe we can bring back the TTB. lol. Here you have a player who is giving everything he's got on every play in every game and during the second half of the year he has some injuries but is still playing through the injuries to better help the team and the coach calls him out on the TV? Did the coach call out Fletcher? Samuels? Jansen? Springs? Horton? I don't recall hearing anything about how Fletcher was benched cause he was not on the field during practice and didn't know the scheme. Or how Samuels and Jansen were going to be benched cause they did not practice and didn't know the scheme. They stayed out untill they got injured and they kept letting people wiff by them so Sellers could let the 1st defender wiff by him and pick up the second. Everytime that happened ....sack.

Irish I agree to disagree with your get a whole new team philosophy.

Anyway, another suggestion. Activate Fred Davis and put him in with Cooley, Moss and Thomas on 4 wideout sets. If the defense overloads one side wide receiver screen to the other side. The defense would audible when they see that, then you run the ball.

Agreed. However the coach needs to make a decision about Portis. Either he's hurt and needs a week or two off in which case pull him aside and tell him...."Hey I'm going to rest you." or " hey I'm going to use you the first half and see how you do cause I know your hurting and if it's not going well I'm playing Betts." These are adults. The coach needs to communicate with them let them know why he's doing what he's doing. Hell even if it means going over to him during the game and say " hey it's not working I'm putting Betts in to keep you healthy." I don't know but waiting till the day after to explain why he did what he did on TV/Radio with giving the employee a curtisy call or meeting telling him why he did what he did is BS. I know the media may have trumped him with the question as to why CP was on the bench but there are tactful ways to approach that. Tell the audience he simply wanted to see if Betts could give the team a spark cause he was healthy ....you don't go out on TV and say "Oh it was cause Portis didn't practic and didn't know the blocking scheme and was really stinking up the joint out there.

If I were Portis I would claim injuries for the year and go on injured reserve and let Zorn eat his words and figure out what he can do with Betts or Cartwright. Hell maybe we can bring back the TTB. lol. Here you have a player who is giving everything he's got on every play in every game and during the second half of the year he has some injuries but is still playing through the injuries to better help the team and the coach calls him out on the TV? Did the coach call out Fletcher? Samuels? Jansen? Springs? Horton? I don't recall hearing anything about how Fletcher was benched cause he was not on the field during practice and didn't know the scheme. Or how Samuels and Jansen were going to be benched cause they did not practice and didn't know the scheme. They stayed out untill they got injured and they kept letting people wiff by them so Sellers could let the 1st defender wiff by him and pick up the second. Everytime that happened ....sack.

Sorry but give me a break. Do you think the great head coaches tell a player when they pull them during the game why they did it right then? Hell no. I can just see Parcells going over and sitting on the bench and explaining to Terry Glenn why he benched him. And what do you think would have happened to Glenn if he went to the media like Portis did?