Just some Food for Thought!

Yes, today Portis actually had a day of rushing that we have expected from him. But why did it take so long? Well here is my opinion and I meant to actually post this before the game and I completely forgot.

Portis is still young. The offensive line is under a new system. There are new coaches and so many other factors involved. Well other than the one 60+ yard TD he rushed for in the season opener, Portis had been horrible. But why did it take until week 6 for him to finally have a great game? Well if everyone looks back at the Preseason, Portis hardly played more than one series after the Hall of Fame game. The main reason for the preseason is to get the team to work well as a unit. In other words, they need to GEL!!! But when your starting RB is not playing, how can you gel? I seem to remember the Skins having a pretty good running attack in the preseason. However, all backs run differently. Betts runs different than Portis and Cartwright runs different than Betts. This makes a huge difference when it comes to setting up blocks by the rest of the offense. Blocks are also timing just like passing. Knowing when to release your block and so on will depend on who is in your backfield. But anyways, what I am trying to say is that the first 5 games of the season was actually Portis's preseason and we should expect more big games like the one today. I also noticed that in his previous 5 games that he was stumbling alot once he got the ball and I didn't see much of that today except on a few occasions. Now that the running game should open up a bit, I hope the passing game will open up too. I expect this offense to really start clicking after the bye. I think JG will definitely work on the O during the break and we should see a more wide open offense during the remainder of the season.

Thanks for coming in and reading my LONG winded posts. If you can't tell, I don't mind typing and telling you what is on my mind..LOL.

Any comments are always read and appreciated.

GO SKINS!!!!

Yes, up until today I have been very disappointed with Clinton Portis...but he looked much better today!

Your thoughts are appreciated, dragon! Don't worry about being long-winded-- I'm guilty of that myself on most occasions. As long as your posts are coherent and have a point, that's all most people want.

I think you make some valid points. I understand the coaches' desire to keep Portis healthy for the regular season, so I can't really blame them for holding him back in the preseason, but I think it did have a negative effect on his ability to mesh with the linemen and vice-versa. Overall, I'd rather have a healthy Portis, and let him find his groove in the regular season.

But I think Portis's lack of productivity was also due in large part to playcalling. You'll notice Gibbs made an effort to get Portis outside quickly against the Bears, throwing in some quick pitches. He also mixed up the formations (including more 3-TE and 3-WR sets) and used the H-backs more in the fullback role. The running game is giving the defense more looks than it was in previous games, not allowing the defense to key on particular formations-- which had been a huge problem in previous games, particularly against Cleveland and Baltimore.

It also helps that Chicago simply does not have a very good defense. But hopefully, this game gives the offensive line and Portis some confidence and chemistry that they can build on.

I agree with joecrisp, I think the playcalling was not very good for portis as a running back. I didnt see the game today but from what i heard listening we FINALLY decided to use a hb to blcok for him, sellers apparently was in teh game more to block. I think that helped a bunch on its own.

they also ran the cutback play that he did so well in denver

they should run all the plays he ran in denver, they obvioulsy worked, lol

It's very true you need time to come together and certainly Portis didn't have much work in the preseason to get settled in, but, you can't give a star RB 20 carries a game in the preseason. That's just asking for trouble.

After watching the highlights it seems Portis was much more decisive today and there seemed to be a few wrinkles in the running game that we haven't seen previously.

First of all. Has anyone officially welcomed dragon to the board? If not, let me be the first to welcome you to the warpath dragon!

Also, I don't know if this has been brought up so far, but where was Cooley today? I don't remember seeing him at all

i think portis showed up cause the bears D sucks... with brunell at the helm, he'll be running into 8 and 9 man fronts vs green bay... it could get ugly :( the play calling has gotten better, but it still needs to step it up some more...

First of all, thanks smootsmack for welcoming me. I really like this board and everyone here shows true intelligence to the game and dedication to Skins.

Everyone has also made some valid points. And yes, I agree the play calling also held Portis back a little. It has been basic so far this year. But I still feel holding Portis back so much in the Preseason was a bit too conservative when you have a great backup back like Betts (and I think he clearly showed that today by making 2 key 3rd down runs for first downs).

I just hope that the line has regained the confidence they lost after week 1.