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Redskins8588 05-03-2005, 10:30 AM With the running game, you can't point to Portis's 1300 yards and say he had a good year, he didn't. He led the league in carries. If you keep feeding him the ball, of course he's going to rack up a good yardage total. But that doesn't mean he was getting the chunks of yards that you need to gain first downs. You have to look at his yards per rush, which was 3.8, ranked at the bottom of the league.
I do think we'll be better though. Jansen coming back is a big reason. Raymer was not athletic enough to pull effectively in Gibbs' trap system. He couldn't get to his blocks fast enough and LBs were filling holes, giving Portis nowhere to go and no way to get his speed cranking. Rabach is much more athletic, I think he'll get out on blocks better.
The biggest reason for improvement, in my mind, is going to be 3rd and one's and goalline runs. Walter Rasby was supposed to be our bulldozing TE. What'd he do? Got cut midseason. We had no help for bulldozing blocking at TE or H-Back. I love Cooley, and he's a solid blocker, but he won't run guys over. I'm excited to see what White and Broughton can do. Plug them in for those short yardage situations and just run behind them, I'll bet they can move some bodies.
A running game is all about keeping the chains moving, especially in Gibbs' ball-control offense. I think we have some pieces to get that done now.
Where do you get your information? Portis did not lead the league in carries. Portis had 343 carries, I am pretty sure that Curtis Martin led the league with 371 carries. Yeah Portis did only have 3.8 yards per carrie, but no one can say that it was all his fault he did what Gibbs wanted him to do.
Also if you look, Portis had a very comparable season to LaDainian Tomlinson last season. The big difference in TD's but in Portis' defense this was a totaly new system and our offense didnt have much of a passing attack...
http://www.nfl.com/stats/leaders/NFL/RYDS/2004/regular
TheMalcolmConnection 05-03-2005, 10:39 AM I would agree with anyone that says Portis did not have a great year. We all DO know he is a great back and will be a stud for us given that we have good blocking and good schemes for him now.
No one is blaming him, but the fact is undeniable that he wasn't at his best last year.
Redskins8588 05-03-2005, 10:51 AM I would agree with anyone that says Portis did not have a great year. We all DO know he is a great back and will be a stud for us given that we have good blocking and good schemes for him now.
No one is blaming him, but the fact is undeniable that he wasn't at his best last year.
Ok, he wasnt at his best, but how many teams really feared the strong arm of Mark Brunell for the first 8 or 9 games? How much respect did Ramsey get when he took over? Also our WR's did not help it much with there amazing ability to drop the ball when we needed a first down.
To put the blame squarly on Portis is just wrong, but that is my opinion...
Redskins_P 05-03-2005, 10:59 AM Ok, he wasnt at his best, but how many teams really feared the strong arm of Mark Brunell for the first 8 or 9 games? How much respect did Ramsey get when he took over? Also our WR's did not help it much with there amazing ability to drop the ball when we needed a first down.
To put the blame squarly on Portis is just wrong, but that is my opinion...
I agree. If we had a decent passing game, Portis would've done much better.
dirtbag2112 05-03-2005, 11:01 AM Portis in '05....2000+ yards 400+receiving
...it's nice to dream...
TheMalcolmConnection 05-03-2005, 11:23 AM Just in case I've been misunderstood, I'm not putting the blame on him whatsoever. He definitely did his job and did what he was asked to do.
Simply stating the fact... :)
Schneed10 05-03-2005, 11:26 AM Ok, he wasnt at his best, but how many teams really feared the strong arm of Mark Brunell for the first 8 or 9 games? How much respect did Ramsey get when he took over? Also our WR's did not help it much with there amazing ability to drop the ball when we needed a first down.
To put the blame squarly on Portis is just wrong, but that is my opinion...
Yeah you're definitely right here. When I said Portis led the league in carries, that wasn't meant to be taken literally, which is my fault for not making that clear. The point I was trying to make was "no crap Portis racked up 1300 yards, he practically led the league in carries, so if he didn't rack up a good yardage total, that'd be pretty sad."
But that's not Portis's fault. Portis didn't all of a sudden become a worse RB when he came over from Denver. His talent is still there, the line and Gibbs' blocking schemes weren't as good as Denver's.
If you read my posts, you'll see that I'm arguing that the whole reason the running game will be better is because of blocking improvements. I never mention Portis as the problem, his 3.8 yards per carry is an indicator of the line's play more than his own. With Jansen, Rabach, and the new FBs, I think the running game will get better.
Redskins8588 05-03-2005, 11:30 AM Yeah you're definitely right here. When I said Portis led the league in carries, that wasn't meant to be taken literally, which is my fault for not making that clear. The point I was trying to make was "no crap Portis racked up 1300 yards, he practically led the league in carries, so if he didn't rack up a good yardage total, that'd be pretty sad."
But that's not Portis's fault. Portis didn't all of a sudden become a worse RB when he came over from Denver. His talent is still there, the line and Gibbs' blocking schemes weren't as good as Denver's.
If you read my posts, you'll see that I'm arguing that the whole reason the running game will be better is because of blocking improvements. I never mention Portis as the problem, his 3.8 yards per carry is an indicator of the line's play more than his own. With Jansen, Rabach, and the new FBs, I think the running game will get better.
I hope that you are right, I am really looking forward to this season with our line having Jansen back and finally a center that hopfully wont get pushed around. Sorry for the confusion, but it does kinda get to me when people act as if Portis is the main culprit to our dismal offense last season...
Schneed10 05-03-2005, 11:39 AM I hope that you are right, I am really looking forward to this season with our line having Jansen back and finally a center that hopfully wont get pushed around. Sorry for the confusion, but it does kinda get to me when people act as if Portis is the main culprit to our dismal offense last season...
Yeah I agree with you there. Portis, in my opinion, was the best offensive player we had last year by far. He willingly took pounding after pounding against 8-man fronts, carrying the ball way more times than he ever did before. He was our only offensive threat and he did his best to carry the load. We really can't expect any more than what he gave us last year, unless we put better blockers up front, better blocking schemes, and a better passing game around him. Portis is awesome for sure, but last year was a reminder that football is the ultimate team game, it takes a whole team to have a great running game.
BossHog 05-03-2005, 01:14 PM You guys are never satisfied. :oink:
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