It's time for the Redskins to cut Clinton Portis.
No one in Washington has been a bigger Clinton Portis fan than me.
I own two Clinton Portis jerseys, one of which I spent a lot of money to buy signed. I have a Clinton Portis Fathead in my basement. I had enough blind faith in him to draft him in fantasy football for the last four years because I couldn't bear to root against him on Sundays. My password to my networks in college has involved the numbers "26" for years. (Seriously, last year it was Port1s26.)
Why? In addition to being an elite player, because Clinton Portis became the Redskins' unofficial spokesman after the death of my all-time favorite Redskin, Sean Taylor. He and Santana Moss elevated their games in 21's memory. He wears Sean Taylor shirts to practice (when he practices) even now. He sacrificed his body and soul for the team -- Portis developed as a blocking back despite his small frame and took countless brutal hits in order to give the Redskins a chance to win games over the years. He will pay the price later in life, and he knows it. For his efforts over the years, I thank him sincerely and pray for his health.
In short, after that first touchdown against Tampa Bay in '04 until the end of the 2008 season, Clinton Portis was officially a Redskin. Not a Redskin. A Redskin. How Jeter is a Yankee; how Lewis is a Raven; how Kobe is a Laker; how Chris Samuels, London Fletcher, Rock Cartwright are Redskins.
But last season, Clinton Portis didn't show up. Speculation raged that he was not in game-ready condition during training camp, that he felt he didn't need to practice during the week. In the brief time we were able to use Ladell Betts, he clearly played better than Portis did.
Portis was only the beginning of the Redskins' problems last year. The Redskins were a bad football team last year. I love them to death, take the daily berating from friends and associates, and still stick with them, like you all do. And we know, as fans, simply as people with eyes and ears, that there is something wrong with the organization that extends beyond the product on the field.
And now, Clinton Portis still embodies the organization. Except now, he embodies everything wrong with it. A lack of discipline. Selfishness. A constant desire for the spotlight with below acceptable results on the field.
After calling out Jason Campbell, Mike Sellers, the offensive line, Jim Zorn, and various members of the media, only one thing is clear about Clinton Portis.
That he needs to go.
25 comments | 0 recs |
Are We Going To Talk About This Clinton Portis vs Lavar Arrington Debacle?
I love the fire coming out of Lavar. Anyone who saw him play recognizes that fire. Unfortunately for Clinton Portis, Lavar is both hard to ignore and hard to doubt. It is unsettling to think we will be dealing with this all offseason, but I guess now is better than September.
Check out Dan Steinberg's rundown of the ongoing exchange between CP and Arrington.
What (if anything) does this mean for CP? I worry that he is orchestrating his departure, but I can't quite tell if it is intentional or not anymore. He has dropped some serious bombs in the last month and a half. On the one hand, it would be easy to imagine Drew Rosenhaus (I assume he is still Portis' agent?) helping his client make it real hard for a team to keep him with the prospect of one more contract to sign somewhere else. On the other hand, how many legitimately good players (Portis is legitimately good) would want to live in these kinds of piles of horse crap? It borders on lose-lose, which leads me to believe that this in fact unorchestrated and therefore very sad.
As for Lavar, he has clearly found the path to maximizing this series of events. His show is bound to explode now. His popularity will soar. I hate to see that the root of such a positive result for Lavar is based on such a negative public spat with two long-time players.
Part of what has driven all of us so crazy in recent years is the unnecessary drama that has surrounded this team. I really liked Lavar's response to all of this, and the truth of the matter is that he was kind of called out by CP. Given Lavar's history with this team, as well as his job on the radio, it is next to impossible to think he would have let this one slide. The ball is in CP's court now it would seem. My advice would be to quietly approach Lavar through private avenues and get this thing cleaned up fast. I can't see Portis winning over much public opinion at this point and he needs Lavar to calm down a bit.
Jeez...two days into the NFL offseason. You gotta love it.
15 comments | 0 recs
Hogs Haven Chats with OCNN's Chris Cooley
Well, I'm back. What a blast Super Bowl weekend was in Miami. It's going to take me some time to do a full write-up on everything that went down, but I thought I'd throw up my interview with Chris Cooley from media day first. Chris was doing a great job with Floyd Mayweather when we stopped by OCNN's table. We talked about OCNN, #4 pick, switching to a 3-4...
8 comments | 0 recs |
Congratulations to Greg Williams and the New Orlean Saints!
Wow, that was pretty impressive. Greg Williams figured out a game plan to keep Peyton Manning off balance and Sean Peyton with a masterfully called game to become World Champions.
Manning's coronation as the greatest QB ever will not take place this year, as the 'other Peyton' shines brighter. This is a big loss for Manning, that 2nd ring is the great seperator.
My question is: What would have happened if Greg Williams was made the Redskin HC after Gibbs left? Would we be a playoff team? Would the nightmare and back sliding have happened with Williams?
Of course we would not have Shanahan and Allen and the #4 pick in the upcoming draft, but who knows how that will all turn out. I do know that we lost a heck of a good football coach, and the Saints are not Champions without him.
Congratulation again to Greg Williams, Sean Peyton and the New Orlean Saints! World Champions!
Congratulations to the city of NEW ORLEANS
30 comments | 0 recs
Washington Redskins All-Decade Team - Time To Talk Running Backs
The first flakes of this snowstorm are falling, and I am already tired of talking about this snowstorm. So I am pulling out one of the bigger guns in this debate. We have established the quarterbacks, cornerbacks, offensive linemen and punter. Today we put someone behind that O-line.
We love our running backs in this town. And we have had a few very good ones over the last decade. This position speaks to the "continuity" that this team has had in certain places over the last 10 years. Stephen Davis was the starter from 1999-2002, Trung Canidate won the job in 2003, and Clinton Portis has been the #1 guy ever since. These, of course, are the opening day starters - other guys have started games in that time period. Before we figure out who to hand the rock to, let's see where we stand - 17 roster spots have been handed out. (up-to-date All-Decade roster and RB discussion after the jump)
25 comments | 0 recs |
The Business of Happiness
Want to read about the man behind the resurgence of the Washington Capitals? His "6 Secrets to Extraordinary Success in Life and Work" offer a compelling look at what has driven the outrageously positive results in both his personal life as welll as as his professional life.
**We all love Ted here at Hogs Haven. Not just because of the amazing interview he gave us last year, but also because he is a minority owner in our parent company, SB Nation.
5 days ago
Sugar
1 comment
0 recs
Super Bowl 44 Practice Updates; February 3, 2010
Via a NFL press release, here are the updates from the Colts and Saints Wednesday practices for those gamblers readers who like as much info as possible with injuries and action.
0 comments | 0 recs
Nice article on ESPN about Pennington and Cooley's unsuccessful fishing trip. [ESPN]
Cooley & Tiki Barber Interview (Video) [Yahoo/OCNN]
6 days ago
KevinE
20 comments
0 recs


by
by 






























