ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

It absolutely blows my mind that they don't list Portis and Betts. They give you Barber and Jones, though Jones hasn't played a down in the league. They give you Parker and Mendenhall, though Mendenhall hasn't played a down in the league. And they also give you Jones and Duckett. No comment lol.

[I]Dynamic Duos

[B]Minnesota's Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor[/B]
The Vikings had the NFL's No. 1 run offense last season for many reasons, but their success starts with the guys who carry the rock. Peterson burst onto the scene as a rookie and showed he is the league's most physical runner between the tackles. What makes him even more dangerous is the power-speed combination he possesses. His ability to run over the defender without losing momentum makes him the most feared pure downhill runner in the NFL. That said, Taylor is no slouch. Two years ago, when Peterson was still in college, Taylor was a 1,300-yard rusher. Last season, he carried the load when Peterson was injured and finished the season with a 5.4 yard-per-carry average and seven touchdowns. Though neither Peterson nor Taylor is a pure speed back, each complements the other very well behind the best offensive line in the NFL.

[B]Jacksonville's Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew[/B]
The Jaguars' backs make up one of the most explosive duos in the NFL. They pressure defenses to remain in position all day because any mental breakdowns or one guy's getting in the wrong gap can result in a big play at any time. Taylor is as healthy as he has been at any point in his career. His vision and ability to make the first defender miss in the hole look as good as they did earlier in his career. Jones-Drew plays much faster than he times and is a threat to score any time he touches the football.

[B]Dallas' Marion Barber and Felix Jones[/B]
As soon as the Cowboys selected Jones, I started envisioning how this backfield would shape up in 2008. The rest of the NFC East likely started having nightmares. Now that Julius Jones has left for Seattle, Barber is now the lead back. He is one of the most physical runners in the NFL and leaves a mark when he runs over a defender. Jones' quickness and speed make him the perfect complement. One of the toughest adjustments a defense has to make is when it goes from seeing a physical, between-the-tackles runner to a speed guy. In terms of pure explosiveness when combining strength and speed, this duo is unmatched.

To read the whole article:

[url=http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/insider/columns/story?columnist=green_jeremy&id=3422857]ESPN - Teams turning to two backs, but not all are created equal - NFL[/url]

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

how is Seattle up there and two teams with running backs that havent played in an NFL game yet

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

that's a bizarre omission

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

crack, it's all about the crack

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

Had this been written last year, it'd be even more peculiar to leave Portis/Betts out. It seems though that Green is anticipating what he thinks the best duos will be next season, which is why he's including rookies. And perhaps the suspects (based on much of what Zorn has said) is that Portis will be such a prominent feature of the offense that it would render Betts (and the duo) somewhat moot. But then, you could possibly make the same argument for Peterson.

I don't know that I would include Portis/Betts (or for GTripp's amusement Portis/Rock) either. My top five would probably be (in no order):

Jones-Drew/Taylor

um...and then four other duos

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

FYI. I had to amend the original post. Full reposting of ESPN Insider articles is not allowed.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

It is just ones personal opinion. If a skins fan would of wrote it we would of been on top.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

I'm not surprised. Betts is just too weak a second fiddle to CP.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[quote=irish;451194]I'm not surprised. Betts is just too weak a second fiddle to CP.[/quote]

I'm not surprised either........at your post.

Why am I not somehow even a little surprised in your analysis of Betts...?

CP has lost many steps from his days in Denver will never return to form, and Betts is just weak. :doh:

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[quote=irish;451194]I'm not surprised. Betts is just too weak a second fiddle to CP.[/quote]

I guess he sucks wind too?

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

3 of those 5 are really really poor choices. How about LaDainian Tomlinson and Jacob Hester/Darren Sproles? Or Brian Westbrook and Lorenzo Booker? Or Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw? Or what about Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood?

To make things worse, three of the teams he chose for poor duos are arguably better than those last three teams he chose for great duos. With 32 teams to choose from, you aren't supposed to be this wrong.

I get that it's an opinion article and everything, but good opinion articles make people consider other possibilities even if they disagree with the conclusion. This one just makes me wonder what NFL Jeremy Green watches.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[QUOTE=skinsfan_nn;451195]I'm not surprised either........at your post.

Why am I not somehow even a little surprised in your analysis of Betts...?

CP has lost many steps from his days in Denver will never return to form, and Betts is just weak. :doh:[/QUOTE]

I didnt say anything about CP other than he can pop out one more great year but likely doesnt have 3 great seasons in him. As for Betts, besides the few games when he took over for any injured CP and ran well, what has he done thats so spectacular?

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[quote=irish;451204]I didnt say anything about CP other than he can pop out one more great year but likely doesnt have 3 great seasons in him. As for Betts, besides the few games when he took over for any injured CP and ran well, what has he done thats so spectacular?[/quote]

And your basing your he can only pop out one more good year on what? Why would you think a 26 year old back that is coming of a great year especially with the o-line situation and healing from injuries ( and still producing 1300 yards rushing, 400 receiving...not bad huh) not be able to have at least three really solid seasons minimum left? Please explain that one.

And when Betts came in for 9 game starts in 2006 when CP went down, he had 1154 yards, 4.7 YDC not bad for a 2nd back, other than that not to much I guess. Just your generic middle of the road tandem......

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[quote=skinsfan_nn;451210]And your basing your he can only pop out one more good year on what? Why would you think a 26 year old back that is [B]coming of a great year [/B]especially with the o-line situation and healing from injuries ( and still producing 1300 yards rushing, 400 receiving...not bad huh) not be able to have at least three really solid seasons minimum left? Please explain that one.

And when Betts came in for 9 game starts in 2006 when CP went down, he had 1154 yards, 4.7 YDC not bad for a 2nd back, other than that not to much I guess. Just your generic middle of the road tandem......[/quote]What great year? He was sub 3.9 YPC and fumbled 6 times.

Anyway, thats what has me worried is that he had a poor year at age 26. It was probably just the line, but I'm not sure.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

no parker/mendenhall either?

no LT/(random warm body)?

no dice.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[quote=GTripp0012;451213]What great year? He was sub 3.9 YPC and fumbled 6 times.

Anyway, thats what has me worried is that he had a poor year at age 26. It was probably just the line, but I'm not sure.[/quote]

Coming off the injuries he suffered in 2006 how in the world can you consider the OVERALL production last season of CP poor....? That makes no sense.

If you want to look at that narrow of a picture of his so called sub par YPC at 3.9 and 6 fumbles, not that these are great numbers BUT coming off the injuries in 06 I don't think anyone really knew how strong CP would perform last year to begin with.

Look at the window of his last 4 games leading us into the playoffs, of course with help from Todd and the rest of the offense and really good D. But CP came down the stretch hot when we really needed him.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[QUOTE=That Guy;451217]no parker/mendenhall either?

no LT/(random warm body)?

no dice.[/QUOTE]

You should read the entire article

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[quote=SmootSmack;451222]You should read the entire article[/quote]

oh well, i can't. nevermind then.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[quote=GTripp0012;451213]What great year? He was sub 3.9 YPC and fumbled 6 times.

Anyway, thats what has me worried is that he had a poor year at age 26. It was probably just the line, but I'm not sure.[/quote]

What poor year?

I wouldn't say he had a great year but it definitely wasn't a poor year.

He was 6th in the NFL in rushing yards, and 4th in the NFL in rushing TDs.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[quote=Mattyk72;451244]What poor year?

I wouldn't say he had a great year but it definitely wasn't a poor year.

He was 6th in the NFL in rushing yards, and 4th in the NFL in rushing TDs.[/quote]He got the [B]most carries (325),[/B] so he had the very best chance to be No. 1 in both categories.

6th in rushing yards with the most carries is very poor. You can't put all the blame on Portis here: it's hardly all his fault. But we do have to call a spade a spade.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[quote=skinsfan_nn;451219]Coming off the injuries he suffered in 2006 how in the world can you consider the OVERALL production last season of CP poor....? That makes no sense.

If you want to look at that narrow of a picture of his so called sub par YPC at 3.9 and 6 fumbles, not that these are great numbers BUT coming off the injuries in 06 I don't think anyone really knew how strong CP would perform last year to begin with.

Look at the window of his last 4 games leading us into the playoffs, of course with help from Todd and the rest of the offense and really good D. But CP came down the stretch hot when we really needed him.[/quote]He played very well down the stretch.

Your [I]original[/I] assertion was that he had a great year. That is downright incorrect, at least by the standards Portis set for himself. He had a pair of nice games in November, and then finished strong with a great final three games. There was certainly flashes of brilliance throughout, but again, his entire body of work was the least impressive he's had since 2004.

I did give the injury earlier as a potential excuse; but it was a broken hand so I'm not sure how much that's supposed to affect his running.

Also, I don't know how you can argue that overall production isn't important in determining if he had a good year or not. Your modified assertion, that his year was average all things considered: that I can get on board with. He just happened to have a lot of bad games last year.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

what's about Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhal. These two guys are going to be a force for years to come.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[quote=GTripp0012;451249]He got the [B]most carries (325),[/B] so he had the very best chance to be No. 1 in both categories.

6th in rushing yards with the most carries is very poor. You can't put all the blame on Portis here: it's hardly all his fault. But we do have to call a spade a spade.[/quote]

I still wouldn't call it a poor year.

You can also use your most carries argument to explain why he fumbled so much.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[quote=Mattyk72;451254]You can also use your most carries argument to explain why he fumbled so much.[/quote]Yes, we certainly can.

As I said, I'm not worried about the fumbles for the future, he's been pretty good at holding the ball over the most of his career. Still, a fumble per 54 carries is a lot, and contributed to a rough all around year for CP.

I'll repeat this so I'm not misunderstood: I think he's going to be very good in 2008. I just don't think it was smart to guarantee his 2009 salary ahead of time. Tons of stuff can happen to make the investment look horrible in hindsight and bring the haters out in full force.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[quote=pigskinusa.com;451252]what's about Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhal. These two guys are going to be a force for years to come.[/quote]Parker is not a runner I would say is in the top 25 in the NFL. In his career year (2006), he posted a 4.4 YPC. This year, he was down to 4.1 and he broke his leg, which is something you need to run. Behind the exact same line last year, Najeh Davenport got 4.7 per carry, with a sample size of more than 100.

I think Mendenhall will be a very good replacement for Parker in the future, and though they will split carries this year, it's hard to really call them a dynamic duo.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

The next good thing about the Redskins Jeremy Green says will be the first. Let's revisit this list in November when it's actually based on production rather than speculation.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

how are Barber and Jones on there?
But Portis and Betts didnt do anythng to prove that they are a good running back duo..BUT STILL, HOW ARE BARBER AND JONES ON THERE???

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

julius jones and tj duckett?

wtf?

betts is better than both of them, combined.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[QUOTE=skinsfan_nn;451210]And your basing your he can only pop out one more good year on what? Why would you think a 26 year old back that is coming of a great year especially with the o-line situation and healing from injuries ( and still producing 1300 yards rushing, 400 receiving...not bad huh) not be able to have at least three really solid seasons minimum left? Please explain that one.

And when Betts came in for 9 game starts in 2006 when CP went down, he had 1154 yards, 4.7 YDC not bad for a 2nd back, other than that not to much I guess. Just your generic middle of the road tandem......[/QUOTE]

Yes Betts was great in those 9 games but like I mentioned, thats the only thing he's ever done thats note-worthy. 9 games does not a great back make.

I dont think his year was great. It was good but not great and if he keeps that up he will be doing better than most backs and Skins fans will be happy. My problem is he has been having injury problems these past few seasons and I just dont see the o-line getting that much better (sure some of the injured guys will be back but they are a year older and likely will go down again) so I think what CP is doing now is the best he can do (which aint bad) but IMO his career has peaked and he is on the down-side now.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[quote=irish;451305]Yes Betts was great in those 9 games but like I mentioned, thats the only thing he's ever done thats note-worthy. [B]9 gamesdoes not a great back make.[/B]

I dont think his year was great. It was good but not great and if he keeps that up he will be doing better than most backs and Skins fans will be happy. My problem is he has been having injury problems these past few seasons and I just dont see the o-line getting that much better (sure some of the injured guys will be back but they are a year older and likely will go down again) so I think what CP is doing now is the best he can do (which aint bad) but IMO his career has peaked and he is on the down-side now.[/quote]

I didn't say he was a great back, thats why he's #2 on the depth chart. But I certainly think your assessmest as Betts being just to weak is way off.

I think overall we have a very solid tandem.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[QUOTE=That Guy;451273]julius jones and tj duckett?

wtf?

betts is better than both of them, combined.[/QUOTE]

They're in the group of the worst 5 backs in the league IMO

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[QUOTE=GTripp0012;451249]He got the [B]most carries (325),[/B] so he had the very best chance to be No. 1 in both categories.

6th in rushing yards with the most carries is very poor. You can't put all the blame on Portis here: it's hardly all his fault. But we do have to call a spade a spade.[/QUOTE]

Hey GTripp........I agree with you it is pretty poor. But, keep in mind that he lost two offensive lineman once the year started. Two of his best run blockers too!

And I remember for one game..........I think it was green bay........we were shuffling guards and tackles around as if there was a revolving door out on the field. Don't you remember? Wade goes down with something and then Heyer steps in. Heyer slips on the wet turf and does the splits. A 300 pound guy doing the splits.........needless to say he went down and then Wade, playing hurt, comes back in. Fabini goes down and then that left guard, crap his name escapes me, comes in. But then our center goes down so he went to play center and someone else stepped up at guard..........................I'm pretty sure thats how it all happened. But, If I have left a detail out please forgive me. I try to forget about those games.

Now that I think about it, Being 4th in scoring and 6th in rushing is pretty good when you have to go through all that! The only thing that pisses me off with Portis is its been about two years now since he's knocked out a blitzing linebacker! It appears that once he hurt his shoulder he's lost his ability to knock out a blitzing linebacker. So he has lost a step. But only in his blocking ability. His running ability is still there. Just give him that healthy offensive line and it will be alright!

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[QUOTE=skinsfan_nn;451316]I didn't say he was a great back, thats why he's #2 on the depth chart. But I certainly think your assessmest as Betts being just to weak is way off.

I think overall we have a very solid tandem.[/QUOTE]

I agree they are a solid tandem but not one of the top tandems.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[QUOTE=irish;451326]I agree they are a solid tandem but not one of the top tandems.[/QUOTE]

They're definitely better than Jones and Duckett, though. That list is garbage to me as soon as Jones and Duckett become a dynamic running back duo.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

The writer is biased. No different then we are biased. but....I will say that it's funny that Portis/Betts has been name best duo for what the last 2-3 yrs in almost everyones opinion and he obviously thinks they are no longer a duo any more even though they still are #1 and #2 on our RB roster and still are doing the same jobs they have been doing for the past several yrs.

I think if I was a writer I would have to atleast use the top 5 duo's that show up every yr then start with the rookies who I think will make their mark even if it was a prediction of the 08 yr.

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

what is the deal with espn, they make so much damn money and still charge people to read what their crappy writers have to say. oh well.

oh, and yeah, Ladell "no clutch bone in my body" Betts is not that good so this doesnt suprise me

Re: ESPN.com's Top RB Duos No Portis/Betts
 

[QUOTE=chrisl13;451263]how are Barber and Jones on there?
But Portis and Betts didnt do anythng to prove that they are a good running back duo..BUT STILL, HOW ARE BARBER AND JONES ON THERE???[/QUOTE]I can agree with you to a certain degree, because Jones hasn't done anything in the league yet. Betts weakened the Skins rank in this poll.