Quote:
Originally Posted by SBXVII
Here's my personal oppinion; Portis is 27, and Betts is 29, Rock is 29.
All three came out of the 2002 draft. Portis #51, Betts #56 of the 2nd round and Rock #257 of the 7th round.
For their career's since 2002;
Portis: 4.5 yds per carry. 9,202 yrds totall.
Betts: 4.1 yds per carry. 2,966 yrds totall.
Rock: He doesn't even have stats hardley for being a RB. He has roughly less then 200 yrds each yr except for 2003 where he had 411 yrds. All of Rocks stats are based off of KR/PR duties.
I actually would rather see the team pick up a younger RB to take the bulk of the duties and take the bulk of the punishment slamming the ball up the middle. I know Rock has character but time to move on with someone who can KR and PR as well as be a speed back to run to the outside. Betts is also a nice character guy but he serves the same function as Portis...he is a between the tackles type of runner. Portis has been hammered each yr and although is a soldier he's starting to get banged up. If the motto is to get younger then Portis at age 27 and anyone older should go including Betts and Rock.
I think I would try to salvage Portis one more yr. Either bring in a younger between the tackles type of runner or mold Mason. Keep either Alridge or Dorsey whoever outshines and use them as KR/PR and as our scat back. Maybe even as a second RB in the back field to keep defenses guessing.
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I'm not just throwing this out to play devil's advocate...i really believe CP has plenty of time left and by retirement the kid will hold every Skins RB record on the books. From everything I can see Portis eats, sleeps and breaths the game. I don't even think of him as an athlete...he's a spectacular football player. He takes extremely good care of himself and has shown a remarkable talent for adjusting his style to 1) fit the offensive system he's part of 2) take as little punishment as possible w/o sacrificing the team and 3) extend his career.
I do agree it's critical we implement a more true 2 back system because no human can carry the load CP has for more than a few years. But the biggest challenge toward that end (IMHO) will be convincing CP to take fewer carries. Zorn, whatever we think of him, displays a lot of integrity and character so if there's anyone who might get through to Portis it should be coach Z.