Redskins Portis has sprained knee, '50-50' for Sunday

Wow, didn't see this coming! The AP reports that Redskins running back, Clinton Portis, has a sprained knee. Wowzers! The Redskins are already missing Ladell Betts. It would not be good to not have a stud like Portis against the hated Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. It is an NFC East division game that the Cowboys MUST win. A heavy dose of Portis is what is needed to sweep the Cowboys in the 2008 season.

Per the AP, "Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis is unable to practice because of a sprained knee, and coach Jim Zorn says the running back is "50-50" for Sunday night's game against the Dallas Cowboys. The pain got progressively worse after Portis was treated following the game, however, and Zorn said Monday that Portis has a bone bruise on the femur as well as a sprain."

Clinton Portis is a tough S.O.B. - I say he plays, and takes back the rushing lead from Adrian Peterson. Just ask Bubba Tyer to give him one of those Vitamin B shots he gave Riggo back in the day.

HAIL.

Redskins No Longer Have NFL Leading Rusher

The Washington Redskins surprised many during the first half of the season. Jim Zorn, coming from the pass happy West Cost Offense, had the NFL's leading rusher through mid-season. Clinton Portis dominated and led the league with 995 yards as he went into the bye week. Enter Minnesota's Adrian Peterson. He now holds the NFL rushing lead with 1,015 yards, and has banged out 5 straight 100 yard games.

It will be interesting to see if the Redskins bye week rest is what the offensive line and Clinton Portis needed. It will be even more interesting to see if Portis can keep up with Peterson for the NFL rushing title for the 2008 season. Portis has always said he would rather have W's than stats, but c'mon...Portis wants that recognition badly. He wants the league to put him back at the top of running back totem pole. He wants the league, the fans, and himself to know what he is capable of.

If the bye week rest was all that was needed then I think Clinton Portis just might give Adrian Peterson a RUN for his money.

HAIL.

Redskins Training Camp - Thursday (Day 5)

I swung by training camp on the way to work. So far, I've gone Sunday, Tues, and Thurs. The largest crowd was today by far. I guess not many wanted to come out in Sunday's heat, or Tuesday's storm.

As usual the defense was on the far field, the O-line was out there too in their usual corner with Buges, the offense was on the front stage for the fans to Ooh and Ahh over, and the kickers....ahh, screw the kickers...they were somewhere I am sure.

The first part of practice is all drills. Mostly about formations and where to go for any particular play and working on technique. For a first time head coach it seems Zorn has this really organized...surprisingly organized.

Defense
So, the defense, the veterans really get it easy...I saw Jason Taylor and Andre Carter taking it easier than the others...still working, just not as much. A couple drills involved chasing each other around a big hoop and then hitting a bunch of dummies while running and dive tackling the last one. Demetric Evans was getting a lot of work, and he seems to have a lot more swagger than years past. Overall, the D-Line seems to have good camaraderie and the size and speed of Carter/Taylor makes you envision Tony Romo's head crammed up his a** for a safety come September 28th.

Redskins Defense

O-Line
The O-Line looked like they were getting mostly technique work...slow motion footwork and hand placement drills conducted by Buges. Like the D-Line, the vets didn't work as much and I noticed Jon Jansen, Casey Rabach, and Randy Thomas taking a knee in the shade of the trees. Probably thinking about Jansen's RV.

Jansen, Rabach, Thomas loungin'

Offense
The offense skill positions were another story. Zorn & Co. worked the hell out of them...they were moving from one drill to another with constant rotations of players. Jason Campbell looked rusty on Sunday, but improved Tuesday, and by today he was slinging the ball accurately with zip. Cooley continues to have a good camp as usual, and Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El have looked better than last years camp. The thing that stands out the most are the Rookies...Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelly, and Fred Davis all have very good hands. They're also very fast....or quick is a better way to describe it, and they use smart moves to get open in space. There is a ton of passing going on in this training camp....more than Gibbs 2.0 and even more than Spurrier's camps. And get this...the running game has opened up too...I have seen a lot of runs for decent gains this camp...courtesy of Clinton Portis, Ladell Betts, Mike Sellers, and Rock Cartwright. And...they all have been catching passes out of the backfield too!

11 on 11 drills

Good luck defending this offense...it's looking really good only 5 days into camp.

Hit of the Day: London Fletcher knocked the shit out of Ladell Betts...but Betts held onto the ball.

Catch of the Day: As I mentioned, there were a lot of them...some nice corner end zone catches by Devin Thomas, Randel El, Moss...all looking good. Sellers has been catching a lot too...and Fred Davis has continues to impress.

Pass of the Day: Jason Campbell on 11-11 drills threaded the ball to Chris Cooley in traffic and in stride...Cooley cut the second he caught the ball and ran up the middle of the field for what would have been a long gain if it were a game

Jim Zorn's Z-Shades

I plan on getting to Friday's practice a little earlier to get a better spot and more details.