In Washington, Portis Doesn’t Have Popular Vote

Clinton Portis came into the NFL like a bolt of lightning out of Miami. He was upset for being drafted in the second round by Denver but Shanahan saw his talent and thought he could make something out of him. Portis went for back to back 1500+ yard seasons in Denver before being traded across the country in a blockbuster deal with the Redskins. The Broncos didn’t do too bad either; they picked up a future Hall of Fame cornerback in Champ Bailey.

Does anybody remember Clinton’s first carry as a Redskin? Of course you do…

It was the season opener against Tampa Bay and he took his first carry for Washington to the house on a 64 yard cutback run. At the time, all seemed right with the Redskins. The trade was considered an instant success yielding immediate results. After that game though, the Redskins would go on a four game losing streak and finish the season at 6-10 with Portis accumulating 1315 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

• ’05-’06 – 2005 Was far kinder to the Redskins and Portis as he went over the 1500 yard mark for the third time in his career. Portis also had 11 touchdowns that year and Washington made a late season run to the playoffs with a 10-6 record. To this point Portis had not experienced any major injuries and the Redskins faithful believed he could be the feature back for another decade to come.
• ’06-’07 – The chinks in the armor started to show in 2006. Coming off a great season and a playoff run, the Redskins fell flat on their face as did Portis. He would rush for only 523 yards and seven touchdowns that season after suffering a partially separated shoulder in the preseason against the Bengals and then a broken hand against the Eagles in the regular season.
• ’07-’08 – Portis would bounce back in the 2007 campaign and rush for 1262 yards and 11 touchdowns. Coincidentally, the Redskins managed to throw together a 9-7 record and make the playoffs- all while losing a franchise player in Sean Taylor. The 2007 season was a test of character for the entire organization and one they passed with flying colors.
• ’08 – ’09 – After a great rebound season Clinton kept it up in 2008 with another great season. He rushed for 1,487 yards and nine touchdowns but nagging injuries slowed him down towards the end of the year. While he did make the Pro Bowl, many had seen his production drop off during the second half of the season.
• ’09-’10 – 494 Yards and one touchdown, that’s all he could muster through eight games in 2009. Portis suffered a severe concussion during a week nine contest against the Falcons. He wouldn’t return for the rest of the season and Washington wouldn’t show up either. The Redskins finished with a 4-12 record; as we all can vividly recall.
• ’10-’11 – This season hasn’t done too much for Portis in the popularity department either. He suffered a third degree groin separation against Philadelphia in week four only to return against Tennessee in week 11 and re-aggravate it. CP was placed on injured reserve and is out for the season.

After analyzing the statistics from the last couple years I noticed that when Portis is healthy (and our defense is ranked in the top 12) Washington does well and when he’s injured, Washington suffers. Portis does go down intentionally sometimes but hey, he’s just trying to extend his career and avoid injury. This was Portis’ final guaranteed year under is 8 year $50+ million deal. He is set to make $8.3 million in 2011, should Mike Shanahan bring him back.

I posted a poll question over a week ago asking the Redskins faithful whether or not they thought CP’s days in DC were over; the results are shown below.

I know that 65 voters isn’t exactly the electoral college but with 72% of those votes saying “Bye Bye CP”, it’s safe to say his future is very much in doubt in Washington.