First comes the gate, a heavy metal barrier that halts visitors' cars about 100 feet from Clinton Portis' waterfront condo in Miami. It's manned by a security guard who reaches out from behind thick glass to check the ID of each driver and passenger, while high-tech cameras snap pictures of their faces and license plates, before allowing them to pass. The immaculately groomed grounds of cobblestone and palm trees are fortified with well-disguised cameras by the front door, the loading dock, the concierge desk and the private guest elevator. After navigating past those, plus a metal door secured with a dead bolt and a wall-mounted computerized alarm system, guests are finally allowed entry into Portis' sanctuary in the sky.

Enjoying a rare weekend off, the NFL's second-leading rusher is on his couch, yawning constantly while watching college football. He's wearing pajama pants, orange footies and a white T-shirt emblazoned with a picture of friend and departed Skins teammate Sean Taylor. Favoring a sore left knee, Portis shuffles across his marble floor to show off the views. To the east, windsurfers ride the glassy waters of the bay. To the west, Miami's skyline. And behind the blinds to the north: another shiny condo tower, where a woman stands on her balcony, peering directly at a startled Portis.

The moment perfectly captures how NFL players feel these days. On Nov. 26, 2007, Taylor was shot by intruders in the bedroom of his Miami home while his girlfriend and 18-month-old daughter hid under the covers. The botched robbery attempt was another horrific chapter of a crime wave against pro athletes, one that's shocked NFL players into a paradigm shift in self-awareness and security. Yet no matter how closely they protect themselves, many still can't shake the feeling that someone is out there, just beyond the blinds, lurking. "I don't think the NFL is gonna ever be the same," says Portis. "As a football player, Sean thrived on instilling fear in people on the field. Then you wake up in the middle of the night, and you hear something rattling around in your house, and in a split second—now the fear is in you."

You can see the impact of Taylor's death in the body language of 315-pound Chiefs rookie Branden Albert as he leaves a club, checking and rechecking his rearview mirror to make sure he isn't being followed. It's in the nervous laughter of Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger when he recalls the time a weapon was waved in his face. It compels Jaguars running back Fred Taylor to use the car with the less showy factory rims when he goes out at night. It's in the candid conversations Titans center Kevin Mawae says happen in every locker room around the league. And it's in the near whisper of Texans cornerback Dunta Robinson as he talks, for the first time publicly, about his own home invasion.

When asked about their fears, players cite the same frightening flashpoints: New Year's Day 2007, when Broncos defensive back Darrent Williams was shot and killed outside a Denver nightclub while riding in his limo; November 2007, when Taylor was murdered; June 2008, when Oakland receiver Javon Walker was robbed and beaten unconscious near the Vegas strip; and September 2008, when Jaguars lineman Richard Collier was paralyzed and had to have his leg amputated above the knee after he was shot 14 times in what police say was a retaliatory shooting. "We are targets," says Buccaneers corner Ronde Barber. "We need to be aware of that everywhere we go."

Violence against athletes is not new, of course, and not isolated to the NFL. Just last summer in Chicago, NBA players Antoine Walker and Eddy Curry were robbed in their homes. But more than any other league's, the culture of the NFL—the wealth, fame, brutality and air of invincibility—makes its players vulnerable. Broncos security chief Dave Abrams, who was hired full-time shortly after Williams was shot, says the hardest part of his job is convincing players of their own mortality. To excel at such a violent sport, he explains, they must be fearless; they think of themselves as the kind of untouchable warrior who would never require the protection of a bodyguard, an alarm system or even a locked door. The night he was murdered, Sean Taylor had neglected to turn on his home security system, even though his house had been burglarized just nine days earlier.

The NFL is attempting to flip this it-can't-happen-to-me mindset. The league provides a security consultant to each team, and most teams also have their own head of security. At his State of the League address before Super Bowl XLII, commissioner Roger Goodell said that players becoming targets was "a big issue." "We have to do everything we can to educate our players of the simple things they can do to protect themselves" Goodell said.

Portis has gotten the message. Security measures that used to be an afterthought are now part of his daily routine. Alarms that used to go unused are now turned on each night. Doors are dead-bolted. Windows are locked. Others are taking even more drastic steps. Robinson recently became a gun owner. Roethlisberger uses bodyguards for public appearances. Mawae, the NFLPA president, runs background checks on potential babysitters.

Fred Taylor, meanwhile, has equipped his Jacksonville home with every conceivable security apparatus. "I still don't think I have enough," he says. "Who knows what's enough? I wouldn't say I'm safe.

"I don't know what safe is."

(espn.com)

Under his game jersey, Redskins running back Clinton Portis, 27, always wears a T-shirt honoring his late teammate, safety Sean Taylor. Powered by his friend's memory, Portis is on pace for one of his best seasons ever—and resolute that fear won't control his life when he steps off the field.

Right now, who is better to target than an athlete? Bankers are losing jobs. Real estate gurus are losing jobs. Wall Street is losing jobs. Lots of people getting humble, but an athlete's money is constant.

I know a lot of players who think, Oh, man they ain't gonna get me. I watch where I'm going. No one's sneaking up on me. I say to them, Anybody can be touched. If somebody wants to get to you, there ain't no limits. Sean was home with his family, and they got to him.

But even with what happened, I can't walk around in fear. Out of fear your reaction is going to be totally different. If I don't know you and you walk up on me too fast, do I shoot first and ask questions later? Because I'm living in fear? You could be running to tell me my car lights are on. It's tricky, though. When you put on that uniform, you have to be fearless—and it's hard to turn off. A banker in Sean's position would've probably just called the police that night. But as an athlete, Sean's reaction was embedded in him.

I don't think the NFL is ever going to be the same. It's less fun now. Everything's a worry, on and off the field. People feel like you are obligated to them. I was at a charity event the other night and I had a man come up to me and grab me, hard, as if we were close friends. It was one of those hard grabs, around the neck, the way people who don't know you shouldn't touch you. So I turned around looking at him like, uh, do I know you? And his response was "I pay your salary, I'm a season ticket holder." Now, what do season tickets cost? Twenty thousand dollars? Pay my salary? Man, I don't make $20,000.

I worked hard for what I got. This life wasn't given to me. It wasn't eenie, meanie, miney, mo: I win. I've been fighting for what I got my whole life and it was hard work. I've seen everything. I've lost family members. I've held an AK-47, I've held assault rifles. I've seen crack sitting beside me. I've seen cocaine sitting beside me. But I stayed clean and found a way to steer myself away from all that. People are upset with me because I'm successful? You should try being successful too.

But remembering Sean gives me a power, a will to fight through. Earlier this season against the Steelers, we're down 23-6, and the game's kinda over with, and I'm just in there for blitz pickup to knock heads with a linebacker. But I'm still fighting, looking for someone to punish. It's that kinda toughness. That's what I get from thinking of Sean.

(espn.com)

For one drive last night, both Clinton Portis and his offensive teammates looked like they had rediscovered their early-season swagger. The first time the Washington Redskins touched the ball, they needed 10 plays to reach the end zone. Five of those plays were Portis's runs, which netted 29 yards and an average of nearly six yards per carry.

But this wasn't October -- when Portis ripped through NFL defenses to seize the league rushing lead -- and the franchise running back wasn't the same player who won NFC offensive player of the month honors. He didn't practice all week after spraining his medial collateral ligament against the Pittsburgh Steelers two weeks ago, and he was a game-time decision last night. After that first drive, Portis gained just 39 more yards, and the Redskins didn't again find the end zone in their 14-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

In a brief interview with ESPN 980 before leaving the locker room, Portis said he made the decision to play right before the game, after testing his knee well before the rest of his teammates took the field.

"Once you get adrenaline and all that going, you block out the pain," he said. "I'll sit back and be like, 'Ow, man,' [on Monday], but I'll be all right."
Whether the running game will recover its early-season form remains to be seen. When the Redskins were cruising last month, Portis was their engine, rushing for at least 120 yards in five straight games, four of which were wins. He led all NFL players with 616 yards from scrimmage in the month of October, and after the Redskins' victory over Detroit to close the month, he had 260 more rushing yards than any other back.

Then came the loss to Pittsburgh, in which the offense stagnated as Portis was held to 51 yards on the ground. He said his left knee stiffened in the days after the game, and he couldn't straighten his leg early last week, missing the entire week of practice.

"Actually, I was surprised that he played," quarterback Jason Campbell said. "If you looked at him earlier in the week or looked at him Friday, you would have thought no way. It just goes to show the toughness of the guy, how much he really is willing to be out there with his teammates and fight through all the pain and everything he was going through. . . . I kept asking him sometime was he all right, he kept saying he was fine, he was ready to go. Even in the huddle, he was still just acting like the normal Clinton. You couldn't tell if the guy really was hurt."

But Portis's injury became an issue in the fourth quarter. Backup Ladell Betts, who had missed three games with his own knee sprain, returned last night, but aggravated his injury just before the end of the third quarter.

"I really don't know what happened, I don't know if it got twisted or hit funny or what, but it just aggravated," said Betts, who said his knee was "not even close" to being 100 percent even before it was re-injured.

"It felt good enough to where I felt like I could go out here with my teammates and try to push through it," Betts said, but he didn't return in the fourth quarter and was walking gingerly after the game.

With Betts out, Portis was slow to get up during Washington's final drive, but after missing one play, he came back in.

"I know [I'll be sore], but I'll worry about that when it get here," Portis said. "I think I had an opportunity to get [out] and help my teammates, so I needed to be out there."

And his teammates appreciated the effort. The pass game was hurt by sacks and the inability to find open receivers, but teammates said that Portis's effort and work rate had not changed despite the injury.

"He certainly looked good as he ran past me a few times," guard Pete Kendall said. "He was running the ball downhill, particularly on that first drive, and he didn't seem much worse for the wear. I'm sure he was, but he looked good."

"I knew he was gonna play," fullback Mike Sellers said. "I know C.P. I know how he is. He's a fighter, he's not just going to sit out. C.P. did what C.P. can do when he was given the opportunity. He's always gonna be a fighter, he's always gonna play hard."

Redskins Coach Jim Zorn said that Portis's conditioning was likely affected from missing a week of practice, and television cameras showed him with an oxygen mask after halftime. He has lost the NFL rushing lead, and his team has lost two straight games. If the offense is to right itself, Portis will likely be part of the solution.

"He's a tough-nosed guy, he really is," center Casey Rabach said. "Anytime Clinton can go, it adds another dimension to this team. It's very unlikely that he was 100 percent, but we'll take him any way we can get him. Definitely a morale booster. Anytime we can get Clinton out on the field is good for us."

(washigtonpost.com)

Washington's Clinton Portis spent Wednesday in the training room trying to get ready for Sunday's game against the Cowboys. He remains a game-time decision, but coach Jim Zorn sounded more optimistic than he did earlier in the week.

Why?

"Well, today he could straighten out his leg,'' Zorn said after Wednesday's practice at Redskins Park. "It was hip, hip hooray.''

Portis has a second-degree sprain of a medial collateral ligament in his left knee. He injured the knee in the loss to Pittsburgh earlier this month but continued to play.

"He's going to go if he can,'' Zorn said. "But it would be foolish for us to put him out there if he's 60 or 70 percent.''

(dallasnews.com)

Clinton Portis is questionable at this point and his chances of facing Dallas on Sunday are "50-50," Coach Jim Zorn said after practice today. Portis has a knee sprain that has worsened since the team last played Nov. 3.

Zorn remains optimistic that Portis will play, but conceded that "it would be a major issue for all of us," if he cannot. Zorn said that second-string back Ladell Betts may be back from his knee injury for Sunday's game, but that he is not "expecting" that result.

Should the Redskins be without Betts and Portis, Zorn said RB Rock Cartwright would continue to return kicks, but would have some of his other special teams work curtailed given the shortage of available runners. If Betts returns and Portis is out, Zorn said Betts would play ahead of Shaun Alexander, but that it very well could be " a community position."

Santana Moss's hamstring is still "a little tentative," but Zorn said he expects Moss to play Sunday.

(washingtonpost.com)

Everybody is raving about Saints quarterback Drew Brees being the midseason choice as the league's MVP. I have a vote, and Washington running back Clinton Portis has mine right now. Yes, Brees has a shot at breaking Dan Marino's single-season yardage mark, but there's more to winning this award than stats.

The Saints are an exciting team, but are hovering around .500 and might miss the playoffs. The Redskins, like the Titans, are one of the season's shockers so far. And, no one, including a no-interception-throwing Jason Campbell or first-year coach Jim Zorn, has done more for Washington's 6-2 record than Portis.

Granted, Portis can be viewed as a diva — an unflattering term generally reserved for quarterbacks and receivers — but he has produced consistently this season.

Heck, Monday night against the Steelers, Portis will shoot for his sixth straight game with at least 120 yards rushing, potentially tying a streak accomplished by the Rams' Eric Dickerson in his famous 1984 season.

Heading into Week 9, Portis led the NFL with 944 yards rushing with seven touchdowns and a 5.0 yards-per-carry average. He was also the leader in first downs, with 52, two more than Mr. Cowboy, Marion Barber.

Portis can be a hothead and that's why Broncos coach Mike Shanahan traded him to Washington in exchange for stud cornerback Champ Bailey. But no one can argue with his production and physical toughness. Portis runs hard inside and he has the burst to bounce outside for long gains. On the field, you can count on Portis to deliver.

Now, he can be a bit of a problem child. Granted, he's no angel like Barry Sanders was for the Lions. His pride can get in the way of the team, but I sense that he's learning his lessons this year.

A few games back, Zorn allowed Portis to call a game-changing play in the fourth quarter. Of course, last week Zorn and Portis had a heated sideline exchange when the coach kept backup Shaun Alexander in the game. Basically, Zorn didn't like Portis running onto the field once his helmet was fixed, simply doing as he pleases.

Portis called the incident a miscommunication. "I take it personally and I shouldn't have," he said. "I have to [be] accountable to my teammates. It was blown out of proportion. Coach was excited and I was excited."

It may seem tame on television, but an NFL sideline can be a confusing place, especially for a new head coach. Zorn was told by running backs coach Stump Mitchell that Portis was ready to go. He figured Portis was in the huddle and called a play for him. Instead, Alexander was running with the ball. Zorn said he was surprised to see that. Then, Portis ran on to the field and when Zorn saw that, he took him out of the game. Zorn explained that he didn't want any of his players thinking they can go on the field whenever they feel like it.

That's when the argument ensued.

Bottom line is that Zorn did want Portis on the field. It's just that he wasn't ready when he was supposed to be. So, what's wrong with him going out there when he was ready?

Yes, Zorn and Portis are still sorting out the bugs in their football relationship. It makes for great Sunday television. But the bottom line is that right now, Portis is playing at an MVP level. If he keeps it up, the Redskins should be in the playoffs and Zorn will be competing with coaches like Jeff Fisher, Dick Jauron and Mike Smith for Coach of the Year.

(foxsports.com)

New York, NY (Sports Network) - Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis, Carolina Panthers linebacker Jon Beason and St. Louis Rams kicker Josh Brown were chosen as the NFC's top players for the month of October.

Portis rushed for an NFL-best 575 yards during the month, averaging 143.8 yards per game, to capture the offensive award and help Washington to a 3-1 mark for October. He accumulated at least 120 yards in all four games and has a streak of five consecutive games with at least 120 yards, doing so for the second time in his career to join Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson as the only players to accomplish the feat twice.

Beason earned the defensive honor by leading the Panthers with 37 tackles and two interceptions in October. He notched 15 tackles in a game against Tampa Bay and last week returned an interception 44 yards to help the Panthers complete a 3-1 month with a 27-23 win over Arizona.

(sportsnetwork.com)

10. Andre Johnson, WR, Texans. It’s hard for a receiver to crack the MVP list, but Johnson is setting a blistering pace and has lifted Houston out of a potential quarterback controversy. Would you believe the Texans are fourth in the NFL in total offense? Believe it. It’s largely because of Johnson, who has 56 catches for 772 yards in seven games. Now, try this on for size: He had nine catches for 131 yards against the Colts on October 5. How does he top it? In the each of the three games since, he has had at least 10 catches and at least 140 yards.

8. Ed Reed, S, Ravens. Always a playmaker of the highest order and someone opponents must locate on every snap, it’s Reed’s outstanding range that allows the creativity defensive coordinator Rex Ryan flashes. He also gets a checkmark in the “guts” category for playing through hamstring and thigh injuries. Every coach who faces the Ravens mentions Reed early and often. Baltimore is second in total defense, third in pass defense and first in run defense. Reed is the primary reason.

6. Clinton Portis, RB, Redskins. Sshhh … Portis is on a pace to rush for nearly 2,000 yards. Somehow, in all the hoopla over Jason Campbell—he’s been outstanding, so he does deserve it—Portis’ career year is getting overshadowed. Portis has 944 yards at 5.0-per clip and 11 catches to boot. The reason he gets the call here over Campbell is because the Redskins’ offensive identity is one of a physical, grinding group that wears out opponents. As a side note: How loaded was that University of Miami title team in 2001? Johnson, Reed and Portis are on this list, and that’s without mentioning Vince Wilfork, Jonathan Vilma, D.J. Williams, Willis McGahee, Frank Gore, Bryant McKinnie.

(sports.yahoo.com)

Best player you don't know enough about, offense: Andre Johnson, Houston, WR -- He piled up 103 catches for 1,147 yards as recently as 2006, so Johnson isn't an unknown quantity. But the Texans' relatively low national profile has kept him from getting sufficient pub. The guy has numbers that the other Texas-based No. 1 receiver -- the one and only T.O. -- would kill for. Johnson leads the league in receptions (56), receiving yardage (772), 100-yard games (five), and games with catches of 10 or more (four). In October alone, he caught 41 passes for 593 yards and two touchdowns.

Offensive player of the year: Clinton Portis, Washington, RB -- Though I have my doubts that Portis can continue to carry so much of the load for the Redskins, you can't overlook the contributions of a running back who's leading the league in rushing by a whopping 260 yards, and averages 118.0 yards per game. Portis has scored in five of Washington's eight games, and he has at least 96 yards rushing in six of eight, including 121-plus in his last five.

(cnnsi.com)

I was listening to Jim Zorn with one ear and Clinton Portis with the other this afternoon, and when the first ear rejoined the second ear, Portis was being asked about the Steelers' 3-4 defense.

"I've been working on my karate kick all week long," he said. "I mean, it's a tough team, it's a sound team." I have no idea what that meant.

At the beginning of his weekly availability, Portis was joking with the media members about how he received nothing more than an "attaboy" from Zorn for getting Offensive Player of the Month honors, and then I guess someone must have asked him if he was rewarding his blockers for all his accolades. Then Mike Sellers walked by.

"Mike Sellers got some bling, some big-time bling," Portis said.

"My boy took care of me," Sellers confirmed.

"I'm talking about shiiiin-ing," Portis said. "He got some big-time bling."

"That's love right there," Sellers said.

"Maybe one day he'll show you guys," Portis said. "But as far as the other guys, that's what they're supposed to do."

Someone asked Portis what sort of bling he had gotten for Sellers; "bling bling," Portis said, making me realize for the first time that "bling bling" was an adjective-noun combination.

And someone else asked why blocking wasn't what Sellers is "supposed to do."

"You've got to baby Mike," Portis said. "I'm trying to get Mike to hold his head up. We're trying to get him one of those neck things that'll keep it up."

Then he started answering questions about the Steelers, which, aside from the karate kick promise, seemed dull by comparison.

(washigtonpost.com)

You want a midseason MVP? I'll take the guy on one knee. Clinton Portis does that often, you know. He rests every chance he gets. It has become a humorous point for his Washington Redskins teammates, who notice that during a fourth-quarter timeout or two-minute warning, Portis is down on bended knee, catching his breath.

Portis' act goes against football machismo, which suggests players are never supposed to openly display fatigue, but he doesn't care. He actually likes looking tired, then proving he's not. And he and the Redskins -- even after their ugly 25-17 win over the winless Lions -- have proven a lot so far. Nobody thought Portis would be closing so many wins in the fourth quarter. Not this year, at least. Not in the NFC East, football's toughest division, where the Redskins were supposed to stare up at the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. Well, guess what? Washington is 6-2, a half-game behind first-place New York. And Portis is the NFL's leading rusher, with 944 yards and five straight 100-yard games. And, with all due respect to Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger and Albert Haynesworth, he's also the league's midway MVP.

Few thought that at age 27, in his seventh year in the NFL, the 5-foot-11, 228-pound Portis would experience such a career ascent. He's at the age at which most backs level off. At various times, Portis himself has been uncertain of his long-term future. Heck, he forced a trade from Denver in 2004 because he knew his shelf life could be short. "The window for a running back is only open so long," Portis told me on the day he was introduced as a Redskin. "Right now is my time to get what I'm worth."

Nobody was exactly sure of his worth. He'd played well in Denver, where nearly every running back does. And this decade hasn't been kind to the notion of the bank-breaking superstar tailback. Their typically short career span has forced teams to invest top dollars elsewhere and rely on late-rounders and tandems to supply the ground game. And so when Portis was given a $17-million bonus from Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, it seemed less a wise investment and more an expensive Band-Aid, for which the impulsive Snyder is notorious.

But Portis has earned his money. Only LaDainian Tomlinson has rushed for more yards since Portis entered the league in 2002. But that doesn't mean it has been easy. He has suffered an array of injuries the past two years, showing the kind of wear and tear that often derails a back's career and lends credence to those GMs who refuse to invest major money in them. Portis' diligence in rehabbing was questioned, as was his commitment to being a team leader, seeing as how he spent offseasons training in Miami with his boys from The U.

Portis' contract was redone this past offseason, with financial incentives to be present at the Redskins' offseason workout program. Once he was there, two veterans, receiver James Thrash and linebacker London Fletcher, implored the ever-social Portis to trade some of his partying for harder work at the team complex. "I just respect those guys so much," says Portis. "It was more taking life seriously. Training with those guys, they're the type of guys who I actually look up to."

Another reason Portis has staved off decline is that he has been used differently than ever before. He's carrying the ball more than any other year (23 attempts per game in 2008, compared to his career average of 20) but is being spelled more often in the first three quarters so that he's fresh in the fourth. Twenty-eight percent of his carries this season have been in the final quarter, as opposed to 20 percent during his previous six years. "That's why you get the big bucks," Portis says.

He's had a lingering ankle injury all year. And against the Lions, he got into a shouting match with head coach Jim Zorn after Portis missed a few plays with an equipment issue and reinserted himself into the game without telling anyone. But it's no surprise that when asked to name the moments of which he's most proud, Portis doesn't cite his five straight 100-yard games, or his eight carries of 20-plus yards (he had three last season) but instead three fourth-quarter drives. On the first, against the Saints on Sept. 14, Portis had three straight carries to put the game away. On the second, against the Cowboys on Sept. 28, he had 33 yards rushing on a 12-play, 6-minute, 54-second drive that led to a game-clinching field goal. And on the third, against the Eagles on Oct. 5, his five carries on a 13-play, 7-minute, 18-second drive helped secure another win.

"I'm proud that we stay on the field," Portis says. "In previous years, we hurt ourselves in those situations. Now we stay on the field for seven, eight minutes."

Even if a few of them are spent on one knee.

(espn.com)

Now, as for Clinton Portis. It's been a while since he didn't go to the post-game podium to speak formally to the media. But the fact that he was going to speak in front of his locker didn't cause him to scale back his planned outfit. Red, was the theme. I'll let the more fashion conscious Sally Jenkins take it from there.

Afterward Portis stood before his locker clad in so many rich textiles he seemed upholstered, from his red cashmere V-neck to his gleaming red square-toed, soft crocodile shoes. He was the image of surfeit, after his fifth straight game with over 120 yards (126 on 24 carries), and he kicked up an exquisite loafer to show it off.

Oh, one more thing. He wouldn't start his interview until he popped on the red Marc Jacobs shades. Oh, and until he applied his red chapstick.
"Cherry chaptick, you can't do no better," he said. "Cherry or strawberry. Keep your lips pink."

He said repeatedly that the shoes were not gator, but I'm not sure whether he actually confirmed the crocodileness.

"You want to feel these, man? Feel them," he said, handing a shoe to one of the reporters. "Check them out. Feels fabulous, don't it? Bend it. Bend it. See how soft it is. See what I'm saying? You can't do gators like that. I can't tell y'all my secret, everybody gonna be trying to do this."

And the socks? I don't even know where to start with the socks. Wizard of Oz? Where's Waldo? NFL MVP? Whatever.

(washingtonpost.com)

As you might have seen, early in the second quarter of today's 25-17 Redskins win over the Lions, Jim Zorn and Clinton Portis had what appeared to be a heated exchange of words on the sidelines. Portis then appeared to be discouraged while still on the sideline, mulling over the incident. But he returned to the game and kept up his manic pace this season, gaining 126 yards to run his season total to 944.

He's one of only two players to put together two five-game streaks of 120 or more rushing yards in his career. The other? O.J. Simpson.

"It's great company," Portis told my colleague Sally Jenkins. "it's one of the few times you can say O.J. is great company."

As for the incident, Portis said he had gotten into it with people on the sidelines before, but never with his head coach. Here's how Zorn explained it. Portis was having an equipment problem (I believe with his helmet), forcing backup Shaun Alexander into the game at the end of the first quarter. That's how the second quarter began, and Zorn assumed Alexander would finish the drive, but Portis then checked himself back in. Some locker room quotes on what happened next.

Zorn: "When the quarter's over, in my mind, you know, Shaun goes until he goes to [running backs coach] Stump [Mitchell], or Stump tells me Clinton's ready to play. I have no idea. And I'm calling the game based on who's in there, right? And when he went in there, he just misunderstood the situation, and we had a [slows down to exaggerate] sweet exchange of words, about when to go in."
Portis: "It was basically just a miscommunication, not letting him know that Shaun was in, which it was one play, so I think it was just blown out of proportion. He was excited and I was excited, so when two grown men get excited and two grown men [are] eager, you know, you'll have that miscommunication."

Ladell Betts: "I mean, there's so many emotional things that go on on the sidelines in the course of a game, so you'll see many different players get into different situations, yelling matches, whatever you want to call it. But it's part of the game, it just happens on game day. Most people as football players probably play better when they're angry, because football's not a nice sport, it's a violent sport. So the more angry you are, you can direct it to the other team."

Mike Sellers: "When I get frustrated sometimes he comes to talk to me, and he's my running back, I'm supposed to take care of him. So when I see that, I just had to have a little conversation with him, try to get his mind right, and he was cool. I know CP's a professional, and no matter what is said or done, he's going to come out and play regardless."

Shaun Alexander: "A lot of time when you're in a groove like this, you have so much stuff going in your mind. You've got a thousand yards and you're halfway through the season, there's only a handful of us that's ever been like that, you know what I mean? So for me, I'm always telling him mentally what he's going through, knowing that he's close to tasting something that...only a few people [ever taste]....He's a good player, and he's about to step into greatness, and we want to make sure that we can ride this horse as far as it can go."

Zorn: "It's really, it was the heat of the game for me. So I'm more stern about it than I am just talking to you right now. And he explained what happened to him. I explained what my deal was. And so we just came to an understanding."

Portis: "I mean, I sort of regret that it happened, because I never want somebody to question or feel like I wasn't there, I never want my teammates to feel like I wasn't there, I never want my coaches to feel like I wasn't there. Every Sunday I'm gonna show up. I mean, I'm gonna give all I've got. So if there's any miscommunication about why I'm not somewhere and you think I'm supposed to be there, or why something didn't happen, come ask me. You never point the finger and not know. It's just like you're innocent until proven guilty. So it was really a miscommunication."

(washingtonpost.com)

ASHBURN, Va. — It's become almost routine to hear Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis sigh and utter these words: "Man, people are never going to be satisfied."

It's easy to understand his case. If he rushes for 1,300 yards, it's an off year. If he hurts his shoulder trying to make a tackle in the pre-season, he's suddenly injury-prone.

If he leaves a game because he needs a breather, he's a selfish diva - even though only two backs in the NFL have had more carries over the last five seasons.

If he makes the type of candid comment that everyone loves to hear, he's too outspoken.

If he wears funny costumes for a few weeks, fans implore him to keep doing it indefinitely - even though it was a wonderfully entertaining shtick from three years ago that could never really be replicated.

Could this be the year that Portis makes everyone happy? After all, he's by far the NFL's leading rusher, with 818 yards, seven touchdowns, a league-high 163 carries and four consecutive 120-yard games for a 5-2 team.

Portis doesn't think so. At least he doesn't want to think so.

"If I run for 3,000 yards, then it's 'Oh, Jason Campbell should have thrown the ball.' 'They gave him every carry - that's why he had 3,000 yards,"' Portis said Wednesday. "What we've got to go out and do is not try to satisfy the outside. We know what makes us happy and that's winning, and as long as we're doing that, we're good."

Portis said he might have been "excited and going crazy" about leading the league in rushing in his younger days, but the years have jaded him a bit. His fun-loving showmanship and his open disdain for practice have often been mistaken for a me-first persona, criticism that stings.

"You think I'm fun loving - most people think I'm a jerk," Portis said. "Most people think I'm stuck on myself or always throwing myself out to do something or being on my own schedule. It's always opinions. I can't make people understand me for what I'm worth. Y'all know what I do. I play around, laugh and joke. It ain't that serious to me, so I'm going to keep living no matter what they think."

Tight end Chris Cooley, also known to march to his own beat, offered his view of the real Portis.

"He's a lot of fun. At the same time, he's the hardest working, hardest playing football player that I've been around," Cooley said. "No one takes more hits and gives out more big hits in a game that Clinton Portis, and that kind of overrules all the goofiness and all the fun in the locker room. If you have a problem with Clinton Portis, put on a game film and watch him."

Or just count the sore body parts. Portis needed treatment on a shin, an ankle, his neck and a hip after Sunday's 175-yard performance in a 14-11 win over the Cleveland Browns. He was given the day off from practice Wednesday.

"Everything hurts, to be honest. Bumps and bruises, nothing major. I'll be fine. I had to get in the hot tub and have the water come up to here," said Portis, holding his hand up to his neck. "My ears hurt, but they haven't got a treatment for that yet."

Cooley said Portis is also appreciated for being outspoken, although sometimes the words don't come out right. Portis' most infamous foot-in-mouth moment was last year, when he made light of dogfighting during the Michael Vick investigation.

This year, Portis has fussed with former Redskins favourite Brian Mitchell on the radio because he felt Mitchell was unfairly criticizing him. He speculated what it would be like to run in a different scheme early in the season, comments seen by some as an insult to the offensive line. Two weeks ago, he said the Redskins "overlooked" the St. Louis Rams following a 19-17 upset loss, a point of view not shared by most of his teammates.

Given that the Redskins have been winning, Portis joked that he ought to keep finding ways to put down his teammates.

"If they took it to heart, I might need to stir it up again. So, I'm about to throw them under the bus," said Portis, who then laughed and started talking trash about each of his linemen.

It's hard to believe it was a little over a year ago that then-coach Joe Gibbs said Portis had become "interchangeable" with backup Ladell Betts. Now, Portis would be considered interchangeable only with the elite backs in the NFL.

His season has revived the debate over the trade that sent him from Denver to Washington.

Portis came to the Redskins in 2004 in exchange for Champ Bailey and a draft pick, a deal that still favours the Broncos because a shutdown cornerback is considered more valuable than a prized running back. Also, Bailey has made the Pro Bowl every year, while Portis has yet to get the Hawaii nod since arriving in the nation's capital.

Just counting this year, however, the deal could perhaps be called an even split.

"We're both in situations where we're enjoying it," Portis said. "Clinton loves it out in Denver; I love it in D.C. I think he's still one of the elite players at the corner position, and I feel like I'm one of the best at this position."

(ap.com)

During yesterday's post-game presser, just before he met Alex Ovechkin, Clinton Portis talked about going to Puerto Rico. Part of this made Mike Wise's column, but here's the full passage.

"You know, of course you always come in, 'I want to make the Pro Bowl, I want to be league MVP.,' " he said. "Everybody not going to do that, and having the opportunity to be at the pinnacle in Denver, being one of the best backs in the league, having the opportunity to have the money, having the opportunity to have the fame, I never had a ring. All that don't matter when you go into the offseason and you high-fiving somebody else, telling them congratulations when you really don't feel like it was deserved, you would have rather it been you in the situation.

"To see other guys celebrate, jump around and show off their rings? You know, after the Colts won I ended up in Puerto Rico with the whole Colts team. You know, they've got their rings and celebrating, and I felt like the odd man out. You know, I had to go sit over in the corner. I couldn't enjoy their conversation, so I left Puerto Rico, you know? I don't want to sit around and y'all talk about Super Bowls and here I am out of the playoffs. So I think just for us, to win as a team, I would love to have our whole team on the island, celebrating, talking about the Super Bowl."

Field trip!

Other Portis highlights:
On his ever-changing post-game sunglasses: "I guess you've got to stay up with the latest trends, my brother."

On his fumble: "Only thing I was thinking, if I get a corner, it's [shawls] to the wall....All I could think was 97 yards. I could see the end zone and I felt like I was gonna get there. I was running wild, trying to dig and the guy made a great play on the ball."

On his relief at the fumble not costing a win: "I don't know what's the best relief you done have in your life, but it was one of those."

On the focus this week: "When I say not being focused it's only when you turn the ball over and have penalties, not that players just don't know what's going on, when you turn the ball over on the field, you're not focusing on protecting the ball. When you have penalties, holding, offsides, you'ree not focusing on the snap count. I think this week guys really made an effort. I was the only one that turned the ball over, so I guess I wasn't focused this week."

On whether he should keep missing practice, for good luck: "Not practicing boring now, all of a sudden. Back in the day I probably would have told you yeah, but not to be a part of practice now it's kind of boring, sitting on the sideline, watching everybody else work. Guys come by, 'Aw man, you good, stay focused,' but you want to be out there....You want the opportunity to jump around and have fun in practice. Sitting over on the side by