WP: No Reason To Run It Into the Ground (Wilbon)

[easymobee]

www.washingtonpost.com/

Makes light of the System Back tag. Bell vs Portis.

Wilbon disses Plummer, but other than that a good read. It also is raining on the parade of some of the Skins fan who've decided to celebrate their close loss.


By Michael Wilbon

Monday, October 10, 2005; Page E01

DENVER The Denver Broncos believe they can take just about anybody who is ambulatory and make him a franchise running back. That's why they didn't go into deep mourning when Terrell Davis, a Super Bowl MVP who should still be in his prime, suffered career-ending injuries. That's why they drafted Maurice Clarett in the third round when nobody else would touch him. That's why the Broncos, during Mike Shanahan's tenure in Denver, have had four 1,000-yard rushers drafted in the second round or later. And that is precisely why the Broncos traded Clinton Portis to the Washington Redskins last year.

Of course, Portis has never bought into the notion that he was easily replaceable in Denver, not after a pair of 1,500-yard seasons and 29 rushing touchdowns in 29 games. Portis told Colorado reporters during the middle of last week that not only was he not just some system flunky, but he was the best running back the Broncos ever had. Ever.

So it was no surprise the Denver fans booed Portis every time he touched the ball. It was no surprise his former teammates barked at him in the pileups. And it was no real surprise, bad a man as Portis is, that a guy wearing his old Broncos jersey outran him Sunday afternoon in the rain. A kid named Tatum Bell, the 41st pick in the draft a year ago, ran for two long touchdowns to beat the Redskins. You couldn't recognize Tatum Bell if he walked into your living room wearing a jersey that reads "Tatum Bell."

But there he was, laying the wood to the Redskins. Most of the Monday morning conversation will center on the safety that was negated because of the infamous "tuck rule" and the two-point conversion pass from Mark Brunell to an absurdly wide-open David Patten that would have tied the game and sent it into overtime but was tipped away by Denver linebacker Ian Gold. You could have fried an egg on Joe Gibbs's head, he was so hot about the safety that was taken away, a two-pointer in what would become a two-point game.

But it didn't have to come to that because the Redskins outplayed the Broncos Sunday. Actually, the Redskins were much better than Denver in some of the areas coaches care about most. Washington held the ball seven-plus minutes longer, and converted a better percentage of third downs (40 percent to 29). The Redskins' special teams, which can be a little shaky at times, produced a blocked punt. And, oh, the Redskins outgained Denver by nearly 200 yards. Okay, Brunell, who should have thrown for a million yards because he threw the ball 53 times, nevertheless passed for 322 yards to Jake Plummer's 92. That's right, Jake the Snake threw for a grand total of 92 yards -- at home -- against two substitute cornerbacks much of the day.

Two plays killed the Redskins, and I'm not talking about the safety or the missed two-point conversion.

Bell's fourth-and-inches run for a touchdown and his 55-yard touchdown run when the Broncos weren't even trying to score are the killer plays, the plays that make coaches sleep on sofas four nights a week. On Bell's fourth-and-inches touchdown run, the Redskins had him trapped for at least a one-yard loss. They clearly had the perfect defense called to stop him. "We knew what the play was," defensive boss Gregg Williams said. "We had guys calling out the play at the line."

So what happened? Bell ran through two Redskins tackles for not just the first down, but the touchdown.

The second Bell touchdown had an even more bizarre twist.

The Broncos weren't trying to score. Shanahan told Williams as much after the game. The Redskins had more players at the point of attack than Denver could block, so the Broncos switched plays at the last second to what coaches call a "safe run." Shanahan was trying to keep Bell away from a swarm of Redskins, away from a four-yard loss or a turnover in the rain. And in calling an intentionally conservative play on third and five to set up a punt and a field-position play, Bell wound up slipping down the sideline for a 55-yard touchdown.

So what happened? The Redskins missed two more tackles.

Coming into the game, the Redskins led the NFL in fewest yards after contact. And while such terms are always difficult if not impossible to define exactly, the point is the Redskins this season basically haven't missed tackles. "If you could have those two runs back," Williams said. "But you can't. Normally, we take those plays away. We cannot allow those long runs on defense. We've got to finish those tackles. We did so many things well that we thought we had to do to take away a very good running game. Those plays are going to be hard to stomach."

That's because those plays were the game. Please don't tell me Jake Plummer can beat a good defense, because he can't. The Jake Plummer show has been going on for years now, in Denver and in Arizona, and it's as much comedy as anything else when you consider the left-handed flips and behind-the-back tosses. You just knew when he was taking snaps in the shadow of his own goal line early in the third quarter that Plummer was one of his vintage screw-ups from blowing the game, and he nearly did, on cue. The tuck rule, which really is a pox on the NFL, saved him from a safety and his team from a loss.

But Shanahan must know that, too. And he always has a great running game if not a great runner. Portis knows that. "They brought Bell in to make plays," Portis said, "and he did that. Two key third-down runs [actually one third-down, one fourth-down] end up winning the game for them."

Portis played very, very well. Again. He rushed 20 times for 103 yards.

He threw a block on blitzing linebacker Al Wilson that was so perfect, Portis hurt himself. But he didn't score. And there were those stinging words in the morning paper, the Denver Post, from longtime scout and team executive Bobby Beathard, who said the Broncos were looking to get rid of Portis because he was "not a great worker or anything like that. They didn't feel like they were losing anything by getting rid of him."

So by sundown, Beathard looked pretty smart. The Broncos looked pretty smart, even though cornerback Champ Bailey was too hurt to play. Portis didn't score a touchdown (which really should start worrying the Redskins considering he always scored for Denver), and he was out-rushed by Bell who ran only 12 times for 127 yards and the two decisive scores.

But it's a long season, one that was never going to result in the Redskins going undefeated, one that never figured to include victories in both Denver and Kansas City. Portis left the locker room saying that there was a lot to think about on the long flight home, and not just missed safeties and two-point conversions but penalties and mistakes. It wasn't the kind of return to Denver that he had hoped for. Still, he and just about all his teammates can think about how they played well enough in one of the league's most difficult places to win. And for another week, at least until the results from Kansas City are in, once defeated certainly doesn't mean down.

[Popps]

http://www.jsonline.com/packer/sbxxxii/image/sbxxxii/terrel125.jpg

[Kaylore]

http://members.tripod.com/~BroncosLuver/terrell2.jpg
Exactly.

[epicSocialism4tw]

What's with the knock on TD? Portis was never anything close to the constant threat that TD was. TD got the big plays done and made the 3-8 yard runs on 1st and 2nd down. TD was super bowl MVP and was just yards away from the rushing title.

[clarker]

Portis played really well, but he wasn't the best back to ever to play for the Broncos. Don't believe me go ask either Terrell Davis or Floyld Little.

[Clockwork Orange]

What's with the knock on TD? Portis was never anything close to the constant threat that TD was. TD got the big plays done and made the 3-8 yard runs on 1st and 2nd down. TD was super bowl MVP and was just yards away from the rushing title.

He was also league MVP, gained 2000 yards in one season, rushed for 21 touchdowns in one season and put up 100+ yards in 7 consecutive playoff games.

Portis is a legend in his own mind.

[easymobee]

Portis is obviously not the same threat he was in Denver.

Washington fans have a litany of excuses for that fact, but you simply cannot ignore this stat:

Denver CP : 29 TD's in 29 games

Washington CP: 5 TD's in 19 games (missed the season finale last year).

[Clockwork Orange]

Washington CP: 5 TD's in 19 games (missed the season finale last year).

He put up that many in one game against the Chefs while he was here.

[Mastermind2002]

Terrell Davis was the best back ever in Denver! Portis can suck it! I'm so glad we made that trade.

[easymobee]

He put up that many in one game against the Chefs while he was here.

It'll start to get interesting if he gets to week 7 or 8 this year w/o scoring.

His next 2 are at KC and vs S, so its unlikely.

I think KC might give him another career day.

[wabbit]

One of the more ironic twists to the Rodney Dangerfield complex Portis seems to embrace so readily is that Mike Shanahan has said on multiple occassions that Clinton was among the very best...I believe he used the term 'rare talent'...RBs he's ever coached...and he has coached a bunch.

I haven't seen many Denver fans dis Portis...we'd love to have him if he didn't want the moon, the sun AND the sea.

But Denver has a franchise on RBs for some reason...generally GOOD reasons that include an astute coaching & scouting staff that, until this year, couldn't find a cornerback among the college ranks of, oh, 5-ten thousand players.

I could see once again what makes Portis special Sunday; the guy is shiftier than a used car salesman.

I could also see why he was traded; Tatum Bell took two to the house without so much as a zig or a zag.

Shanahan prefers direct mail, apparently.

[orange crusher]

He put up that many in one game against the Chefs while he was here.

In all fairness, it was the chefs though. LOL

[Bob's your Information Minister]

Terrell Davis was the best back ever in Denver! Portis can suck it! I'm so glad we made that trade.

Jeez, Mastermind, who is the chick in front of the wood doors?

[SoCalBronco]

That shot at TD was classless bull****.

No Clinton, you werent a third of the back TD was. And your a damn good back.

[Bronco LB 59]

Portis is averaging roughly 1.5 yards less per carry in Washington. That stat says it all. He's good, but Denver's offense maximized his talents.

[footstepsfrom#27]

Same old story...a Bronco back goes through somebody's defense like a bull through the living room and nothing but "we didn't tackle"...LOL...just like the Jim Haslet quote I put up earlier after the 2000 MA game for 251 yards against NO..."we just didn't tackle and had to many people on the ground". Ya think? Wonder how they got there?

Portis is delusional if he thinks he's a better back than Terrell Davis. I told these Shin fans all week that we'd run on them because we run on everyone, but it fell on deaf ears. It' just what they do. Dissin' Bell? He was taken in the 2nd round just like Portis. So how is he just some stiff who is ambulatory? Imagine if TB had gotten 30 carries? We might be looking at a HUGE game from him. Hopefully he gets more PT next week also.

[Bronco LB 59]

This picture is for RHogan who is going to want some love for "The Franchise", too.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/BroncoLB56/FloydLittle2.jpg

[Popps]

<EMBED SRC="http://www.worldchamprec.com/BellTD2.mov" WIDTH=240 HEIGHT = 196 AUTOPLAY=false CONTROLLER=true LOOP=false PLUGINSPAGE=http://www.apple.com/quicktime/">

Hey Clinton, you weren't even the best running back TODAY, much less ever.

[Dr. Broncenstein]

Portis had more explosive potential, but he couldn't carry TD's jock. TD was the perfect back in the perfect system.

[Blueflame]

www.washingtonpost.com/

The tuck rule, which really is a pox on the NFL, saved him from a safety and his team from a loss.


The safety... had it counted... would have added two points to Washington's score, making the game a tie; not necessarily a Bronco loss. Since it occurred before the final Redskin touchdown, the added 2 points just might have affected the Broncos defensive gameplan (putting the game within one score), so there's no guarantee that the Bronco D would have still given up the TD or that Washington would have subsequently opted to kick an XP rather than the failed attempt for a 2-point conversion. With some time left on the clock after the TD (and presumed successful XP), the offensive gameplan might also have been different (rather than trying to run out the clock and preserve the win, trailing by a point might have motivated coaches to instead focus on a hurry-up offense, saving every precious second with the objective of getting into Jason's FG range. Blaming the loss solely on the tuck rule makes Wilbon look like a Redskin apologist. :P

Nevermind that the numbers don't support the contention that Portis is the "best runningback the Broncos ever had" (I'm not even sure I'd list him among the top five).

[Bob's your Information Minister]

Portis had more explosive potential, but he couldn't carry TD's jock. TD was the perfect back in the perfect system.

He was certainly the one with the most talent around him.

[Bob's your Information Minister]

I'm not even sure I'd list him among the top five.

Now you're homering out of control.

[Dr. Broncenstein]

Mike Anderson's rookie year was better than anything Portis turned in..

[Bob's your Information Minister]

Mike Anderson's rookie year was better than anything Portis turned in..

Wow.

[Blueflame]

Now you're homering out of control.

No I'm not. I like Portis and thought he was a valuable asset to the team. I didn't and don't blame him for leaving Denver for more $$... in his line of work, one freak play can result in a career-ending injury so cashing in at the most opportune moment was nothing more than a business decision.

However... I don't rely on memory... Memorex says TD was an amazing runner. He had a field vision that can't be coached (a player has it or he doesn't). Opposing defenses knew that 1st and goal, they'd see TD four times if necessary... and most of the time they couldn't stop him. Portis, as talented as he is, has never been feared/respected by opposing defenses in the same way TD was.

[Dr. Broncenstein]

Wow.

12 starts, 1487 yards, 15 rushing TDs (12 over 20 yards), and Rookie of the year?

[Ballhawk]

<EMBED SRC="http://www.worldchamprec.com/BellTD2.mov" WIDTH=240 HEIGHT = 196 AUTOPLAY=true CONTROLLER=true LOOP=true PLUGINSPAGE=http://www.apple.com/quicktime/">

Hey Clinton, you weren't even the best running back TODAY, much less ever.

Bell on the cut just explodes by people! This is why we need him in our lineup, Shanny can run his safe plays all day long :)

[Dr. Broncenstein]

That was a madden-esqe juke on 4th down... a little right trigger, if you will....

[Bronco Yoda]

What made TD so great is what makes LT in Diego great now.... and thats VISION. as explosive and shifty as Portis is he'll never be the back TD was getting the tough 3-5 yards inside even when the D knew where you're going.

[elsid13]

Portis need to get over himself. My problem with Anderson is lack of speed, in last three games there been cuts he was trying to make but due to lack of burst couldn't. If made those cuts, safeties would been force to come up and opening up the game for Lelie.

[Atlas]

What's with the knock on TD? Portis was never anything close to the constant threat that TD was. TD got the big plays done and made the 3-8 yard runs on 1st and 2nd down. TD was super bowl MVP and was just yards away from the rushing title.

Davis was second in the league in rushing in 1996 and '97 and he won the league rushing title in '98 with 2,008 yards.

[OrangeShadow]

http://www.jsonline.com/packer/sbxxxii/image/sbxxxii/terrel125.jpg


^5

[DarkHorse30]

Terrell Davis was the best back ever in Denver! Portis can suck it! I'm so glad we made that trade.

True enough. Davis was a game-changer that completely delivered the goods...and the trophies. He was so dominant, Elway actually looked bored at times.

Portis is a clown....same as Chad Johnson....Randy Moss, etc.

[DarkHorse30]

Terrell Davis was the best back ever in Denver! Portis can suck it! I'm so glad we made that trade.

True enough. Davis was a game-changer that completely delivered the goods...and the trophies. He was so dominant, Elway actually looked bored at times.

Portis is a clown....same as Chad Johnson....Randy Moss, etc.

[DarkHorse]

CP seems much slower in a Redskins uni - not sure if that's because of the pounding he took last year or if it's the added weight that he bulked up to in order to be beaten in Joe Gibb's system this year but he looks a bit slower to me.

Still has quickness and change of direction ability as well as those sick jukes but his overal burst and speed seem to be lacking a bit. Could have beent he sloppy conditions but i've watched him play other games this year and last - something is amiss with him.

My cousin tells me that Bell doesn't look anything near as fast as Portis. Not sure what each ran the 40 in officially, and game speed needs to be taken into account, but I personally think Bell is every bit as fast as Portis. I don't think he's as quick in tight areas or has the agility that CP has but as far as speed goes - Bell has plenty.

[elsid13]

CP seems much slower in a Redskins uni - not sure if that's because of the pounding he took last year or if it's the added weight that he bulked up to in order to be beaten in Joe Gibb's system this year but he looks a bit slower to me.

Still has quickness and change of direction ability as well as those sick jukes but his overal burst and speed seem to be lacking a bit. Could have beent he sloppy conditions but i've watched him play other games this year and last - something is amiss with him.

My cousin tells me that Bell doesn't look anything near as fast as Portis. Not sure what each ran the 40 in officially, and game speed needs to be taken into account, but I personally think Bell is every bit as fast as Portis. I don't think he's as quick in tight areas or has the agility that CP has but as far as speed goes - Bell has plenty.


Portis lack if speed is result of the system. take a long time for the skins run plays to develop. Bell is plain faster then Portis.

[Garcia Bronco]

"That's why they didn't go into deep mourning when Terrell Davis, a Super Bowl MVP who should still be in his prime, suffered career-ending injuries."


Says you azzhole

[Garcia Bronco]

dude...defense used to line up 8-9 in the box and TD would still burn them....week in and out...the defense had one job....stop TD...and no one could it...except the Chargers.

[Phantom]

Ya, only the Redskins made mistakes and had 'bad' calls.
:yep:

Sounds like a 6th grade playground recap.

What about the 'phantom' defensive holding call, on 4th and 10 on their last drive? An incomplete pass and the D was walking off the field. The game was already won - by 8 points.

[dnvrbrncos]

Hey Clinton, you weren't even the best running back TODAY, much less ever.

Thanks for the clip. So when the reporter mentions "two missed tackles" is he referring to the two guys who got a finger tip on his jersey or what?

[gunns]

www.washingtonpost.com/

Makes light of the System Back tag. Bell vs Portis.

Wilbon disses Plummer, but other than that a good read. It also is raining on the parade of some of the Skins fan who've decided to celebrate their close loss.


By Michael Wilbon

Monday, October 10, 2005; Page E01

DENVER The Denver Broncos believe they can take just about anybody who is ambulatory and make him a franchise running back. That's why they didn't go into deep mourning when Terrell Davis, a Super Bowl MVP who should still be in his prime, suffered career-ending injuries. That's why they drafted Maurice Clarett in the third round when nobody else would touch him. That's why the Broncos, during Mike Shanahan's tenure in Denver, have had four 1,000-yard rushers drafted in the second round or later. And that is precisely why the Broncos traded Clinton Portis to the Washington Redskins last year.

Of course, Portis has never bought into the notion that he was easily replaceable in Denver, not after a pair of 1,500-yard seasons and 29 rushing touchdowns in 29 games. Portis told Colorado reporters during the middle of last week that not only was he not just some system flunky, but he was the best running back the Broncos ever had. Ever.

So it was no surprise the Denver fans booed Portis every time he touched the ball. It was no surprise his former teammates barked at him in the pileups. And it was no real surprise, bad a man as Portis is, that a guy wearing his old Broncos jersey outran him Sunday afternoon in the rain. A kid named Tatum Bell, the 41st pick in the draft a year ago, ran for two long touchdowns to beat the Redskins. You couldn't recognize Tatum Bell if he walked into your living room wearing a jersey that reads "Tatum Bell."

But there he was, laying the wood to the Redskins. Most of the Monday morning conversation will center on the safety that was negated because of the infamous "tuck rule" and the two-point conversion pass from Mark Brunell to an absurdly wide-open David Patten that would have tied the game and sent it into overtime but was tipped away by Denver linebacker Ian Gold. You could have fried an egg on Joe Gibbs's head, he was so hot about the safety that was taken away, a two-pointer in what would become a two-point game.

But it didn't have to come to that because the Redskins outplayed the Broncos Sunday. Actually, the Redskins were much better than Denver in some of the areas coaches care about most. Washington held the ball seven-plus minutes longer, and converted a better percentage of third downs (40 percent to 29). The Redskins' special teams, which can be a little shaky at times, produced a blocked punt. And, oh, the Redskins outgained Denver by nearly 200 yards. Okay, Brunell, who should have thrown for a million yards because he threw the ball 53 times, nevertheless passed for 322 yards to Jake Plummer's 92. That's right, Jake the Snake threw for a grand total of 92 yards -- at home -- against two substitute cornerbacks much of the day.

Two plays killed the Redskins, and I'm not talking about the safety or the missed two-point conversion.

Bell's fourth-and-inches run for a touchdown and his 55-yard touchdown run when the Broncos weren't even trying to score are the killer plays, the plays that make coaches sleep on sofas four nights a week. On Bell's fourth-and-inches touchdown run, the Redskins had him trapped for at least a one-yard loss. They clearly had the perfect defense called to stop him. "We knew what the play was," defensive boss Gregg Williams said. "We had guys calling out the play at the line."

So what happened? Bell ran through two Redskins tackles for not just the first down, but the touchdown.

The second Bell touchdown had an even more bizarre twist.

The Broncos weren't trying to score. Shanahan told Williams as much after the game. The Redskins had more players at the point of attack than Denver could block, so the Broncos switched plays at the last second to what coaches call a "safe run." Shanahan was trying to keep Bell away from a swarm of Redskins, away from a four-yard loss or a turnover in the rain. And in calling an intentionally conservative play on third and five to set up a punt and a field-position play, Bell wound up slipping down the sideline for a 55-yard touchdown.

So what happened? The Redskins missed two more tackles.

Coming into the game, the Redskins led the NFL in fewest yards after contact. And while such terms are always difficult if not impossible to define exactly, the point is the Redskins this season basically haven't missed tackles. "If you could have those two runs back," Williams said. "But you can't. Normally, we take those plays away. We cannot allow those long runs on defense. We've got to finish those tackles. We did so many things well that we thought we had to do to take away a very good running game. Those plays are going to be hard to stomach."

That's because those plays were the game. Please don't tell me Jake Plummer can beat a good defense, because he can't. The Jake Plummer show has been going on for years now, in Denver and in Arizona, and it's as much comedy as anything else when you consider the left-handed flips and behind-the-back tosses. You just knew when he was taking snaps in the shadow of his own goal line early in the third quarter that Plummer was one of his vintage screw-ups from blowing the game, and he nearly did, on cue. The tuck rule, which really is a pox on the NFL, saved him from a safety and his team from a loss.

But Shanahan must know that, too. And he always has a great running game if not a great runner. Portis knows that. "They brought Bell in to make plays," Portis said, "and he did that. Two key third-down runs [actually one third-down, one fourth-down] end up winning the game for them."

Portis played very, very well. Again. He rushed 20 times for 103 yards.

He threw a block on blitzing linebacker Al Wilson that was so perfect, Portis hurt himself. But he didn't score. And there were those stinging words in the morning paper, the Denver Post, from longtime scout and team executive Bobby Beathard, who said the Broncos were looking to get rid of Portis because he was "not a great worker or anything like that. They didn't feel like they were losing anything by getting rid of him."

So by sundown, Beathard looked pretty smart. The Broncos looked pretty smart, even though cornerback Champ Bailey was too hurt to play. Portis didn't score a touchdown (which really should start worrying the Redskins considering he always scored for Denver), and he was out-rushed by Bell who ran only 12 times for 127 yards and the two decisive scores.

But it's a long season, one that was never going to result in the Redskins going undefeated, one that never figured to include victories in both Denver and Kansas City. Portis left the locker room saying that there was a lot to think about on the long flight home, and not just missed safeties and two-point conversions but penalties and mistakes. It wasn't the kind of return to Denver that he had hoped for. Still, he and just about all his teammates can think about how they played well enough in one of the league's most difficult places to win. And for another week, at least until the results from Kansas City are in, once defeated certainly doesn't mean down.

Who says we didn't go into mourning over Davis? I sure did and every time he came back it was wonderful just to have to go through it again when he couldn't play again. But it's nice to know that Portis realizes who won that game for us yesterday.

[24champ]

Consider me on the Bell bandwagon, i have to say i thought this guy wasnt all that but boy im glad im wrong! Who is this "Clinton Portis"?

[epicSocialism4tw]

Davis was second in the league in rushing in 1996 and '97 and he won the league rushing title in '98 with 2,008 yards.

I think that Barry Sanders edged him out that season...I'll go check.

No...you're right :)

Barry missed some games and had 1491 yards.

[Garcia Bronco]

I think that Barry Sanders edged him out that season...I'll go check.

No...you're right :)

Barry missed some games and had 1491 yards.


One of those years TD was the leader in the last week with one game to play...Sunday might game with the Lions vs somebody...they just feed Sanders the ball all night...in what I think was a losing effort.

[Bang]

Question:
Would you want a guy who didn't think he was the best?
I wouldn't. I'd say he was a loser with no heart and I'd get rid of him.
Whether he IS the best or not is not relevent. A back must have ultimate confidence in himself. Same as any WR must believe he can beat any corner, and any corner must believe he can cover any receiver.
It's the nature of athletes. If you don't think you are the best, if you don't believe you can win at any time, then you have no business being on the field.

~Bang

[Northman]

Davis > Porpoise

[Beantown Bronco]

My favorite part of the article:

"Actually, the Redskins were much better than Denver in some of the areas coaches care about most. Washington held the ball seven-plus minutes longer, and converted a better percentage of third downs (40 percent to 29). The Redskins' special teams, which can be a little shaky at times, produced a blocked punt. And, oh, the Redskins outgained Denver by nearly 200 yards."

OK. Name one coach in the league that cares most about TOP, 3rd down %, and special teams play, compared to the amount their team scores? I have a feeling if you poll the coaches, 32 will say they care about scoring most.

I also find it convenient that he leaves out "penalties" and "turnover margin" when discussing the areas that coaches care most about....two other areas where Washington didn't come out on top.

[-Slap-]

One of those years TD was the leader in the last week with one game to play...Sunday might game with the Lions vs somebody...they just feed Sanders the ball all night...in what I think was a losing effort.
Couldn't have been Barry Sanders. No player has ever cared less about personal records. In 1989, the rushing title was his to claim and he sat out the final minutes of a blowout to hand the title to Christian Okoye. Blew everybody away and kind of ticked off his O linemen in the process.

[-Slap-]

Hell, if you want to get technical about it, he walked away from the career rushing record, too.

[epicSocialism4tw]

Couldn't have been Barry Sanders. No player has ever cared less about personal records. In 1989, the rushing title was his to claim and he sat out the final minutes of a blowout to hand the title to Christian Okoye. Blew everybody away and kind of ticked off his O linemen in the process.

Best RB ever. Smallest ego of any of the all-time greats.

[orangeatheist]

But it didn't have to come to that because the Redskins outplayed the Broncos Sunday. Actually, the Redskins were much better than Denver in some of the areas coaches care about most.

Sounds like the by-line from nearly every close game we lost the last couple of seasons, doesn't it?