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Volume CXXXIII, Number 16 |
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NFL off season: Joe Gibbs shakes things up for the better in Washington
NICK LAROCQUE
STAFF WRITER
Joe Gibbs has wasted no time shaking things up in Washington. Last week, the Redskins, signed veteran quarterback Mark Brunell to a seven-year contract in a move that Gibbs advocated strongly. This move spurred much surprise from the Washington faithful, and much dismay from Patrick Ramsey, who the Redskins drafted in the first round of 2001, and who had been dubbed Washington's quarterback of the future.
But who can question Gibbs, a Hall of Famer who is considered by many to be one of the best coaches in NFL history? You can't question three Super Bowls in 12 years, especially when all three came with a different quarterback. You can't question seven playoff appearances in 12 years. You can't question four division titles in 12 years. You can't question a .683 winning percentage (third best of all time). More importantly, you can't question the glory that Joe Gibbs brought to the Washington Redskins franchise.
What you can question is just about everything the Redskins have done since Gibbs left the organization in 1992.
This week saw the Redskins looking to make another drastic change to their roster, as they have been shopping Champ Bailey, another former first-round pick. The Skins have received offers from the New York Jets and Seattle Seahawks.
However, the offer that seems most likely, and the offer that makes the most sense for the Redskins, has come from the Denver Broncos, who have offered Clinton Portis, an explosive 22-year-old running back. This is the trade that has gotten the most press all week long, and I have a feeling it is the trade that Joe Gibbs wants.
The great Redskins teams that Gibbs coached in the 80s all made their living off of a powerful running attack. During the prime of Gibbs's career, that power back was the great John Riggins, who is now in the Hall of Fame. The Joe Gibbs offense cannot flourish without a good offensive line and a powerful back.
Needless to say, the current running back situation in Washington is unacceptable. The running back tandem of Trung Candidate and Ladell Betts proved, for the most part, to be ineffective in 2003. This is a situation that the Redskins know they must remedy this off-season. By acquiring Portis, the Redskins would gain what many consider to be the best young power back in the league.
Portis is the total package. He has that rare combination of speed and power that makes most general managers drool. Since being drafted 51st overall by Denver in 2002, Portis has done nothing but turn heads. The numbers that he has put up over his first two seasons match up well with any back in NFL history. Portis was named rookie of the year in 2002, after a season that saw him rush for 1,508 yards and 15 TDs.
After only two seasons, he has gained 3,099 yards, and is averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Portis is averaging a whopping 106.9 yards per game. If he is able to continue this trend through enough games to qualify, that number would put him ahead of the great Jim Brown. This is the kind of guy that Gibbs can get excited about.
On the prospective trade of Bailey for Portis, Bowdoin's resident Redskins fanatic, James E. Lyons, offered these thoughts: "Portis for Bailey is money, baby...pure money! In exchange for one of the feature cornerbacks in the league, the Skins get a Jim Brown reincarnation! What's not to love about this deal?"
What indeed.
There are always skeptics when a deal of this magnitude is on the table. Perhaps in this case, their skepticism is not unfounded. Portis has achieved his NFL success running the ball for a team that seems to be able to plug in any back and have success. The Denver offensive line helped Olandis Gary rush for over 1100 yards in 1999. He had 384 yards for Detroit this year.
In 2000, Mike Anderson rushed for 1487 yards and 15 touchdowns on his way to becoming the NFL rookie of the year. So, the skeptic would say, the success that Portis has had in his first two years with Denver does not guarantee that he will produce the same results elsewhere. Also, Portis has suffered various mild injuries over the past two years, the most serious of which caused him to miss three games last season.
However, the best thing for the Redskins to do in this situation is to ignore what the skeptics say and make this deal. You only need to see Portis run the ball a few times to see that he is something special. He's fast, he's explosive, he's tough, he threatens to take it the distance every time he gets the ball, and he is only 22 years old.
If I am Joe Gibbs, this is the guy I want to run power with. If I am Joe Gibbs, I want to see this guy wearing burgundy in the worst way. The Redskins will make this deal, and it will pay dividends for a long time to come.
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