Coming out of the bye week the biggest question around town has been “What’s up with Clinton Portis’ knee?” Before the team took six days off, Coach Joe Gibbs came out with a list of the walking wounded; he gave the players name and the body part that needed healing. At no time during this presentation did Gibbs mention Portis or his knee. Once the Washington Redskins returned to practice this past Monday, Portis was held out and Gibbs said he was dealing with a sore knee that started bothering him after the Giants game and linked it to the on-going knee tendonitis that was a known issue.
On Tuesday Gibbs revealed that the injury Portis is now dealing with is in a different part of his knee and was not related to the tendonitis. Director of Sports Medicine Bubba Tyer clarified Clinton’s injury, saying “it’s a Grade 1 sprain” (the least serious of sprains), suffered in the first quarter of the Giants game. He went on to say he hadn’t talked to Gibbs to clarify the injury before Gibbs spoke to reporters, which lead to the confusion. That should have been the end of it, but Tuesday on the “The John Thompson Show,” Portis said he was injured in the second quarter – Jason Campbell also has a paid gig with the same station and earlier in the day he said the injury happened in the fourth quarter – and gave the non-story new life, plummeting the city into “Knee Gate.” On Wednesday, Portis returned to practice, but was limited. He took a bigger load during practice on Thursday. From the start, Gibbs has said he expects Portis to be ready to go on Sunday.
The weird thing about this story is the fact that the “talking heads” that are trying to turn this into a cover up by hinting the Redskins aren’t reporting injuries to the media, are the same guys that were running up to Portis during training camp to get updates as to what percentage his knee was at (to determine if he would play or not). The main complaint from the airwaves has been they should have known earlier. They say Gibbs should have told them on Monday, even though the League says injury reports aren’t due until the Friday before the game. It was a bye week so there wasn’t a report to the league last week. Why wasn’t Portis asked during his paid appearance on “The JT Show” the Tuesday after the game? They totally skated over the fact that during the same interview with Clinton, he stated that if they had practiced during the bye week, he would have been able to do so.
On the other hand, had Clinton Portis and his knee even been hinted at when Coach Gibbs read off that list last week, it could have explained why Portis wasn’t in the game during that last offensive drive. Of course, then, the airwaves would have been full of “The Sky is Falling” slant on a level that hadn’t been heard on talk radio in at least 21 days.
By the Numbers:
— 1. The Redskins’ Special Teams ranks number one in the NFC in average drive start on kickoff returns.
— 2. Defensive End Andre Carter and Linebacker Rocky McIntosh are tied for the team lead in sacks with two each.
— 3. Punter Derrick Frost is ranked number three in the NFC with a 40.5 net average.
— 4. The Redskins rushing attack is ranked number four in the NFC and is the only team in the top ten that hasn’t played four games.
— 5. With Lloyd and Moss both banged up, the Redskins should have five active receivers on the roster for game day for the first time this season.
Up Next:
The Detroit Lions come into FedEx Field on Sunday, Oct. 7 at 3-1. Kickoff is 1 p.m. For those not in the area you can follow the game online. The Lions defeated the Chicago Bears 37-27 last Sunday, scoring 34 points in the fourth quarter, setting an NFL record. The Lions are led by Quarterback Jon Kitna (105.6 QB rating, 1227 yards, 8 Touchdowns, and 4 Interceptions) and Middle Linebacker Ernie Simms (47 Tackles, 32 Solo/15 Assists and 1 Interception). The Detroit Lions are ranked fourth in points scored with 114 points but the defense is second in points allowed, giving up 129 points.
Complete Tale of the Tapes:
Total Offense: Washington is ranked 15th with 332.3 yards per game and Detroit ranks 4th with 387.2 ypg.
Rushing Offense: Washington is ranked 10th with 134.2 yards per game and Detroit ranks 31st with 74.5 ypg.
Passing Offense: Washington is ranked 21st with 198 yards per game and Detroit ranks 1st with 312.8 ypg.
Total Defense: Washington is ranked 13th giving up 309.3 yards per game and Detroit ranks 29th with 381.8 ypg.
Rushing Defense: Washington is ranked 9th giving up 92 yards per game and Detroit ranks 17th with 114.2 ypg.
Passing Defense: Washington is ranked 13th giving up 217.3 yards per game and Detroit ranks 30th with 267.5 ypg.
Injury Report:
Probable:
DE Phillip Daniels (Hamstring)
Daniels is also dealing with a sore foot and a bruised back, but was able to practice this week
WR Brandon Lloyd (Shin)
Lloyd missed part of Wednesday’s practice after being kicked in the shin, and wasn’t at Thursday’s practice
RB Clinton Portis (Knee)
Portis (knee) took part in Wednesday’s practice on a limited basis, and took on a bigger workload on Thursday
Questionable:
WR Santana Moss (Groin)
Moss tried running on Wednesday but had to stop his workout partway through. He was working on the sidelines during Thursday’s practice
CB Fred Smoot (Hamstring)
Smoot was limited this week in practice but expects to play.
Out:
RG Randy Thomas (torn triceps muscle)
Thomas underwent successful surgery, but will be out at least six more weeks
Injured Reserves:
FB Broughton, Nehemiah (Knee)
TE Ecker, Tyler (Groin)
WR Espy, Mike (Knee)
WR Harris, Steven (Knee)
WR McAddley, Jason (Hamstring)
OL Tucker, Ross (Neck)
OT Jansen, Jon (Ankle)
Edit: This blog was archived in May of 2016 from our original articles database.It was originally posted by Bernie Marshall