Clinton Portis returned to being, well, Clinton Portis. And that was good news for those scribbling in notepads or recording his words.
After a minute or so of serious questions about his knee — it’s fine, by the way — Portis segued into a discussion of the heat. And how it reminded him of his roots. In Angola.
“I thought I was from Mississippi and South Florida and checked my records and it’s Africa,” he said.
OK.
Jokes aside, the Redskins would be more than happy to see Portis being Portis on the field come Sunday against Detroit. Considering Santana Moss didn’t practice again and considering how explosive Detroit’s offense can be, the Redskins need a counterpunch. One way to slow Detroit’s hot passing attack is by controlling the ball. Portis says he’s ready for more work after nursing a grade one sprain of his right knee during the bye week. He’s practiced all week and pronounced himself fit for Sunday.
Meanwhile, Moss still hasn’t practiced and said he’ll try to test himself more today by running routes and cutting. Coach Joe Gibbs labeled today a “drop-dead” day for Moss. If he can’t work today, then he won’t play. James Thrash would start in his place.
“I still have to push it a little more,” Moss said. “Until I really, really get out there and try to make a hard plant on a route at full speed, [that’s when] I’ll know more.”
As for Portis, he’s been surprised regarding the drama surrounding his knee over the past week, much of it stemming from Gibbs and his admitted miscommunication surrounding the injury.
“I don’t know, man, sometimes they’re for you and sometimes they’re against you,” Portis said of the media. “Now it’s, ‘What’s wrong with Portis? Is Portis gonna play?’ A couple months ago it was, ‘Get rid of Portis.’ I’m glad that it’s turned back. Istill don’t like you all.”
Portis has averaged 16 carries in the first three games and 4.7 yards a pop. But his longest run is 19 yards. He knows an offense averaging 17 points per game needs to do more.
“We have to put up more than that if we’re going to beat anybody,” he said. “Hopefully our defense can contain them and we don’t have to put up a lot of points. We want to do it so we know we can. It will be hard to win scoring 14 to 17 week in, week out. This is a great time to start.”
