Running back Clinton Portis spoke at length today about a variety of topics, from his changed ways to how much he likes the atmosphere around the team. He also admits he wondered if last year was his final one with Washington. As for Riggins’ record? He talks about that too.
On being more low-key since camp opened: “I don’t mind. For me it was all negative attention. Everyone complained about me not participating in the preseason, it took the attention away from me and allowed me to come out and work and get myself right.”
On the first game: “I have to go out and play my game. It’s having something to prove, I feel good. I know what I’m capable of doing and I think the world knows what I’m capable of doing. I have to go out and find a way to lead this team and lead us to victory.”
On if he feels reborn because of the weight loss and reuniting with Shanahan: “I actually feel good about it. It’s just exciting to have the opportunity to be able to go fly around and look forward to the big play again and to have the opportunity not to have to worry about taking a pounding. This really isn’t a pounding offense. I’m looking forward to the excitement of being fresh. Every week we go into a game we don’t hit out here, we fly around and we practice.”
On if he feels fresher: “Oh yeah. I was telling someone the other day I feel younger at this point than I did in a long time. Usually coming out of preseason you’re beat up, two a days and your body tired. But coming into this week I think our whole team feels fresh and are just flying around.”
On if he’s motivated by people asking him how much he has left: “I realize you can’t satisfy people. There’s no need to continue to try. No matter what you do if I talk to the media the headlines going I bashed someone I shouldn’t have bashed. If I don’t talk to the media I’m a jerk for not speaking. You can’t satisfy people. For myself I’m happy with what I’ve done over my career. My teammates are happy with the things I do and what I bring to the game. That’s all that matters. For people to pass judgment and for people to put out the topic of conversation when it’s all said and done I think I’m part of elite company and I’m cool with that.”
On if this is a chance to reaffirm who he is: “We’ve been playing Dallas for seven years. It’s not our first time playing Dallas and hopefully it’s not my last. It’s a great opportunity. You’re coming out, season opener against the Dallas Cowboys, one of the most loved franchises around. So having this opportunity to be center stage it would be a great time to show people I’m still here. You all want me to be forgotten about, I’m still here.”
On teammates saying he’s more engaged this year: “I think I always had the same role it was just divided belief I think within the locker room. Now it’s more open to being a vocal leader, to following whatever they ask of me that’s what I do compared to protesting and, ‘Oh man this ain’t right or let’s get out of pads. I never did anything bad. I always asked to be out of pads. Now I don’t have to ask. Coach Shanahan keeps you out of pads. Now you see why I ask to be out of pads. I try to do whatever they ask me to do.”
On if it’s a different culture: “It is. It’s like a family. In previous years past everyone went home. When people left from here they went home and it was like I’ll see you tomorrow at work. Now you can catch numerous groups of guys out, five or six guys out together having dinner, hanging around, shooting pool, bowling or doing something. A team vibe all of a sudden. Everyone bought into, ‘we’re tired of losing, lets go out and do something fun.’ A guy is like we need to do this tonight and everyone’s on board compared to, I suggest this and oh man I’m not going there. Everyone is buying in and you’ve got the family thing going and it’s a great feeling.”
On if he wondered that he would return here: “Did I question I would be back with the Redskins? Yes. Who knows, I can’t predict what’s going to happen. I know as far as this town it’s a bittersweet relationship. On Sundays they love me, on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday when the headlines come out there’s a lot of hatred. You get in that bittersweet relationship and it’s like wanting to start over, wanting to start new. It was a new regime coming in. Lucky for me it was coach Shanahan. Having coach Shanahan come here and Bruce Allen and knowing OK, now we’re legit, like we really got a chance. Things are going to change, all of a sudden buying in and all of a sudden wanting to be a leader of the team and understanding what was asked of me. It’s crazy when you asked to lead…. In previous years I didn’t want to lead. I don’t feel like there was nothing there to lead. Compared to now everyone in that locker room wants to be a captain. It’s a great feeling.”
On wanting to be a captain: “I do want to be a captain. But we have great captains. If you look at our captains, Donovan and Fletch, they’re proven leaders. When you have guys like that who are standup guys you always want to be in that elite company.”
On how he feels about the OL and the blocking scheme: “I feel great about it. I know the scheme is set up to not ask them to do a lot. They know the game plan and what they have to do. The scheme alone will put us at an advantage. It will be hit or miss. If we focus on the offensive side of the ball or we focus on the defensive side of the ball it will be hard for anyone to beat us.”
On getting used to the new helmet: “It’s a comfortable helmet. I don’t know if it will prevent concussions or anything else. I’m not going to go out and play cautious. I will throw my body around like I’ve been doing.”
On the chance to make a statement after going winless in the division last year: “It’s good because we want to win the division. Of course you don’t want to get behind the eight ball coming in game one. Most people can lose the first game and you got all season. But this is a division game and we want to win the division so we need to find a way to win this game and just to get off to being 1-0 and beating the Dallas Cowboys and we’re starting out our season positive.”
On if missing time because of the concussion last year helps him now: “That was a blessing. That gave me the opportunity to go out and realize how much being on this field really meant to you, how much being around your teammates meant, not feeling like the missing link. I was gone after week 8 and I still got the finger pointed at me like I was the problem the last eight weeks of the season. So it gave me a chance to go out and take a look in the mirror and realize my faults and the things I was doing wrong and what I needed to do to come back and be a part of an organization to try and lead an organization and that’s what I did.”
On what he felt he had done wrong: “Honestly I don’t feel like I was doing nothing wrong but telling the truth. But I got to a point where I could be a better teammate, I could hang around. What’s the rush for me to get to work and get out of work? Do the things everyone else do. Everyone else comes out and works out and they get it done and after they play the game so why can’t ? I made it my goal this preseason to make sure I was never the topic of conversation or headlines about missing practice. I was dedicated to getting myself right to push through all the aches and pains and try to get back as soon as possible instead of feeling like I had to be the one fresh. My teammates knew I had an ankle, I had a hip flexor and I still came out and pushed so I fought through it, I came into treatment at 6:30 like everyone else. I just did the things they asked me to do.”
On if he’s talked to Albert about his evolution: “I think Albert knows. … I think the media really make this a bigger issue and draw it out longer than it is. If Albert just got the opportunity to come here and realize, the best thing he can do is come in the locker room and realize guys still believe in him and still look forward to him playing with us and still feel as if he can help this team. We have to let him know he can help this team. It’s when he away and you get those headlines, ‘Oh he disgruntled, he don’t want to do this.’ I think in this locker room the guys believe in Albert and know he can help this team. Everyone is trying to get him to buy in and be a part of something special.”
On if there are tweaks or changes in the run game since his time in Denver: “There a couple tweaks and changes. But it’s a proven offense. It’s 50-50, it’s run or pass. In the NFL that’s all you can do. It’s to counteract. It’s having plays that kind of act off each other. It looks like run all the way till you see the quarterback throw the ball 60 yards downfield. It will be often that the camera will follow the wrong person thinking they have the ball and hopefully the defense is doing the same thing.”
On if milestones such as breaking John Riggins’ record are important to him: “I don’t really pay attention to it. Every time I look forward to doing something, something negative happens. Now I’ll just go out and play and when I pass those milestones if you decide to write about them or alert the world that it happened, cool. But if not I have to go out and continue to play and look forward to years to come… I think the milestones will matter the most when its all said and done and when I walk away from football and I actually get a chance to look back and say, wow I did that.”
