Willie Parker
- RB
- ,
- 44
- 209 lbs
- 5' 10"
- 4
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Clinton Portis, the Redskins' top running back, saw limited action in Friday's 16-11 win over New York and returns to Washington with an ankle sprain. It's indicative of an offensive unit that has hobbled its way through the preseason schedule, revealing as many problems as it has strengths.
By the end of Friday's win, Portis limped along the sideline, a bum right ankle slowing his gait. Donovan McNabb's ankle kept him out of the game altogether. He wore street clothes and a protective sleeve on the lower half of his left leg.
We are unsure of the severity, although it sounds likely that Portis will be fine for week 1. We don't think Portis will be able to handle a full workload in Washington, but the opportunity is certainly there with Larry Johnson and Willie Parker both looking poor.
Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets' offense started slow and sputtered often.
Again.
Washington's Albert Haynesworth hasn't been happy with his situation, either. But it appeared the big defensive lineman was calling a bit of a truce with coach Mike Shanahan after the Redskins' 16-11 victory over Jets in a snoozer Friday night.
"I'm going over for dinner to his house, probably tonight," Haynesworth said. "We'll sit, have a cigar and talk. What I said last week is behind me. I don't even remember what I said."
Haynesworth, who missed numerous practices because of a failed conditioning test, a sore knee and then an illness, said Shanahan underplayed his medical condition.
Reports said Haynesworth was suffering from a muscle condition called rhabdomyolysis, but Shanahan told AOL Fanhouse last Sunday he was "not aware of that." Shanahan had given various reasons for Haynesworth's inability to practice, eventually attributing it to a headache.
Haynesworth complained about being out with the backups in the third quarter of Washington's 23-3 loss to Baltimore last week. He was on the field with the starters late in the opening quarter of this one.
"That's what they wanted to do this week, so I practiced a lot at end to get a feel for it," said Haynesworth, who entered the game with about 2 minutes left in the first quarter and finished with one tackle. "I still got a lot of work to do."
So do the Jets, whose late touchdown was only their second in three preseason games.
Far from the explosive offense many of the Jets predict they'll be, New York struggled until Sanchez connected with Dustin Keller for a 10-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Larry Johnson, competing with Clinton Portis and Willie Parker for a spot in the backfield for the Redskins (2-1), caught a screen pass from Richard Bartel and rumbled 15 yards for the winning score with 2:13 left.
Looking to rebound from a poor performance against Carolina last weekend, the Jets (1-2) were hurt by four turnovers and missed opportunities.
Sanchez finished 13 of 21 for 139 yards and an interception in just over three quarters for the Jets.
Rex Grossman started for the injured Donovan McNabb for Washington, and went 8 of 16 for 111 yards. Without McNabb, who missed the game with a sprained left ankle, the Redskins' first-team offense couldn't do much against the Jets' starters on defense, but Washington still led in the fourth quarter.
After Graham Gano's third field goal of the game gave Washington a 9-5 lead with 6:46 left in the third quarter, Sanchez and the offense were given one more chance to get something going.
This time, they delivered. Finally.
Sanchez completed three third-down passes - a situation the Jets were only 1 of 7 until that point. On third-and-9 from the 20, running back LaDanian Tomlinson caught a 9-yard pass for a first down to end the third quarter.
After Shonn Greene's 1-yard run, Sanchez found tight end Dustin Keller over the middle, and Keller stretched the ball over the goal line to give New York the 11-9 lead with 14:18 left - but Nick Folk clunked the extra point attempt off the left upright.
Sanchez got the Jets down to the Redskins 13 midway through the second quarter, but made a bad throw intended for Keller that was intercepted by DeAngelo Hall.
Washington took advantage, converting the turnover into points with Gano's 42-yard field goal with 5:10 left that made it 6-3.
Right after the 2-minute warning, Grossman couldn't handle a shotgun snap that tipped off his hands and bounced into the end zone. The Redskins quarterback kicked the ball out of the back of the end zone for a safety - making it a 6-5.
Jets LB Calvin Pace suffered a foot injury and Ryan said he will likely miss a few weeks. Larry Johnson had 42 yards on nine carries, while Willie Parker got the start and had eight rushes for 16 yards.
Determined to prove he is still among the NFL's elite, running back Clinton Portis has displayed a renewed commitment to the team since Coach Mike Shanahan arrived in Ashburn. Portis's teammates have noticed.
"He's a totally different player as far as practicing and preparing for practice," outside linebacker Lorenzo Alexander said. "I think a lot of that has to do with bringing in guys like Larry Johnson and Willie Parker, who can perform as well.
Be advised.....you have been warned. There are plenty are articles each season on a player being "reborn." In most cases, they end producing the same end result.
Marshall Faulk rushed for 1,319 yards and caught 86 passes in 1998.
Edgerrin James followed that the next two years in Indianapolis by averaging 1,631 yards on the ground and scoring a total of 35 touchdowns.
Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians had an up-close look at both of those running backs during his brief time on the Colts' coaching staff a decade ago. He gets flashbacks when he sees Rashard Mendenhall.
"He is a good combination of both those guys," Arians said. "He has that kind of skill set. There is no doubt he can do what those two did."
It's an understatement that the Steelers have high hopes for Mendenhall in his third year. Despite his rookie year being limited to 19 carries and his second year marred with a benching because of a lack of attention to detail, Mendenhall is the player the Steelers are relying on in the running game.
They decided not to re-sign Willie Parker in the offseason and didn't bring in veteran running backs to compete with Mendenhall.
There was a reason for that.
The Steelers expect Mendenhall to do everything this year, meaning he will rarely come off the field.
"My goal is staying out there until I can't," Mendenhall said. "That's my role."
In this era of the running back by committee, the Steelers are looking in a different direction when it comes to Mendenhall.
"He is such an explosive player that you just don't take those guys off the field," Arians said.
Arians plans to use Mendenhall much more than the 242 carries and 1,108 yards he totaled last year. He expects to utilize Mendenhall more out of the backfield as a receiver as well. Mendenhall caught 25 passes a season ago and found the end zone eight times.
Mendenhall is expected to be the third-down back, the goal-line back and possibly the short-yardage guy, too.
Mendenhall is a top ten back in both our regular rankings and our PPR rankings, and in some drafts, he might not be taken in the first round (his current ADP is 13). If you are drafting late in the first round, he's a good guy to get. If you can take him in the second round, he will offer exceptional value.
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