In Denver, where Portis played for two seasons before being traded to Washington in 2004, he often swiped like a credit card through the line. With the Redskins, he has learned to wait until blocks fall into place, like tumblers in a lock, before slashing free on cutback runs.
"Last year, I got to the point where I was trying to do it on my own," Portis said. "Trying to make a big play instead of taking the 4 and 5 yards. This year, we keep pounding, and when the big play comes, it comes."
Mostly, though, Portis has been his ebullient self. Gibbs has always tolerated characters. It was Riggins who once told Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor at a Washington dinner, "Come on Sandy, baby, loosen up."
Now it is Portis who has taken to wearing extravagant costumes to his weekly news conference. On Thursday, he appeared with a prosthetic beer gut, short shorts and inflatable headphones as his alter ego, coach Janky Spanky. There was one way to corral Portis, Spanky said. Use 13 defenders instead of 11, "and Portis is stopped."
Through his alter ego, Portis admitted one weakness -- a distaste for practice. If it were up to Portis, Gibbs said, "We'd be out here in underwear."
Portis eagerly agreed, scribbling "No Contact" on a clipboard.
"Most men ain't going to touch each other in underwear," he said.
RSS