Don’t overreact or read too much into it. The Washington Post provides the details and comments from each.
According to Zorn, Portis then checked himself back in without conveying that information to the coach, leading to confusion in Zorn’s play-calling. After that drive ended and Detroit took over, cameras showed Zorn animatedly reprimanding Portis on the sidelines.
“I’m calling the game based on who’s in there, right?” Zorn said later. “And when he went in there, he just misunderstood the situation, and we had a sweet exchange of words about when to go in.”
“He was excited, and I was excited, so when two grown men get excited and two grown men [are] eager, you know, you’ll have that miscommunication,” Portis said. “I never want somebody to question or feel like I wasn’t there. I never want my teammates to feel like I wasn’t there, I never want my coaches to feel like I wasn’t there.
“Every Sunday I’m gonna show up. I mean, I’m gonna give all I’ve got. So if there’s any miscommunication about why I’m not somewhere and you think I’m supposed to be there, or why something didn’t happen, come ask me. You never point the finger and not know. It’s just like you’re innocent until proven guilty. So it was really a miscommunication.”
For some additional comments from both Portis and Zorn, among others,check out the blog post from Dan Steinberg at DC Sports Bog.
Here is the deal from my perspective. Even 8 games into the regular season, Jim Zorn is still making his stamp on the Redskins as a franchise, his franchise, from the sideline perspective. There is no secret that RB Clinton Portis had a ton of freedom, perhaps too much so, under HC Joe Gibbs, calling his own substitutions, even deciding when and if to practice. In essence, Portis had a great gig as the star of the franchise.
Times aren’t the same, not under HC Jim Zorn. Zorn installed the west coast offense, a new offensive philosophy, in which he surrendered very little control. Zorn calls the offensive plays, is intricately involved in detail for detail, oh, and one of those details happens to be personnel on the field. Makes sense, considering Zorn calls plays based on the personnel on the field.
Portis is the NFL’s leading rusher, having his finest season as a Redskin and perhaps will break the single season rushing record for the franchise, he is well on his way. He is also a leader and a character that is needed on the field and in the locker room. Right now, Clinton Portis is the best player on this offense and playing at pro bowl level. So, no, it is not surprising that Portis wants to be on the field. It is not surprising, given the way he played under Gibbs, that he would call when he is on the field.
What Portis learned is that Jim Zorn is an emotional guy that has an intricate plan in place for each game and he gets emotional and upset when that plan steers off course. Zorn is NOT Gibbs. Their not even close. Coaching wise, personality wise, planning wise, and the way Zorn handles personnel, from top to bottom, Zorn is not like his predecessor. After 4 years under a calm, more laid back Joe Gibbs, the Redskins are still adjusting tot he highly energized, emotional, controlling Zorn, and the thing each of them needs to understand, is that Zorn is the man, Zorn is in charge, and Zorn has this franchise sitting at 6-2. Clinton learned a little bit about Mr. Zorn yesterday, and that is that.
So you ask, does this damage a relationship between player and coach? No. What it did was clarify roles. That’s it.
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