Clinton Portis Gets Real

THAT'S ONE more thing Portis learned from the loss of Taylor: Get the most out of today, because you can never count on tomorrow. As the sky darkened around him, Portis rose from his seat on the balcony, opened the sliding glass door and walked inside to find a few more visitors, including Rosenhaus. The light in the living room was low but for the glow of the television set and a large aquarium.

On the TV, a sportscaster announced that the Redskins had just signed DeAngelo Hall to shore up a secondary once dominated by Taylor. Moments later the announcer said Broncos back Ryan Torain had sustained a serious knee injury, the latest of five Denver runners to go down this year. Rosenhaus shouted to Portis across the room, "They still haven't been able to replace you."

As Portis knows, it isn't easy to replace the good ones.