Nothing uglier than watching a premiere athlete start to fade. A guy like Portis is used to being able to get on the field and perform and wave a finger at his critics. Now, with the number of carries he has logged and breakdown of his body over time, he is no longer capable of willing himself to such performances.
But the ego is the last thing to go. While he may no longer be physically what he once was, in his own mind he IS.
And that is a problem for the coaching staff and ultimately for the team.
Notice that when Portis was acting as a 'shadow' GM when Gibbs was here and telling everyone who the team should draft or trade at WR, OL, DL, and the secondary not once did he endorse the team bringing in a change of pace back.
Portis liked the fact Betts deferred to him and allowed CP to regulate how much each of them played on Sundays. Betts never bucked for additional playing time and Portis no doubt was grateful for not being pushed when he wasn't performing that well at times.
A responsible organization, however, would have drafted runners to work in as the next generation if Betts and Cartwright didn't look like they had the stones to stake a claim to the job.
Now, Betts is on the field and productive. But, he isn't going to fight to stay on the field when CP is ready to come back. And CP knows that.
The Redskins need to move forward and remove the label of 'sacred cow' from several of the veterans that have gone out to dinner with Snyder at Olives.