Clinton Portis

DESPITE HOW they've looked the past few weeks, the Redskins are not the Cleveland Browns. They are capable of derailing the Eagles' late playoff push, which would really make for a sour Christmas week around here. Washington will need some help from the Birds to do that, though. As dangerous as Clinton Portis and a solid secondary can be, back on Oct. 5, I thought the 'Skins were the better team along both lines of scrimmage. I'll be surprised if that remains the case on Sunday. Some Birds fans seem to be worried about the weather, which looks cold and maybe rainy.

Denver Pro Bowl running back Clinton Portis said a trade to Washington would be "a great opportunity," though he's still not sure the deal will happen. The Redskins and Broncos have agreed in principle to a trade that would send Portis to Washington in exchange for Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey. The Redskins would also throw in a second-round draft pick to get the third-year running back, who rushed for 1,591 yards last season. "I don't know what's going on," Portis said yesterday at a charity event held by Indianapolis running back, and former University of Miami standout, Edgerrin James.

Writer Winner Score David Aldridge Eagles 37-10 Washington's defense will be stout for two-plus quarters but will ultimately wear down - as the Eagles' tight ends cash in. Jim Johnson's crew is good for another return for a score this week. Bob Brookover Eagles 20-17 With Patrick Ramsey back in at quarterback and a tough defense that doesn't give up a lot of points, the Redskins become a potentially dangerous opponent. Bob Ford Eagles 31-10 Jimmie Johnson is going to blitz all day, but he's not going to catch Kurt Busch.

Clinton Portis didn't remain the NFL's richest running back for long. He's about to be overtaken by San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson. Tomlinson said yesterday that he had agreed in principle to a deal that will eclipse the eight-year, $50.5 million contract Portis signed with the Washington Redskins in the off-season. In his three years in the NFL, the Chargers star has rushed for 4,564 yards and 37 touchdowns. Tomlinson, the fifth player in NFL history to rush for more than 200 yards in four games, last year became the first to rush for 1,000 yards and catch 100 passes.

Each week, Daily News football writer Paul Domowitch will tell you the things he will be keeping his eyes on during that week's game. Here is how things panned out yesterday: 1. Red-zone success: An early-season problem had been rearing its ugly head again. The Eagles were just 2-for-7 in the red zone vs. Cleveland and 0-for-3 the week before vs. the Giants. Yesterday, there simply weren't many chances as the Eagles went 1-for-1 in red-zone efficiency and failed to score a touchdown.

What a difference a year makes. In 2006, running backs Edgerrin James, Clinton Portis and Carnell Williams were top 10 selections in the majority of fantasy drafts. Each was perceived as a can't-miss option, with Williams being the darling choice after his strong rookie season. But not much went according to plan. James struggled in Arizona and wound up with his worst yards-per-carry average behind a shaky offensive line. Portis suffered a broken hand against the Eagles in Week 10 that shut him down for the year, and Williams managed just 798 yards rushing for the Bucs.

It's easy to focus on talkative rookie coach Jim Zorn, whose West Coast offense surprisingly comes with a heavy dose of smashmouth. Or on Clinton Portis, who had a 175-yard game and is running better than ever. Or on Santana Moss, whose three spin moves essentially produced two touchdowns. Or on the fact that two straight games have hinged on long field-goal attempts in the final seconds. But how about some props for the Washington Redskins' defense? With several big plays, the Redskins shut down the visiting Cleveland Browns yesterday, 14-11, throttling a team that looked unstoppable against the world champion Giants only a week earlier.

The Denver Broncos are discussing a trade that would send running back Clinton Portis to Washington for cornerback Champ Bailey, a swap of two Pro Bowlers upset with their contracts, a source said yesterday. In giving up Portis for Bailey, Denver also would receive Washington's second-round selection in the April draft, the NFL source told the Associated Press. The deal would make sense because the Redskins went last season without an every-down running back, a must in the offensive system favored by new coach Joe Gibbs.

ASHBURN, Va. - Redskins running back Clinton Portis has missed more than a month with a groin injury suffered against the Eagles on Oct. 3, and whether he can play on Monday night is a fairly important bit of business. Nevertheless, the really big news apparently is what Portis was wearing on his head yesterday in the Redskins' locker room. That is, he was wearing a Phillies cap beneath a red hoodie. "I just felt like wearing red today," Portis said. "It didn't have anything to do with the Phillies.

WE WOULD OFFER Rex Grossman the very sound advice of shutting his yap and going back to his day job. Except, he isn't very good at his day job. Grossman is the starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins. If that isn't shocking enough, and it should be, he stunningly was talking some smack about his team winning the NFC East this year. Wouldn't/couldn't make it up. "We don't need people saying we're the best right now, but when it's all said and done, I really feel like this team's gonna win the East," Grossman said in an interview with the Comcast SportsNet branch in Washington.

Lucy puts the ball down and Charlie Brown works himself into a frenzy preparing to kick it. That's sort of the position fantasy owners find themselves in when trying to figure out whether to play up one of Mike Shanahan's running backs. The minute the Redskins' coach tees up Tim Hightower, Ryan Torain comes along. The minute Torain looks like the starter, Roy Helu is going nuts. After Helu recorded 146 total yards in Week 9, he had six carries and Torain had 10. And that's just this season.

WE WOULD OFFER Rex Grossman the very sound advice of shutting his yap and going back to his day job. Except, he isn't very good at his day job. Grossman is the starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins. If that isn't shocking enough, and it should be, he stunningly was talking some smack about his team winning the NFC East this year. Wouldn't/couldn't make it up. "We don't need people saying we're the best right now, but when it's all said and done, I really feel like this team's gonna win the East," Grossman said in an interview with the Comcast SportsNet branch in Washington.

LANDOVER, Md. - As their improbable cash cow hugged and mugged and prepared to play, his handlers beamed in the bowels of his new, suddenly more permanent home. Fletcher Smith, Donovan McNabb's agent who negotiated McNabb's millions as an Eagle then steered McNabb's offseason trade to the Redskins, confirmed the terms of the contract extension McNabb signed yesterday: 5 years, $78 million, $40 million guaranteed. "That's accurate," Smith said near the mouth of the Redskins' tunnel.

LANDOVER, Md. - Thanks to Michael Vick and the Eagles' high-flying offense, Sean McDermott's defense never really got an opportunity to show the Redskins how much their run defense has improved in the 5 weeks since Washington's 17-12 Week 4 win at the Linc. You may recall that the Redskins rushed for 169 yards in that game. Ran the ball on nine of their first 11 offensive plays and scored two quick touchdowns, including an impressive 12-yard scoring run by Ryan Torain, who played the role of an 18-wheeler to Quintin Mikell's Volkswagen Beetle.

ASHBURN, Va. - Redskins running back Clinton Portis has missed more than a month with a groin injury suffered against the Eagles on Oct. 3, and whether he can play on Monday night is a fairly important bit of business. Nevertheless, the really big news apparently is what Portis was wearing on his head yesterday in the Redskins' locker room. That is, he was wearing a Phillies cap beneath a red hoodie. "I just felt like wearing red today," Portis said. "It didn't have anything to do with the Phillies.

You hold a team to 17 points it's supposed to be a recipe for victory. You hold a quarterback to eight completions you're usually going to walk away a winner. Usually, but not yesterday. The Eagles defense played three pretty good quarters of football and one not so good one against the Redskins. That one not so good one was enough to help dig their grave in an ugly, 17-12 loss. After giving up just seven first-quarter points in their first three games, the Eagles gave up touchdowns to the Redskins on each of their first two possessions.

Going by the statistics, the Eagles should beat the Redskins in a rout. The Eagles' strengths are far greater than the Redskins' strengths, and the Eagles' weaknesses are not as glaring as those of the Redskins. But, with Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb playing for revenge and pride, and Eagles quarterback Michael Vick due to come back to earth, all bets could be off. Here is a look at the teams:   Eagles' strengths It's hard to find a weakness in any part of the Eagles' offense.

Recent history: The Eagles won both games last season, but the Redskins lead the series, 78-68-6. OFFENSE Eagles 367.7 yards per game (9th) Redskins 340.0 yards per game (13th) Quarterback Eagles While Mike Vick remains a lethal runner, he has made giant strides as a passer. He's improved his throwing mechanics and is keeping his eyes downfield rather than looking for the first excuse to run. He's second in the league in passer rating (110.2) and third-down passing (122.

ANDY REID IS confident that Kevin Kolb is ready to be a real good NFL quarterback, and fantasy football players are buying it. The Sporting News leagues have Kolb being selected somewhere around pick No. 68, which puts him right between the eighth and 12th quarterback taken. Kolb's average draft position is higher than Carson Palmer, Eli Manning, Brett Favre and Matt Ryan. Not bad for a kid who is coming into the season having made only two starts. "I'm excited about where I got him in the draft," said Minnesota Twins first baseman/outfielder Michael Cuddyer.

If you haven't started thinking about your fantasy football draft, that's a mistake. The fantasy season, like winter, is often harsh and unforgiving. Those who underestimate its power and fail to steel themselves are left to suffer the same fate as Christopher McCandless, the student and outdoorsman who inspired Into the Wild . That means you'll die alone in an abandoned bus. No one wants that. Fear not. Page 2 has spent quite a bit of time getting ready for its many drafts, and we've stockpiled more than enough fantasy football provisions and know-how to keep every unprepared geek alive - at least for a little while.