"Coach's Decision" Sidelines Porter
The Peezy-less Dolphins host the Bucs at home at 1 p.m.
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Prepare for this camera shot eleventy billion times today.
It's been a rough season for linebacker Joey Porter, and an even rougher fortnight (we woke up formal today, unlike Channing Crowder, who's off singing into hairbrush in front of a mirror somewhere). There's the numbers -- just 12 tackles and 2.5 sacks; the hamstring and knee problems that ought to have explained them; and the Pats-baiting trash talk he didn't back up when he was blanked by a rookie left tackle last week in Foxboro.
After that humiliation, Porter declined to talk to media -- an occurrence so unusual, it was hard to conclude anything other than that Porter can dish it out but not take it. Now he's been benched by "coach's decision," something that sounded vaguely healing-related until a Dolphins spokesperson took particular care to clarify that the move was not at all related to injury.
What gives? The decision was made after practice on Friday, during which Porter fully participated, and after which Tony Sparano had this to say about his under-performing loudmouth:
I see no frustration, I don't think that he's affected, but what I do see is a guy that's played in enough football games to know ‘there's some things I need to do better out there.' There's a lot of things that people say about Joey that are not always favorable, but one of the good things about Joey is the guy's a pretty good pro. He sees it, he knows. When he sees it, and he knows, he takes it personally. The guy cares, and I think that's a hell of a quality to have when you've played the game for as many years as Joey...You've got to find those kind of players at that stage who care, because if they don't, then they're probably retired and haven't announced it.
Of course, Sparano is an old-school sort of coach, one that doesn't call out a player to media even if he'll turn, head to locker room, and go all Old Testament God on him. So did something happen after that? Are the Dolphins teaching Porter a lesson? He's 32 -- is this the end of Peezy in Miami? If the Dolphisn are simply resting Porter until Thursday night's game against Carolina, wouldn't they just say so? The timing, too, is notable: at a crucial point in the season where the Dolphins desperately need a morale-boosting win, the Bucs are coming off an emotional victory with all sorts of momentum. If Porter's able to go but told not to, something must be up.
(And is it just coincidence that linebacker J.D. Folsom was just signed back onto the practice squad?)
Porter will likely be replaced by Charlie Anderson or Matt Roth, or we'll see Jason Taylor shift over and be replaced by Roth. Either way, Cameron Wake will get some time and make good use of it: as Porter's backup, Wake was already boasting equal numbers with far fewer snaps: 11 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
Maybe that's part of the problem -- but in that case, why not just start Wake instead? Oh, right: because we're talking about Joey Porter, and he'd have something to say about that.
Posted Sunday, Nov 15, 2009 - 8:57 AM EST
