Joey Porter plans to put his new muscle where his mouth is

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http://www.palmbeachpost.com/dolphins/content/sports/epaper/2008/06/28/a1b_porter_0629.html

Joey Porter plans to put his new muscle where his mouth is

By EDGAR THOMPSON
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Saturday, June 28, 2008

DAVIE — For much of his eight seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Joey Porter didn't just play linebacker as well as anyone in the NFL, he made sure he told you about it.

Snap by snap, sack by sack, win by win, Porter never shut up.

But everything changed last year while playing for the 1-15 Dolphins.

Instead of talking, Porter was forced to listen.

"They gave it to me back. Oh, yeah," Porter said after a recent off-season workout. "Everybody I played against.

"They don't forget. It was my time to be on the opposite end."

Porter had been on top long enough to play in three AFC title games and win a Super Bowl. In March 2007, he signed a five-year, $32 million free-agent deal with the Dolphins, with the idea of bringing some of that mojo to Miami.

But as the Dolphins' losses piled up and Porter's production dwindled, he became a popular target for opponents and the fall guy for fans.

"Fans have some say. To point their fingers, I understand," said Porter, who has made the Pro Bowl three times. "(They say) 'We brought this guy in here and he's not taking over games like we thought he was going to do.'

"But last year is last year. I'm so happy to put that behind me. I think this year is going to bring a lot better things for us."

Porter said everything is different, beginning with a new coaching staff and almost 50 new players.

But the last time he made a prediction for the Dolphins, it backfired. Porter guaranteed a win in Week 4 against the Oakland Raiders, who ran for 299 yards in a 35-17 victory at Dolphin Stadium.

Porter said moments like that made him ask himself a question when the season finally ended: "What are you going to do to make sure that never happens again?"

Porter, 31, knows he can't turn things around alone, so he's asking for help.

"You look at a veteran player like him and he wasn't afraid to come in here and say, 'Coach me and tell me how to get better,''" rookie head coach Tony Sparano said. "I think that's important. He listened to his coaches - in the weight room and out here on the field."

Heading south to boost his skills

When he played with the Steelers, Porter spent the off-season in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif., where he has a home with his wife and four children.

He has spent the past two off-seasons in South Florida to give himself the best chance to adapt to a new system. But he has been reinvigorated by the conditioning and defensive approach of the new coaching staff. In recent months he has added 10 pounds of muscle to his 6-foot-3 frame. At 260 pounds, Porter said he hasn't lost any speed.

"He's worked hard," defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni said. "He's probably stronger than he has been and he looks fast."

Porter's extra time at camp also gives him a chance to learn everything he can about the new defense. He realizes he needs to be on top of his game to thrive in Pasqualoni's 3-4 scheme, which has the strong-side outside linebacker taking on tight ends, containing outside running plays and rushing the passer.

Porter was successful in a similar role in Pittsburgh and he expected to be dominant with the Dolphins playing opposite defensive end Jason Taylor, who last season was coming off a Defensive Player of the Year performance.

Instead, Porter was asked to line up in a three-point stance opposite an offensive tackle for 40 to 50 snaps a game in the Dolphins' nickel scheme for pass coverage.

"I'm thinking Jason Taylor on one side, Joey Porter on the other - it's pick your poison," Porter said. "But we never in one game just stood up and blitzed like that.''

Getting it from all sides

Porter and former Cleveland linebacker Clay Matthews entered last season as the only players in NFL history with 60 sacks and 10 interceptions. But Porter failed to register a sack during the first six games of the season and didn't get his second one until Week 13. His first interception came in Week 12.

He calls 2007 the "worst year I've ever had," and that's not just based on his individual performance.

The Dolphins haven't made the playoffs since the 2001 season. On the other hand, Porter's Steelers teams averaged 10 wins a year and reached the playoffs five times since '01.

Even Porter's children knew things were different in Miami.

"They've seen the confetti come down on the field. They did the parades,'' Porter said. "They took the trips to Hawaii (for the Pro Bowl). They've seen success.

"Even my youngest one (4-year-old Jacob) would be, 'Dad, we lost again.' He would always say, 'We don't ever win no games.''"

Travis Ruffus, Porter's friend since grade school, sympathized with his buddy. But that didn't stop him from placing a bet in Las Vegas that the Dolphins would lose every game.

"I'd seen the way it was going and liked the 40-1 odds," Ruffus said. "I got the feeling these guys are going down."

Porter was stung at the time, but now laughs about Ruffus' wager.

"That was cold," he said. "But your buddies even kick you when you're down."

What hurt worse, Porter said, was the NFL's decision to put the Dec. 23 game at New England on national TV so fans could watch winless Miami play the unbeaten Patriots, who were closing in on matching the Dolphins' Perfect Season of 1972.

"That was the low point," Porter said. "They were trying to set us up to be an 0-14 against 14-0. They're moving games around to embarrass us.''

Ready to take the first steps back

But the Dolphins spoiled the league's plans one week earlier by beating the Baltimore Ravens 22-16 in overtime at Dolphin Stadium.

Even that highlight is bitter for Porter, who joined his teammates in a wild celebration after Cleo Lemon's 64-yard game-winning touchdown pass to Greg Camarillo.

"As happy as I was, when I went home and watched it on TV, I was like, 'Wow, we're sitting up in the locker room like we won a championship,'''' Porter said. "I got a whole lot of phone calls. ... Buddies who play in the league saying, 'C'mon, man. You won one game. You're jumping around the locker room. ... You might as well have had champagne.' "

Porter isn't ready to think about celebrations this season, although he certainly expects the Dolphins to be better and he's determined to bounce back himself.

He believes the franchise's new regime, led by Bill Parcells, already has everyone headed in the right direction.

"We're competing every day," Porter said. "We're going to be a much better football team. It's like night and day.

"I'm going to be the guy fans were coming to see."