Back ailment threatens season for Miami Dolphins' Porter

[DolFan619]

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/story/657578.html

Back ailment threatens season for Miami Dolphins' Porter

By ARMANDO SALGUERO
Miami Herald

The opener looms, and as the days draw closer to the start of the Miami Dolphins' regular season, Joey Porter becomes more concerned he won't be part of the team's much-hyped New Beginning.

He's worried he's closer to a career ending.

On Monday, the Dolphins spent some practice time doing work for that opening game against the New York Jets. Porter was absent from practice. Again.

He was visiting a doctor -- again -- trying to get a fix on a mysterious back ailment that has him, and the team, fearing he's going to miss portions of this season, including the opener.

''He's motivated, but he's kind of upset that he can't be there,'' fellow Dolphins defensive veteran Jason Ferguson said. ``And he's worried he's not going to be there that first day.''

Porter badly wants to be there that first day because the first game is against an AFC East rival, and the bitter taste of last season's first game still must linger.

LIVID

Remember that 2007 opener?

The Dolphins and Redskins were in overtime when a gassed Porter was summoned to the sideline. With Porter playing cheerleader instead of outside linebacker, the Redskins marched for a winning field goal by outmuscling Miami's defense.

Porter was livid afterward.

And he's not too thrilled now at the possibility, if not the likelihood, he will be sidelined for this season's opener as well.

''He's very frustrated,'' teammate Akin Ayodele said. ``We talk to him all the time, but Joey is going to do what Joey has to do and coach [Tony Sparano] will handle it.''

The Dolphins are handling it by making plans for the extended absence of a player who has had trouble practicing on consecutive days and hasn't been pain-free for a month.

OPTIONS

So on Monday, the Dolphins put Charlie Anderson back in the starting weak-side linebacker spot. And they are experimenting with rookie defensive end Phillip Merling as the backup -- a contingency that has the feel of a long-range answer to a long-range problem.

''I'm getting a reasonable amount [of work] with ends and linebackers,'' Merling said. ``They said I might be going out there a little bit as a backup to learn the position. It's going pretty good. I'm learning from Joey and the coaches.''

The problem here is Porter isn't paid to coach. He's paid to play.

And he wants to lead.

With the departures of Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor, Porter saw himself filling the Miami defense's leadership void.

But as Porter has missed practices and playing time, younger Miami defenders have looked to other players for leadership.

'YOU FEEL PRETTY BAD'

Porter, meanwhile, is looking at a career that seems to be slipping from his grasp even as he makes a courageous attempt to hold on.

''If you're that vet going down the hill, you feel pretty bad,'' Ferguson said.

So Porter continues to search for a tangible answer to his mysterious back ailment. He has considered shots, surgery, anything to assure a part of Miami's New Beginning.

But increasingly, it looks like the team will start without him.

[YoFuggedaboutit]

He needs to get on a plane, fly to L.A., and go visit Dr. Robert Watkins.

[DolFan619]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/dolphins/content/sports/epaper/2008/08/25/a2c_finsnotes_0826.html

Porter hampered by back injury

By EDGAR THOMPSON
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Monday, August 25, 2008

DAVIE — Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter continues to spend as much time in the training room as on the practice field.

He stretched with teammates Monday before leaving practice. Coach Tony Sparano said Porter went to see a doctor about a back injury that has sidelined him periodically for a couple of weeks.

Porter played in the first quarter Saturday against Kansas City and recorded a sack. He even tossed in a vintage celebration for one of his few upbeat moments this summer.

"He's upset because he wants to be there with us," nose tackle Jason Ferguson said. "He's worried he's not going to be there the first day."

Porter has 12 days to get ready for the Sept.'7 opener against the New York Jets at Dolphin Stadium.

His injury-plagued camp has raised questions about the level of his game at age 31. Last August, during his first training camp with Miami, Porter had arthroscopic knee surgery. During the season, he rarely flashed the form that made him a three-time Pro Bowler during eight years in Pittsburgh.

If Porter can't return to a high level of play, he'll go down as an expensive mistake by the previous Dolphins regime. He has four years left on his contract and $16 million in guaranteed money owed to him.

Ferguson, 33, knows what Porter is enduring.

Ferguson missed 15 games with Dallas last season after he suffered a torn biceps in the opener, but he was hungry to prove he still could play.

"You feel like a rookie again because you have to prove yourself to the guys upstairs," he said.

Ferguson was a Jets rookie in 1997 when former Pro Bowl linebacker Pepper Johnson suffered a severe thigh injury at age 33. Johnson retired after the 1998 season.

"He wasn't back to the Pepper Johnson he was, and he knew that," Ferguson said.

Offensive tackle signs

More than a month after he tried out for the team, offensive tackle Pedro Sosa of Rutgers finally signed a two-year contract.

Sparano said Sosa, 24, looks much sharper than he did July 22.

"He ran a lot better, moved around a lot better," Sparano said. "The difference between weeks ago and now has been tremendous."

Sosa (6-foot-4, 300 pounds) started 38 games for Rutgers and seemed like a lock to be drafted, but a knee injury kept him from participating in the combine or individual workouts.

He injured his left patella tendon in November and re-injured it during Shrine Game practices. He eventually required surgery.

DE Merling sees time at linebacker

Rookie Phillip Merling has worked at outside linebacker because of injuries to Porter and Charlie Anderson (hamstring). Merling (6-foot-4, 290 pounds) was drafted as a defensive end out of Clemson.

"Right now it's just an experiment," Sparano said. "We've done it with a few people?"

[DolFan619]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/miamidolphins/entries/2008/08/26/another_step_back_for_porter.html

Another step back for Porter

By Ben Volin | Tuesday, August 26, 2008, 11:43 AM

It has been one step forward and two steps back for linebacker Joey Porter throughout training camp.

He has suffered through knee, back and ankle injuries since camp began a month ago. Every time he gets back on the field, he manages to tweak some sort of injury.

Saturday against Kansas City, Porter looked healthy and explosive in his limited playing time, coming up with a key third-down sack in the first quarter.

Yet Porter has missed both practices this week, as his back injury continues to flare up. He visited a doctor during Monday’s practice, and sat out again Tuesday, riding an exercise bike and watching from the sidelines as his teammates participated in team drills.

Porter has been visibly — and understandably — frustrated about his injuries, and has talked to the media occasionally throughout training camp.

Monday, nose tackle Jason Ferguson said Porter is “worried he’s not going to be there the first day.”

Porter is listed as the team’s starting weakside linebacker, but the team is clearly coming up with contingency plans.

Matt Roth has been moved to OLB from defensive end, and Vonnie Holliday was tried out there early in camp. The team is stockpiling outside linebackers, with Quentin Moses, Charlie Anderson, Reggie Torbor, Rob Ninkovich, Junior Glymph, Titus Brown and Maurice Fountain also taking reps at the position.

Lately, even rookie DE Phillip Merling has been trying out as an OLB.

“It took you guys awhile to catch that one. I’m surprised,” Tony Sparano said Monday. “Again, it’s all about roster flexibility — how many linebackers can I get to the game, and if Phil can help us as a linebacker and a defensive end, that helps us no different than Matt Roth.”

Porter, 31, struggled through the first 10 games last year after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery before the season. He still has $16 million guaranteed coming to him, but at some point, the coaching staff might have to just move on if Porter can’t stay healthy.

Also Monday, Joey Thomas (headaches) sat out his second straight day of practice, while Ronnie Brown (sprained thumb) taped up his hand and participated fully.

[DZA]

This may be more serious than a simple back aliment. Hope he is all right