Porter's hard hits liven up camp

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http://www.palmbeachpost.com/dolphins/content/sports/epaper/2008/07/28/0728finsnotes.html

Porter's hard hits liven up camp

By EDGAR THOMPSON
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Monday, July 28, 2008

DAVIE — The sight - and sound - of outside linebacker Joey Porter back on the field sent a ripple of excitement through the Dolphins' training camp Monday.

"You can always feel Joey when he's around," inside linebacker Akin Ayodele said. "He's kind of our energy out there. He talks, but he backs it up.

"He came out there today and definitely we felt it."

Some players felt it more than others.

On one play during the Dolphins' afternoon session in the team's indoor practice bubble, Porter moved from the left to the right side to rush the passer and knocked 6-foot-7, 315-pound rookie left tackle Jake Long on his heels.

The 6-foot-3, 255-pound linebacker likely would have had a sack on the play in a game situation.

"It was good to see him out here," Long said. "He's got a presence about him. He's fast, he's strong, he has great hands."

"That's what he does," Ayodele said of the play. "'Welcome to the league, rookie.'"

The Dolphins hope Porter, who is coming off a disappointing first season with the club, does a lot more of that this year.

Porter's second training camp got off to a bad start when he sat out the first four practices with a left-ankle injury suffered last week while training. Last summer, Porter missed most of training camp recovering from minor knee surgery and failed to make a sack in the season's first six games, finishing with just 5 1/2 for the 1-15 Dolphins.

Porter, a 10th-year pro and three-time Pro Bowler during eight seasons in Pittsburgh, passed his conditioning test Monday morning and was eager to get back on the field.

"I just wanted to see how I was going to run around out there with pads on," Porter said. "I haven't put these things on in a while.

"We played two months of flag football earlier. Now is when it really counts."

Porter, 31, expects big things this season. He's back playing in a 3-4 defensive scheme similar to the one he played with the Steelers.

The system gives Porter more of a chance to move from side to side and capitalize on mismatches. At his best, Porter had 10 1/2 sacks and five forced fumbles in 2005.

He's hoping to remind people of that player, not the one who failed to back up his $32 million contract a season ago.

"This scheme right here I'm familiar with," he said. "It's what I've been waiting for, and we got it now, so we have to go out there and try to put pressure on a lot of different offenses that we see."

Hagan's time has come: Entering his third season and only 23, Derek Hagan is the Dolphins' longest-tenured wide receiver.

"I've sat back and I've waited. It's my time now," said Hagan, who has just three touchdown catches in two NFL seasons. "They drafted me for a reason and I'm definitely trying to get the job done now."

On Monday, Hagan, a third-round pick in 2006, looked ready to live up to his potential.

Hagan, 6-2, 205, made a couple of leaping grabs in traffic - plays that separate him from the rest of the receivers on the roster. But Hagan also is avoiding the routine drops that have plagued him for two seasons.

"I'm playing with a lot more confidence because I know my time is now," he said.

Hagan has yet to put things together during the regular season. He's not looking ahead.

"It's a long 25, 30 days that we have to go," he said. "It's all about being consistent."

Roaming Holliday: At 6-foot-5, 285 pounds, Vonnie Holliday is a prototype end for a 3-4 scheme - strong at the point of attack and athletic enough to rush the passer.

Coaches think Holliday, an 11th-year pro, might be able to do even more.

Holliday, 32, has worked the past couple of days on pass coverage drops with defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni.

On Monday, Holliday covered fullback Boomer Grigsby on a wheel route out of the backfield, but quarterback Chad Henne dropped the ball in over Holliday's outstretched arms.

"We had him take a few reps there today, standing up, doing some of that stuff," head coach Tony Sparano said. "But at the end of this, we'll what happens. It's just a little bit of a work in progress."