Thursday, January 28, 2010

Forget Joey Porter, We have More Important Fish (Dolphins Aren't Fish, They're Mammals) To Fry

It's easy to get caught up in the media frenzy surrounding the unsubstantiated reports of Joey Porter lashing out at the Dolphins and wanting to be traded.  The simple fact of the matter is that no one can quote what he said on a Bakersfield radio station morning show, and no one can provide an audio recording or transcript.  I'm not saying it didn't happen, I'm simply saying there's no reason to believe it happened other than a South Florida resident who doesn't have access to the show in question, saying that it did (I checked, the show is not streamed or podcasted, and even if it was, he would have had no way of knowing that Porter was going to call into it).

And while the Dolphins have insinuated that they may not bring back Porter for 2010, they have also insinuated that fact for just about every player on the team, including Ted Ginn, Ronnie Brown, Anthony Fasano, Pat White, Jason Ferguson, Jason Taylor, Patrick Cobbs, Gibril Wilson, Akin Ayodele, Paul Soliai...should I keep going?  The truth is, every team with any sort of common sense says things like the Dolphins have been saying since the end of the season.  They have not made these decisions yet, so why say something they may have to go back on later.  Tony Sparano couldn't even bring himself to name Chad Henne the incumbent starter in 2010.  He did for Pennington in 2009, but you kind of got the impression that Sparano felt he had to play Pennington after that statement, despite the fact he was absolutely terrible in training camp, the pre-season, and marginally better in the regular season.

So any roasting of Joey Porter at this time is unwarranted and a desperate attempt by the media to latch on to any story they can.  Really, who cares if Porter was suspended for a game in 2009?  2009 is over, and Charlie Anderson had a pretty damn good game in Porter's absence.  It didn't affect us getting into the playoffs or our losing record.  Porter played well in our final three losses.  So having him in the game getting sacks didn't actually help us to win.  

Turnovers, bad referee calls, and stagnant play-calling on both sides of the ball, coupled with giving up big plays, is what prevented an injury-riddled team from putting up another AFC East winning season.  Joey Porter led the team in sacks even in a down year hampered by injury, suspension, and sharing the reps with JT, Wake, Anderson, and Moses.  And the reports of Porter refusing to come off the field are overblown as well.  Porter didn't get nearly the same reps in 2009 that he usually gets.  There was an incident during the season where he refused to come off the field.  THEN he was suspended for the following game.  It had nothing to do with him going out on a Friday night.  Please, if Randy Starks could run over a cop on South Beach and Brandon London (remember him?) could live the life of excess he was living on South Beach and in Manhattan without any repercussions, then surely someone of Porter's status could go to a Miami Heat game in a controlled, family friendly environment without being thrown in the doghouse.  Also, the ridiculous assumption that his saying he wasn't ready to resume practice after a nagging knee injury somehow makes him a prima donna or lazy or worse, a liar, is completely unfair.  Just this past season, there were several players, rookies included that did not practice at all on certain days for the entire season.  Anyone who plays Fantasy Football knows this to be true.  If a 33 year old pass-rusher is banged up and after being evaluated by trainers/team doctors (they do have these people on staff, it's not like the players do their own diagnoses) is deemed to be better off by sitting out and resting (it should be noted that Porter was in attendance at both practices and did stretching and light movement drills - it's not like he was at home playing Call of Duty), then why does a reporter get to call him out on it?

Anyway, I don't want to sound like Joey Porter's agent, because you all know I petitioned for Cam 'Earthw'Wake from the get-go and still believe he is the immediate future for the Dolphins.  But I can't stand being beaten over the head with lies, innuendo and drivel.  In the old days they used to call these reports slander and people got sued for it and their careers were over.  And it doesn't matter if the details come out, and audio evidence is provided in the future.  At the time of these reports, there was no evidence.  And there still isn't.

And the Dolphins have not yet decided the future of anybody, not just Joey Porter.  I still would not be surprised if Dan Henning gets fired or pushed into retirement before the draft, Bill Parcells says goodbye to the Dolphins, Pat White is named the starter (okay, that one would surprise me a little) and Randy Starks is traded for two mid-round draft picks.

This week is the Senior Bowl and Pro-Bowl, last week was the East West Shrine Game and Conference Championships.  Still to come, the Texas vs The Nation game, the Super Bowl in Miami, the start of Free Agency, the Combine, the re-signing of current Dolphins and the release of others, trades, more coaching changes, another celebrity minority owner or two, pro-days, the Draft, undrafted free agent signings, Rookie Camp, etc.

There is so much going on of interest and right in front of our eyes.  So why do we focus on things we didn't see, hear, or prove?  And why are we even worrying about it now?  Surely no decisions should or will be made until a plan is in place.   And for all the shouting for Porter to go, it serves only as a distraction from what we should be paying attention to, which are the options.  The Draft scouting, the free agent scouting, the brand new to Miami 'Capologist' (ridiculous job title) the new Defensive staff and scheme, the continued development of young players, the continued outreach to the community in an effort to raise funds for Haiti, Sean Smith's continual search for the best burrito in South Florida.  There is stuff going on people.  Oh yeah, the fact that not a single report on the Dolphins coaching staff's efforts/style at the Senior Bowl has come from the Miami media is another sign that they are distracted by gossip, rumor, and tabloid-reporting.

There is a time for all that stuff, it's called the Summer, when there's absolutely nothing going on other than the occasional rookie-contract signing.  But right now, I'd really appreciate some focus on the football.

28 comments:

  1. Come on Shaker,... this is what people want to read.  A Journalist's job is to put things out that will be read, and that's what they'll continue to do.  This is not slander because it is real, but not important.  Frankly I could care less if he stayed or left.  He WAS BLOCKED all season.  He hardly ever set the edge properly.  He turned his shoulders upfield on nearly every play and often took himself out of position.  Even last year he slowed down towards the end of the season.  Frankly I just don't like him,... me me me I I I sounds just like our president.  Trade him to Oakland for a case of Budlight.  Let him dig him own grave out there! 

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  2. I hear 'ya Tin.  All one has to do is look back on previous offseason blogs and articles and your reminded of all the garbage 'news' subjects everyone was bouncing around and didn't end up amounting to anything.  So back to football........

    Glad you brought up Starks, was really wondering if he was the DE we'd be trading.  His value is high, contract a little heavy as I recall, and we're loaded with younger (and cheaper) talent behind him.  My only concern is although Merling has had his moments (with limited snaps), I get worried when I hear someone labeled as a "gamer".

    David Lee is probably our future OC with proven innovations like the wildcat to his credit.  Hope no one else snags him.  I guess some college team called about his services recently....

    As far as Porter is concerned, I just hope we get SOMETHING for him.  We've had some good drafts and FA transactions, but we've busted on quite a few.  Sacks can be deceiving, and his trash talk I think incorrectly characterizes our team.  I personally like that you can't really say who is the face of our franchise because it just speaks to the emphasis on the TEAM as a whole.  Having JP nominate himself for that position embarrasses me....

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  3. The Knight who says Ni!January 28, 2010 at 10:26 AM

    Well said, Tin!

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  4. The Knight who says Ni!January 28, 2010 at 10:27 AM

    I doubt we get anything for Porter.

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  5. Maybe a 7th rounder?
    He has no real upside but could be plugged in as an emergency. The Patriots
    would take him, as would the Chiefs if they needed a pass rusher. Of
    course, any trade value would be contingent on the timing of the deal, i.e.
    at the beginning of the regular season when someone is desperate.
    We could always trade him to Denver with a 3rd and 6th for Dumervil...

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  6. The Knight who says Ni!January 28, 2010 at 11:19 AM

    Dumervil is a free agent.

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  7. Oh you're right, but he's going to be a restricted free agent which means
    they'll probably slap a tender on him.

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  8. The Knight who says Ni!January 28, 2010 at 11:39 AM

    Right, it's going to be interesting to see if teams target more RFAs this year.

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  9. They're going to have to if they want the talent because the UFA pool will
    be absolute shite.

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  10. The Knight who says Ni!January 28, 2010 at 12:59 PM

    There has to be some UFAs beyond 6 years in the league this year.

    Are you aware that playoff teams can't sign any UFAs until they lose a UFA of similar value? I heard Peter King on the radio saying that.

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  11. Yes, I read that somewhere a couple of weeks ago.
    The problem with UFAs is that very few playersever come out of college and
    sign a 6 year contract, and if they did they are franchise players who get
    re-signed in year 4 or are 29 or 30 years old and don't have a lot of upside
    left. The players who come in and sign 4 year deals now no longer qualify.
    It is a very scant group left over

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  12. Tins,

    Sounds like off-season nonsense to me & even if it were true that he wants to be traded what could we possibly expect in return?  I don't see a team giving up much for him since every team in the NFL knows that we're probably going to cut him at some point considering his contract.  So goodbye & good luck Joey.  Outside of Cameron Wake, we need younger & healthier pass rushers.   

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  13. Based on performance (or lack thereof) what would Reggie Bush be worth in the open market in this off-season???  The Saints have a ton of playmakers & are playing in the Super Bowl but outside of two playoff games that I have seen in his career & he has to be the most overrated & overpaid player in the NFL.

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  14. The Knight who says Ni!January 28, 2010 at 2:15 PM

    Yeah it's going to be an interesting offseason.

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  15. Well he won't be worth anything, because he is not going to be a free agent
    for another, what, three years? 2?
    If he wasn't on the Saints he might have bigger numbers, but they are
    absolutely stacked with weapons and thus they don't have one guy who's stats
    explode off the page. They have 5 WRs who could start on most teams, and
    utilize a 3 back rotation. The only one getting big numbers/reps is the QB.
    The guy has gotten limited reps and missed a bunch of games yet he's put up
    1000 yds all-purpose every year. He's averaging close to 6 yards per carry,
    and he's one of the highest grossing players in terms of NFL memorabilia.
    And he makes big plays. If he got 15 carries a game he would be rushing for
    1300 yards.
    I don't know why people think he's over-rated - I probably just don't
    over-rate him myself or see anyone else saying how great he is, so to me he
    actually seems like a good player. He can run, catch, and return and score
    on any given play. Last time I checked that was a good thing.
    Oh, and his GF is soooo effing hot....

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  16. Wasn't paying attention til that last part, and yeah, she's smokin'...................

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  17. Hey Tin, quick question-when can teams begin trading players?  Is it the start of FA in March?

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  18. I agree on let the bull shit start in the summer time when there is not much to talk about. WHP, nice picture, wait to see what heard has to say about that.

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  19. Come on Tin we live in a hyper Media world.  The Media does not have to be correct they only need to speculate.  I heard a statement about the Media a short time back.  It went like this.  If one is in the media and sees an injury that is bleeding pour salt on it.  If something is not bleeding find a knife.

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  20. Yes, trading period starts the same time as free agency which is February
    27th, and ends in week 6 of the regular season.

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  21. LoL
    But what if there is nothing there at all to bleed in the first place?

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  22. The Knight who says Ni!January 29, 2010 at 7:23 AM

    Reggie Bush is exactly what I thought he'd be in the NFL. A scatback and return man who can make big plays. He's not a feature back. If he averaged 15 carries per game I don't think he'd hold up. He struggles to stay healthy in his current role.

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  23. He's probably worn down from all that Kardashian sex....

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  24. The Knight who says Ni!January 29, 2010 at 8:29 AM

    LOL, good point I forgot about that.

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  25. Agreed.  For $9 Million a year or whatever his insane contract is worht there are a LOT of players that I'd rather have.   How about Chris Johnson for about a third of the cost???

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  26. Hawk, Love it or leave it.  That's my mantra.

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  27. Then the majority of sports "writers" would be out of a job.  

    Case in point, there is going to be those "anonymous" sources that say Parcells is leaving this year.  Well where the hell is he going???  He's not going to another franchise & if he wanted to retire he would've never came back to begin with.  His work is CLEARLY not done in Miami so I don't believe the bullsh#t rumors.  Most importantly, he's going to be involved in this year's draft process & we definitely need another solid draft.

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  28. That's when you find a knife !!! Like that story about JP.  Even though the story can't be verified, the bleeding has been started

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