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.