superpunk
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You can't blame the Steelers for giving Joey Porter the boot.
It was the only sensible move.
Let's be honest. Porter is past his prime, and there's no way the Steelers were going to extend his contract beyond this season.
He turns 30 on March 22 and has missed significant parts of the past two training camps because of surgeries on both knees.
Porter would have made $5 million this season -- a $1 million roster bonus that was due next Tuesday, plus a $4 million salary. For a club so tight under the cap, better to free the cash and address a couple of problem areas. One of those is the lack of an edge pass-rusher. And make no mistake, Porter had clearly lost his edge there.
Sure, he recorded seven sacks last season, but six of those came in games against Oakland, Tampa Bay and Miami. He also had four games of one or zero tackles.
Matt Williamson, formerly a scout for the Cleveland Browns, breaks down video of Steelers games each week for ESPN's Scouts Inc. He says Porter still is good in coverage and fairly stout against the run. But Porter can no longer get to the quarterback, unless he's facing a mediocre tackle or racing through a lane created by Dick LeBeau's elaborate defensive schemes.
"I think he's declined noticeably," Williamson said. "I think he benefits from the scheme, but he also understands it so well that he takes full advantage of it.
"And while he made plays, he made them against inferior players. He's not that blind-side, off-the-edge, dynamic guy they need in that defense. He was, at one point."
Yeah, like as recently as the stretch run two years ago, when he salvaged an otherwise mediocre campaign with a late-season surge.
Last season, Porter's main achievement was posing for the most ridiculous Sports Illustrated cover on record -- the one that pictured him next to the headline: "Most Feared Man in the NFL."
I asked Williamson if he could find the most recent video clip of Porter beating a high-quality tackle. He might as well have tried to find the Loch Ness Monster.
"It certainly wasn't in the Super Bowl," Williamson said. "(Seattle tackle) Walter Jones abused him.
"Even against the Colts (in the AFC Divisional playoffs two years ago), it was more scheme than him beating a guy off the edge. I can't quote a date, that's for sure."
Porter probably could have played out his contract with one more decent season, but only if he made it through training camp without imploding in a fit of self-pity. That is, if he showed up at all -- and you figure he would have, so as not to lose money.
A potential implosion had to be another factor in the Steelers' decision to release Porter. He had enough pull in that locker room to create a serious problem for new coach Mike Tomlin.
This move works toward the opposite end.
It serves as a symbolic severing from the Bill Cowher era.
Porter, after all, was Cowher's top lieutenant.
Tomlin will pick his own, or he'll let another emerge.
Porter thought he should have been rewarded with a contract extension after the Super Bowl. He started moaning about it before last season, complaining to the NFL Network of a perceived lack of respect.
Wisely, the Steelers stayed the course.
They made the mistake of signing soon-to-be 30-year-old linebacker Jason Gildon to a five-year, $23 million extension in 2002 and weren't about to make a similar slip.
All of which shouldn't devalue Porter's immense contributions over his eight-year career. A three-time Pro Bowl pick with 60 career sacks, he could be entertaining off the field and dominating on it.
For the first nine games of the 2002 season, he was as good as any defensive player in the game.
Porter played hurt, played hard and played proud. His energy fueled the Super Bowl run.
One of the lasting images from that year is Porter maniacally leading the team in one of his "Who Ride? We Ride!" chants.
Now, it's time for the Steelers to ride into free agency and pick up a player or two. After that comes the draft.
Porter will be replaced and will sign with another team.
Life will go on.
That's how it works in the NFL.
Joe Starkey is a sports writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be reached at jstarkey@tribweb.com
It was the only sensible move.
Let's be honest. Porter is past his prime, and there's no way the Steelers were going to extend his contract beyond this season.
He turns 30 on March 22 and has missed significant parts of the past two training camps because of surgeries on both knees.
Porter would have made $5 million this season -- a $1 million roster bonus that was due next Tuesday, plus a $4 million salary. For a club so tight under the cap, better to free the cash and address a couple of problem areas. One of those is the lack of an edge pass-rusher. And make no mistake, Porter had clearly lost his edge there.
Sure, he recorded seven sacks last season, but six of those came in games against Oakland, Tampa Bay and Miami. He also had four games of one or zero tackles.
Matt Williamson, formerly a scout for the Cleveland Browns, breaks down video of Steelers games each week for ESPN's Scouts Inc. He says Porter still is good in coverage and fairly stout against the run. But Porter can no longer get to the quarterback, unless he's facing a mediocre tackle or racing through a lane created by Dick LeBeau's elaborate defensive schemes.
"I think he's declined noticeably," Williamson said. "I think he benefits from the scheme, but he also understands it so well that he takes full advantage of it.
"And while he made plays, he made them against inferior players. He's not that blind-side, off-the-edge, dynamic guy they need in that defense. He was, at one point."
Yeah, like as recently as the stretch run two years ago, when he salvaged an otherwise mediocre campaign with a late-season surge.
Last season, Porter's main achievement was posing for the most ridiculous Sports Illustrated cover on record -- the one that pictured him next to the headline: "Most Feared Man in the NFL."
I asked Williamson if he could find the most recent video clip of Porter beating a high-quality tackle. He might as well have tried to find the Loch Ness Monster.
"It certainly wasn't in the Super Bowl," Williamson said. "(Seattle tackle) Walter Jones abused him.
"Even against the Colts (in the AFC Divisional playoffs two years ago), it was more scheme than him beating a guy off the edge. I can't quote a date, that's for sure."
Porter probably could have played out his contract with one more decent season, but only if he made it through training camp without imploding in a fit of self-pity. That is, if he showed up at all -- and you figure he would have, so as not to lose money.
A potential implosion had to be another factor in the Steelers' decision to release Porter. He had enough pull in that locker room to create a serious problem for new coach Mike Tomlin.
This move works toward the opposite end.
It serves as a symbolic severing from the Bill Cowher era.
Porter, after all, was Cowher's top lieutenant.
Tomlin will pick his own, or he'll let another emerge.
Porter thought he should have been rewarded with a contract extension after the Super Bowl. He started moaning about it before last season, complaining to the NFL Network of a perceived lack of respect.
Wisely, the Steelers stayed the course.
They made the mistake of signing soon-to-be 30-year-old linebacker Jason Gildon to a five-year, $23 million extension in 2002 and weren't about to make a similar slip.
All of which shouldn't devalue Porter's immense contributions over his eight-year career. A three-time Pro Bowl pick with 60 career sacks, he could be entertaining off the field and dominating on it.
For the first nine games of the 2002 season, he was as good as any defensive player in the game.
Porter played hurt, played hard and played proud. His energy fueled the Super Bowl run.
One of the lasting images from that year is Porter maniacally leading the team in one of his "Who Ride? We Ride!" chants.
Now, it's time for the Steelers to ride into free agency and pick up a player or two. After that comes the draft.
Porter will be replaced and will sign with another team.
Life will go on.
That's how it works in the NFL.
Joe Starkey is a sports writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be reached at jstarkey@tribweb.com
