November 20
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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OK, so maybe this wasn't "Porter's House," the weekly segment Joey Porter tapes for the league-run television arm. But the man with the self-described alter ego called "Peezy" still set the early tone Thursday night on the NFL Network. Clearly invigorated by his one-game benching four days earlier, the veteran linebacker keyed a strong Dolphins pass rush that produced four sacks and a much-needed 24-17 win over the Carolina Panthers. "Joey kind of got it started," said Dolphins coach Tony Sparano, who made the decision to sit Porter down for reasons still not fully explained. "I was pleased with the pass rush. We needed it." On an evening filled with smack talk and vicious hits, the ..."
November 14
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter practiced Friday and has been upgraded to probable for Sunday's home game against Tampa Bay despite an injured knee that slowed him all week. Three Dolphins players are listed as doubtful, headed by starting left guard Justin Smiley ( shoulder). Smiley did not practice all week and was sent to see a shoulder specialist on Thursday, when he missed practice, but he was back in the practice bubble on Friday and was seen riding an exercise bike. Also doubtful are linebacker Erik Walden (hamstring) and nose tackle Paul Soliai ( ankle). Walden is a "full core" special-teams player who would be difficult to replace, Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said, while ..."
November 14
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Study, steal, repeat. If you're an NFL coach, that doesn't make you a thief or unique. It's your duty, particularly if your team has a talent deficiency, to investigate any innovation that could give you a better shot to succeed. So what if someone else thought of it first? So Tony Sparano does that, sure. The Dolphins coach does it often enough that he deems himself "a pain in the neck" to his assistants. He watches tape of opponents, sees "all these teams doing a bunch of things," identifies interesting wrinkles that might "marry something that maybe we've done," and pesters his staff with them. But Sparano and his staff have done more than the NFL norm. They haven't merely borrowed a ..."
November 5
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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It's bad enough Joey Porter is on pace to finish with a paltry six sacks, although he promises he's still capable of reeling off eight or nine more in a hurry. "I've just got to cash in when I get the chance to cash in," Porter said Wednesday. "Ain't nothing happen to me. I'm still the same player. I'm going to be all right." What's really got the Miami Dolphins linebacker upset is a $5,000 fine from the NFL's fashion police for not showing enough white on his game socks. "That's what we're worried about," Porter said. "All the [stuff] that's going on in the game, and that's what we're worried about." Porter, who plans to appeal, said he was never warned before or during the game in ..."
October 23
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The possibilities certainly are tantalizing. Two future Hall of Famers and the kid with "good cartilage," all chasing the quarterback at the same time. So far, however, that's as far as it has gone: possibilities. Sunday against New Orleans should mark the third game in which the Dolphins use linebackers Jason Taylor, Joey Porter and Cameron Wake together in the same defensive package. They tried it for 10 or 12 plays in Week 3 at San Diego, defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni says, and went back to it for around that same amount in the Monday night win over the Jets. In between, with Porter nursing a sore hamstring against Buffalo, the Dolphins piled up a season-high six sacks against ..."
October 22
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Facing the New Orleans Saints and the NFL's leading offense doesn't faze Joey Porter. If anything it motivates the Miami Dolphins linebacker even more to end a personal sack drought that stretches back to the second quarter of Week 3 at San Diego. "Our goal is to knock them off the high horse and try to bring them down," Porter said Wednesday. "They've been out in front of every game. They've scored a touchdown on every opening drive they've had. "Our goal is not to let them start fast by any means. We've got to slow them down to make them work for everything they get out there. Hopefully that's not much. We can't let them get in that comfort zone to where their offense is wide open. We've ..."
October 9
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Rex Ryan guarantees his Jets team will be the most physical squad the Dolphins have faced. Dolphins coach Tony Sparano not only agrees, but pledges that his team won't back down, predicting Monday night's showdown between these two AFC East rivals won't be a game "for the meek." "They are a big, strong, physical team," Sparano said, "[but] so are we." Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter takes it a step further, predicting Monday night's Dolphins-Jets showdown will resemble "an old-fashioned, knuckle up" school yard fight between two rival bullies. "This conference ain't big enough for too many bullies. There only could be a certain amount of bullies on the playground at one time before they ..."
October 8
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Dolphins began preparation for Monday night's game against the New York Jets without three of the team's key defenders. Defensive end Phillip Merling and starting linebackers Joey Porter and Akin Ayodele watched Wednesday's practice as they nursed significant injuries. Merling, who started his first game of the season against Buffalo, sprained his left ankle in the final quarter of Sunday's victory over the Bills. He was in a walking boot Monday but had it removed for Wednesday's practice, where he gingerly participated in agility drills with team trainers closely watching. Porter, who sat out his first game since the 2006 season because of a strained right hamstring, did not ..."
September 29
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Though the injury to starting quarterback Chad Pennington is the one making waves, Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter had to leave Sunday's game with a sore hamstring, and coach Tony Sparano said he is still gathering information on the four-time Pro Bowl selection. "Joey gave us about 24, 25 plays in there yesterday, some really solid plays. Just there at the end, it tightened back up again," Sparano said. "We will take a little bit longer look at him [Monday]. I think he is a little bit sore right now." Porter has been battling the hamstring injury for weeks but leads the team with two sacks. Changes ahead? It's not shocking that the coach of a winless football team is considering lineup ..."
June 5
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Even now, after 10 seasons in the NFL and four Pro Bowl selections, Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter can hear the footsteps. The trick, he says, is never letting the challengers catch you from behind. "Each year, I've had second-round draft picks come in behind me and guys have been drafted behind me over and over," says Porter. "That's football. If you play in this league long enough, they're going to try and replace you. You have to just know that." Porter is in an expansive mood after spending 90 minutes practicing in the rain. Seated on a bench outside the Dolphins' locker room, he looks back on his rookie year in Pittsburgh, when it took him until the final regular season game to ..."
January 6
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Dolphins left guard Justin Smiley said he's way ahead of schedule with his rehabilitation from a broken leg and shredded ankle, but he is scheduled to undergo shoulder surgery on Jan. 20. Smiley, who missed eight games in 2007 with the 49ers because of a right shoulder injury, needs to clean out some, "floating pieces of cartilage.'' "It's no big deal,'' Smiley said Monday. "I'm getting used to it.'' Smiley was the anchor of the Dolphins offensive line through the first 11 games before sustainng the serious injury early in the victory over the Rams on Nov. 30. The leg is healing rapidly, but the torn ligaments in his ankle are more of a concern. "There's three screws in there, two to ..."
January 4
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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When you're Joey Porter there's usually nowhere to hide. No chance of slipping under the radar. As the Dolphins' sack leader and most vocal player, fans and critics are quick to pick apart every performance, particularly in games like today's NFL first-round playoff against Baltimore. Never mind that opponents seek out his whereabouts before every snap and regularly adjust their blocking schemes in an effort to neutralize him. Lately, the four-time Pro Bowler has been muted on the field. It appears teams have figured out a way to muzzle the NFL's king of trash talk and, as a result, Porter has only four tackles and one sack the past three games. That stretch included a shutout in the Dec. ..."
December 10
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Always outspoken Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter ended his two-week media embargo by coming to the defense of his former Steelers teammate Plaxico Burress, saying professional athletes have a right to own and bear arms. "Until you've been in a situation where you've been robbed at gun point, or you've had a gun waived in your face, or been car jacked, you really don't know what it feels like," Porter said during an interview with ESPN that will air on Wednesday at 10 a.m. Porter, a victim of a shooting outside a Denver nightclub five years ago, admitted he's a gun owner, and said he's just one of many NFL players who feel they need to have a firearm to defend themselves and their families. ..."
November 27
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Joey Porter apologized to his teammates and coach Tony Sparano during team meetings on Monday. On Wednesday, the fiery and outspoken linebacker apologized to Dolphins fans for losing his composure, and disobeying his coaches during Sunday's loss to the Patriots. "I apologize for not respecting coach Sparano's order to come off the field. I wasn't looking at it that way," Porter said. "I was just staying on the field playing football. I wasn't trying to be disrespectful to the team, not obeying his order. We have a great relationship...I listen to all of his orders." It certainly didn't seem that way on Sunday when Porter was flagged for unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct in ..."
November 26
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Dolphins fiery linebacker Joey Porter apologized to his teammates and coach Tony Sparano for his actions in Sunday's loss to the Patriots during a team meeting Monday. Defensive tackle Jason Ferguson said today the incident is behind them and the 6-5 Dolphins are focused on Sunday's road game against the 2-9 Rams. "He did what he wanted to do. Nobody asked him to do that. He did what he wanted,'' Ferguson said at a charity event outside of Dolphin Stadium in which he and more than 20 teammates were handing out Publix-supplied turkey dinners to families in need. When asked if Porter apologized to Sparano in front of the entire team, Ferguson said: "He did. Everybody's good.'' On New ..."
November 25
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Dolphins coach Tony Sparano often preaches playing tough, smart, disciplined football. Well, at least his players, particularly emotional linebackers Joey Porter and Channing Crowder, were tough in Sunday's critical 48-28 loss to the Patriots. Crowder was ejected for his role in an altercation with Patriots tackle Matt Light following Stephen Gostkowski's 30-yard field that gave New England a 41-28 lead with 7:08 remaining in the game. Then on New England's final drive, Porter was flagged for unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct within a three-play period. When Sparano and defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni were screaming frantically for Porter to come off the field, with ..."
November 25
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Dolphins coach Tony Sparano wants his team to play tough, smart, disciplined football. Well, at least linebackers Joey Porter and Channing Crowder had the tough part down in Sunday's emotionally charged 48-28 loss to the Patriots. Crowder was ejected after an altercation with Patriots tackle Matt Light following Stephen Gostkowski's 30-yard field goal gave New England a 41-28 lead with 7:08 remaining. On New England's final drive, Porter was flagged for unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct in a span of three plays. Sparano and defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni were shouting at Porter to come off the field, but he either didn't hear them or chose to ignore their pleas. ..."
November 25
Miami Herald
columnist Armando Salguero
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There is a time to react, and that time has come for Tony Sparano. because The Dolphins coach cannot allow any player, not even his most productive defensive player, to show him up as publicly and defiantly as Joey Porter did Sunday. In case you missed it, Porter was in the middle of a venom-spewing, revenge-fueled rage late in Sunday's game against New England when he apparently took an extra shot at New England's Sam Aiken, which brought a penalty for unnecessary roughness. Reading Porter's foul mood, Sparano ordered reserve linebacker Charlie Anderson to go into the game and replace Porter. But rather than leave the huddle, Porter waved off Anderson and, by extension, his coach's ..."
November 6
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Dolphins outspoken linebacker Joey Porter wanted to talk about president-elect Barack Obama and not respond to some mouthy receiver who just had two catches against Miami in Sunday's 26-17 victory over the Broncos. Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall responded to Porter's post-game comments Sunday in which he said Marshall was, "soft,'' and that he, "definitely got in his head,'' by saying Porter was the soft one and that he had, "popcorn muscles.'' Marshall went on to say that Porter dances in clubs without a shirt, "like a girl,'' and could, "get knocked down on his butt.'' "Today is a celebration, man. I'm not worried about Marshall. We witnessed history,'' said Porter, who was sporting ..."
October 30
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter was named AFC Defensive Player of the Month, the NFL announced Thursday. In four games this month Porter has amassed 14 tackles, including 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Porter leads the league with 10.5 sacks, tying his career high set in 2000 and 2005 with the Steelers. Porter struggled with a slow-healing knee last season while playing out of position in a 4-3 alignment, and ended up with just 5.5 sacks. He is thriving in Miami's 3-4 defensive alignment, where he has more freedom and is going against lighter opponents. "I don't want to jinx ourselves here, but they say they come in bunches and right now he's been able to get them,'' ..."
October 30
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter has already surpassed his season prediction of 10 sacks, so he's setting the bar higher. "[It would] be cool to get that," Porter said when asked if he coveted the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. "That's a goal every selfish player has in the back of their mind ... . You want to be the best at what you do." Porter was nominated in 2002 but lost out to Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks. Porter, who has 10.5 sacks, will have his hands full this week as he goes against Broncos rookie left tackle Ryan Clady, the 12th overall pick who hasn't allowed a sack this season. Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler has been sacked just four times. "I'm going to attack him ..."