What does Joey Porter's surgery mean?
You know that Joey Porter went under the arthroscope this morning. So where does that leave the Dolphins?
Well, let's backtrack a minute, first. The Dolphins have released zero information what the surgery was intended to accomplish. Was it to clean up a loose body floating around in there, which would make the surgery minor? Was it to repair meniscus damage which would be more serious?
Nothing yet here so anyone telling you this is routine is full of it. And anyone telling you this is really serious is equally full of it.
But this much we do know this surgery means:
Donnie Spragan, who started most of the last two years, will take Porter's place (at least initially). That means the Dolphins defense is lessened because Spragan doesn't make big mistakes but doesn't really make any big plays, either. He is what he is: A backup stopgap.
Porter, assuming he returns by the regular-season, will now have to pretty much get acclimated on the fly. I think all of us are guilty of thinking that once a player has been in the NFL for an extended period, training camp is just a fine-tuning exercise. It is more than that.
The players need training camp to have their timing. They need camp to overcome weaknesses in their game. In short, they need camp, as Zach Thomas told me last week, "to get the rust out and improve." There are very few examples of players missing all of camp and having good seasons, although Emmitt Smith in 1994, I think, comes to mind.
So Porter won't be honing his game any time soon. That diminishes what the Dolphins can do on defense.
Another problem with the injury is that because Porter is new to the team, coaches were still tweaking things to figure out how to best use him. Sure he was going to rush the passer, but was he going to come off stunts, was he coming strictly from the outside, was he best in certain coverage situations? All that will now have to be learned on the fly during the regular season. There will be no preseason experimentation to figure it all out.
Finally, and I cannot stress this enough, Porter admitted to me last week that he still didn't feel comfortable with the Miami terminology and chemistry. He said he couldn't be the Joey Porter everyone was expecting until he got that stuff down and could play on instinct. So even if he is able to play in the regular-season opener, we may not see the real Joey Porter until later in the season.
Assuming, that is, this surgery has no lasting effects.
Well, let's backtrack a minute, first. The Dolphins have released zero information what the surgery was intended to accomplish. Was it to clean up a loose body floating around in there, which would make the surgery minor? Was it to repair meniscus damage which would be more serious?
Nothing yet here so anyone telling you this is routine is full of it. And anyone telling you this is really serious is equally full of it.
But this much we do know this surgery means:
Donnie Spragan, who started most of the last two years, will take Porter's place (at least initially). That means the Dolphins defense is lessened because Spragan doesn't make big mistakes but doesn't really make any big plays, either. He is what he is: A backup stopgap.
Porter, assuming he returns by the regular-season, will now have to pretty much get acclimated on the fly. I think all of us are guilty of thinking that once a player has been in the NFL for an extended period, training camp is just a fine-tuning exercise. It is more than that.
The players need training camp to have their timing. They need camp to overcome weaknesses in their game. In short, they need camp, as Zach Thomas told me last week, "to get the rust out and improve." There are very few examples of players missing all of camp and having good seasons, although Emmitt Smith in 1994, I think, comes to mind.
So Porter won't be honing his game any time soon. That diminishes what the Dolphins can do on defense.
Another problem with the injury is that because Porter is new to the team, coaches were still tweaking things to figure out how to best use him. Sure he was going to rush the passer, but was he going to come off stunts, was he coming strictly from the outside, was he best in certain coverage situations? All that will now have to be learned on the fly during the regular season. There will be no preseason experimentation to figure it all out.
Finally, and I cannot stress this enough, Porter admitted to me last week that he still didn't feel comfortable with the Miami terminology and chemistry. He said he couldn't be the Joey Porter everyone was expecting until he got that stuff down and could play on instinct. So even if he is able to play in the regular-season opener, we may not see the real Joey Porter until later in the season.
Assuming, that is, this surgery has no lasting effects.
posted by Armando Salguero at 12:06 PM
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22 Comments:
Armando good report. This injury doesn't concern me much because without him we still had the 4th best D in the league last year!!
What I and most Dolphin fans are concerned with is our Offense if they don't get it together it won't matter when Joey comes back!!! Not to metion one player can't make or break a team!!!!
Armando, as you have written, the Steelers and Dolphins made the opposite decision on Joey Porter this year.
Steelers knew him for eight years but got rid of him. They drafted a guy in the second round and he's starting now -- I saw him in the HOF game Sunday nite.
The Dolphins decided Porter was going to be great so they paid him $20 million guaranteed. Why couldn't the Dolphins just draft somebody like the Steelers did? Why do the Dolphins always have to overpay for vets break down and don't pan out?
Given their recent histories, I would say the Steelers are more likely to be right on this one than the Dolphins.
Don't be so dramatic. Spragan has done a good job the last two seasons. And Porter will recover.
Miami can win without Porter. When Porter is up-to-speed, Miami will be that much better. No worries.
God, these guys are testing our patience. For a guy who has never proven he can win as a head coach at the NFL level, he is asking us to trust him a HELL of a lot before he has even coached a pre-season game. Now I'm sure he'll tell us Porter's knee will be fine and will have no after-effects (just like Trent Graveyard Green will never be hit and Ted Ginn will be a Pro-Bowler because gee, he's a swell guy and I know his dad). I'm not saying he will be wrong about these forecasts, but his line of credit keeps getting longer and longer and we better see some victories quick-like to ride ourselves of this Cam paranoia......
Whoever you are stop impersonating me! I don't make stupid comments like that. Anyways, Porter's knee is a concern but we have to let this thing play out before we start all this "gloom and doom" talk.
This situation is going to be a great judge of Cam's ability to select quality players for this team.
If team doctors cleared Joey with the knee problem before hand, what is to say they didn't just clear Trent Green witht that bad head, because thats what Cam wanted!?!?!?!
You guys are fast on the panic button. Can we atleast play a few games. Joey for a half season is better than no Joey at all. Spragan will maintain business as usual until Joey comes around. Just be a little patient. The offense will improve this year, and another draft class like this one next year, and the dolphins will be the toast of the NFL.
Your all a bunch of negitive asses. Including you Armando. Get a grip jerk offs.
Nice analysis on what the Porter surgery means!
Even without Porter being ready the Phins defense should still be good. Lets hope the offense can carry its fair share of the load this season. If it can then Porter will have time to get comfortable.
OFFTOPIC: has there ever been a secondary player who was chosen in the first round, did a poorly as Jason Allen in his first seasons and went on to be a good (if not great) player?
What percentage of first round DBs are busts?
I think Porter will be fine once he heals from the surgery and as has been stated Spragan started last year and we had a pretty good defense. I agree with Armando, the learning on the fly part will hurt Porter's ability to be an every down player at least early on. He will probably be used in pass rush situations until he is fully acclimated to the defense; week 5 or 6 I would guess.
But this whole thing leads me to the difference in how the Steelers handle personnel verses the Dolphins and most other teams in the NFL. They let the aging guys go and do not pay the big contracts to older veterans. They draft well and do not get caught in the catch 22 of over paying free agents. The Eagles do this well also and guess what, these teams are regularly in the playoffs.
Zack is right, the poor drafts have killed us and have cause us to bring in players like Porter and Green and Shelton who are other teams cast aways. We need to learn how to draft and to let go of guys who are on their downside.
I just read an article that stated Porter is walking already and should be ready to practice in two or three weeks tops. They said they removed some scar tissue and it was minor surgery. Spragan helped make this defense #4 in the league last year and remember this, our offense SUCKED! The defense was on the field so much because of our offenses inability to sustain long drives. The D was still #4. We have to believe that with the additions of Ginn,Green,Booker,Sleshinger,and Hakim AND improvement from Hagan and Brown AND the emergence of Reed and Sutton that our offense will be improved. It all hinges on the O-line. That is the real story this pre-season. Stop freaking out people, we are still re-building and are not going to the superbowl. We should be happy with 7 to 9 wins.
Apparently, we are all in a hurry to get back on top. It will not happen over night nor will one man be the answer. I am not satisfied with all the trades and drafts either, but to think having only number one or high draft pick are the answer is an illusion. If this were true there would not be so many teams looking for players yearly as we have ourselves.
I am placing more of my concern on the coaches and their ability to unify the talent of each player to make a playoff team. Without proper coaching and intelligently designed plays no team will look good. Injuries are also a big issue and we need to allow a player to heal properly or they will be worth nothing. It is disappointing when players injure themselves during practice or pre-season, but that is a problem all teams face yearly.
Lets give Cam an opportunity to prove himself, and see what he is capable doing with the talent we have. Remember two years ago with the losing streak we had. When Saban went back to the basics, we won 6 straight games. We were thought to be a wash because of how we played earlier that year, and then played like a playoff team toward the end. That was all in the play calling and coaching, and that is where we first need to focus on. Though I would like to have big names come here from college like everyone else, but that is no guarantee. Maybe we can do as we did before with the no name defense. Not one of them known as big time drafts, but played like they were. That was coaching to bring out there ability to play individually and as a team. That's my opinion.
This defense is so good that they can absorb the hit if Porter goes down.
With Porter there, the front 7 should be stellar.
Het Mike, you said Miami can win without Porter. Exactly what have they won without Porter the past three or four years?
Nothing ya bum.
GO JETS!!!!
I just want to ask you guys accusing everyone of being negative one thing:
Which part of Joey Porter being out for two to four weeks is the good news?
Anonymous said'"exactly what have they won without Porter the last three or four years? Nothing ya bum,GO JETS." Anonymous a-hole, I think he meant to say that the Defense will be fine without Porter. With that being said, the Dolphins have had a few bad years but what in the hell is going on with the Jets? I mean come on guy, one superbowl appearance in how many years? That's pathetic. GO JETS, go right to Giants stadium to play your "home games",pathetic. GO JETS, go and try to convince your fans year after year that this is finally the year they make it back while you all lap it up like the good little dogs you are. GO JETS, go straight to the bottom of the wild card seeding and get your butts kicked in the first game. GO JETS, go and find a real QB so your team doesn't have to live in fear every time "egg shell Pennington" gets bumped. GO JETS, go and get a real mascot for a team named after a plane. Your team is named after a type of plane but your mascot is a vertically challenged fireman? GO JETS, seriously,,,,,,just go away, Namath was lucky to win that game and you haven't done a thing since then, throw in the towel,you're done.
The good news is that, 1. The younger linebackers that we drafted will have a better chance to be seriously evaluated which will help us in rebuilding.2. Porter will get to rest and be fresh for the start of the season. 3. Porter DID NOT sustain a season ending injury that would have hurt us worse than the measley 3 weeks he's missing. 4. He is a pro bowl veteran and not a rookie who sorely needs this time to get acclimated to the NFL.5. Lastly the good news is that the surgery was done now and not in the middle of the season . See how it works when you're a positive person. There are positives and negatives everyday in our lives. Succesful people take a negative and turn it into a positive by seeing the big picture and using the situation to their advantage. Losers dwell on negativity because it gives them an excuse for when they fail.
Bickering back and forth is not going to win our season, and letting pointless statements like that from the Jets fan get to you is all she wants. None of us here are true geniuses in sports, but we all have some idea or point in which brings reasoning to the confusion.
Until we see porter in action in regular season, all we have is either a assumption of greatness or blunder. I myself believe he will add many things doe to his experience in playing and teaching our rookies.
Many people here are influenced by Armando, and he is no better than most of us. He gets his info from the very websites we do. His assertions are no more intelligent than yours or mine. It is all personal view not fact. Fact is something having proof. We know how Porter aided his team, whether or not he can do the same thing here still needs to be proven on the field. Then and only then we can assert what he has given or taken away from the line or team. Past playing records are not proof the player will do the same this year or the next, or will it prove he will bring those records with him to his new team. A players stats are also based on teams performance.
Miami is in a twist these last years. Most of Miami's years it always had a better offense than defense, and lately it has been the other way. My hope is to balance the team to where the defense is not on the field more than the offense. It is the offenses job to use up the time while making scores, and defense to get back possession of the ball without the opponent scoring. That is what hurt Marino, but now we have no offense to control the game.
Again it is my opinion, and I hope I did not insult anyone in giving it. You all have many great points, but we need patience and a lot of hope in Cameron's ability to do the right thing, not as Saban did. I and many others wanted him, so lets give him the support in what he is doing.
I get my information from websites? I wish someone had shared that revelation with me in 1990 when I started covering this team.
Could you please tell me where to find those websites that I can ask questions of players, coaches, agents, scouts and trainers? I really want to save myself a trip to camp today.
Armando, don't let 'em get to you. Everybody knows you're the hardest-working reporter covering our beloved aquatic mammals. That was a good report on the knee surgery, given the dearth of information provided by the team itself. We know you're out there in the heat, probably bored by mindless reps in camp, but still manage to keep it interesting. Take the credit you deserve. You have a good one, now.
Besides, he was only 'anonymous'.
Why does everyone rag on Armando. I much prefer his realistic opinions as compared to some mindless cheerleader. I come to this blog everyday for information positive or negative and not a pom-pom shake. On the other hand if it is true Armando drives a vette then I am not sure about his taste in cars. High speed cornering in those cars is as scary as Travares Tillman as the last line of defense. Try an M3 Armando now that is a car with speed, handling, and luxury. Nothing in the world like German engineering
If Armando knows so much... then why did he state that Saban is dedicated to the Dolfins and would not leave? He may make good points, but so do the rest of the people here. I think he is do for a reality check to bring his feet back on the earth, and then he will be doing his job as he used to. His head is so big, up in the clouds because people tend to raise him there because of how well he used to report on the Phins. I liked Armando's views many years ago and at times now, but he lost view of his job and places too much on his being in his job for so long he forgot how to do it well.
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