the Miami Sports Dude

As you know by now, the Dolphins went ahead and signed Joey Porter. I deduced that this would be the case with all the house cleaning they were doing. For the most part – at least from the comments some of you have left – you all seem, um, how shall I put this? Stimulated? Titillated? Ecstatic? Thrilled? Satisfied? Contented? Mmm … let’s say, pleased, with this signing.

Howevvaaa, I have heard that some Dolphins fans are not so happy with this signing. I also heard a certain radio host gibber-jabberin about how Porter is a “decent” player but not a great one and how the Dolphins over paid for him, that he’s old, that the Dolphins front office is sending mixed signals, that we fans are idiots for being enamored with the “big name” but that the quality is not so good, that OLB position is not a position of need, that the Dolphins should be spending millions on offense instead of defense.

Let’s address this crap one at a time:

1. A "decent" player? Joey Porter is a play maker. Period. Here’s a test: name the best linebacker Zach Thomas has ever played alongside with. Morlon Greenwood? Donnie Spragan? Porter will now be the best linebacker Thomas has ever played alongside with. He’s a Pro Bowl linebacker, a Super Bowl champion and a disruptive playmaker who will not only benefit playing with Thomas and JT but will also elevate their play as well. Opposing offensive coordinators are going to be pulling their hair out trying to figure out what to do now that they can’t double up on Taylor. Opposing quarterbacks are in for some bad days against this new-look D.

2. Overpaid? Maybe. But let’s consider what the Dolphins have done in the past by deciding to not to "over pay" and not take chances. Some names: Drew Brees. Apparently wanted too much money. Trent Green (circa 2000 when he was still good). The Rams apparently wanted too much in draft picks and such. I can go on but it’s moot. The market is what it is and if someone else had offered Porter more money and he ended up with another team, the Dolphins would still have a huge void at outside linebacker and the radio hosts would be bashing them for being too cheap. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

3. Too old? Not really. He’ll start the season at 30, which is the peak age. Barring injury (and he’s durable), Porter will be an effective playmaker all the way through his five seasons under contract.

4. Front office sending mixed signals? Again, not really. While this one is debatable because of the way the Fins are purging out their older players, it really isn’t that tough to get a handle on. The Dolphins are cutting older players who have worn out their welcome with sub-par play and huge pay checks. Trading Wes Welker for a 2nd and 7th round pick? The guy was a kick-returner and a No. 3 option, average wide receiver. You make that trade every time. Randy McMichael released? McMichael was simply too expensive for what he brought to the table. The Dolphins also released old, underperforming offensive and defensive linemen. So what’s the mixed signal? All I see here is what Nick Saban should’ve done when he first got here. All I see is a team purging itself of worthless players who were weighing them down with their salaries. Porter is far from being worthless.

5. Fans enamored with the big name. The last time we were enamored with a big name, it came in the form of Daunte Culpepper. But Porter is healthy, comes in with zero question marks and is still one of the elite linebackers in the game. And we like him because of what we’ve seen him do in a Steelers uniform (especially against our Dolphins) and now he’ll be doing those things in a Dolphins uniform against the Pats, Jets, Bills etc. What's not to like? But I guess we’re all a bunch of knee-jerk retards who know nothing about football, huh?

6. The OLB not a position of need? Whaaa???? This statement was all I needed to know that the radio host was, once again, pontificating from his rectum and is a complete and utter moron*. Again, Donnie Spragan? Akbar Gbaja-Biamila? Um, yea, I’ll take Joey Porter, thanks.

*He also made me appreciate his co-host, whom I have bashed a few times here. That show flat out sucks when Dan isn’t there.

7. Spending millions on offense, not defense. Again, the radio host appears to sound smart here because the Dolphins have been anemic on offense. But who’s out there that’s worth the millions we’re giving Porter? This free agent crop was strictly a defensive one. Name all the top offensive free agents this year and what you get were offensive linemen, one – Kris Dielman -- which the Dolphins were willing to spend loads of money on but chose to stay with his old team for less money, and a few other OL who signed with the first team they visited. After that we’re left with names like Jeff Garcia, Donte Stallworth, Kevin Curtis, Drew Bennett, Joe Horn. All good players but none worth the value of a Porter and none that would cause teams to get into bidding wars over. 2007 is a mediocre offensive free agency class. It just is. And once Nate Clements and Adaluis Thomas were snatched up, Porter became the best player in the free agency pool. And I am damn glad we got him.

And by no means is this front office done. It’s March, folks. There’ll be plenty of time to address the offense without over spending or making panic moves (although I do wish the Dolphins would jump in on the Randy Moss sweepstakes because he’s Randy Freakin Moss and, if not for anything else, to drive up the Patriots price for the Raiders… but that’s a topic for another long-winded post.)

So there you have it. Joey Porter’s signing was a great move. He’s going to make an already stout defense even better. He’s going to help carry the weight for Zach and JT. He excells in the 3-4 defense. He'll be a QB-wrecker when teams double-team either Taylor or Thomas. He’s going to be an impact player and it was a smart move by the front office.

Best part of all, I no longer hate Porter! I used to think he was the biggest dick in the NFL. I actively rooted against the Steelers in Super Bowl XL because of Porter. Now, he’s a Dolphin. So we’re cool. And his dogs once ate a live horse, which is pretty awesome.

Labels: Miami Dolphins