Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter out Sunday because of coaches’ decision

By admin at 14 November, 2009, 5:13 pm



DAVIE – Joey Porter is having a bad week. Porter didn’t have a tackle last Sunday at New England, missed two practices with a knee injury and now will miss Sunday’s visit from Tampa Bay because of a coach’s decision, not an injury. A season after he made his fourth Pro Bowl, Porter was hoping to get back track after a poor first half to 2009. Porter did practice on Friday and was listed as probable for Sunday’s game. To replace Porter in the starting lineup, the Dolphins likely will move Jason Taylor to the weak side, opening the door for Matt Roth to make his first start of the season. It also should give Cam Wake more pass-rushing opportunities. In limited action, he’s third on the team with 3 1/2 sacks. Porter hasn’t had a full sack since a Sept. 27 loss at San Diego and has just 2 1/2 this season – nine fewer than he had through eight games in 2008. He also has just 12 tackles, fewer than 14 Dolphins. Simply put, it’s not the kind of season

the team was expecting from one of its top players and team captains. Even so, coach Tony Sparano on Friday lauded Porter’s professionalism following his embarrassing outing against the Patriots. In the week leading up to the game, Porter made several negative comments about Tom Brady and Co., then went out and didn’t have a tackle for only the sixth time since 2001. “I see no frustration, but what I do see is a guy that’s played in enough football games to know ‘there’s some things I need to do better out there,’” Sparano said. “There’s a lot of things that people say about Joey that are not always favorable, but one of the good things about Joey is [that] the guy’s a pretty good pro. “He sees it, he knows. When he sees it, and he knows, he takes it personally. The guy cares, and I think that’s a hell of a quality to have when you’ve played the game for as many years as Joey.”

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Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter out Sunday because of coaches’ decision

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