joey porter decision/ James Harrison

[dlockz]

There were a variety of reasons that the Steelers cut Porter.

Although no one on the Steelers would say so, the threat by Porter to hold out last summer played a factor in his release. Team officials did not want to burden new head coach Mike Tomlin with that kind of threat to his authority. Even though Porter was scheduled to make $5 million in the final year of his deal, he was unhappy with his contract and there was a chance he might boycott some of the minicamps and then training camp had he remained with the team.

My main complaint with the Porter signing was that we had bigger needs and guaranteeing 20 million was a bit much considering he was not coming off a great year. My other complaint is we basically outbid ourselves because no other team had a chance to make an offer yet. We tryed to give him so much guaranteed that no other team would match.

A player of Joey's ability doesn't become available often, especially at a position of need," Dolphins general manager Randy Mueller told AP. "We knew that together we all would have to react immediately to be able to sign him, and I was glad with the way we all worked so quickly internally in order to get this done."
Porter wanted to take the weekend to settle himself and find a new spot. On Monday, he started to put together a plan of trips. Then the Dolphins entered the picture and worked out a contract. Knowing he was one of the top defensive players available, Porter accepted a deal from the Dolphins before making other visits.

The Porter signing showed me how unprepared our front office was because they needed to get younger and thier two biggest moves were far from that arena. If we were not ready to compete last year why make the move, so obviously Cam thought they were a team that was more ready than it was.

[dlockz]

I agree that Cam was a moron but bringing in a mouth like Porter probably did very little for a team that will be cutting him before we are ready to compete.

[slickj102]

Originally Posted by dlockz

I agree that Cam was a moron but bringing in a mouth like Porter probably did very little for a team that will be cutting him before we are ready to compete.

How is playing a key player on defense out of position most of the year expected to do a lot for a struggling team??????? And there is absolutely no reason to think Porter will be cut before we re ready to compete.

1. How do you know the exact time our team will be competitive? Id be interested to hear that answer since our new staff hasnt even completed 1 draft yet.

2. How do you know how Porter will play at his correct position on this team? and how do you know when his level of play will start to diminish? If you can predict that then where were you last year when we all thought our defense was going to continue to climb the top 5 in the league?

People need to lay off Porter and hold their opinions until he plays at his probowl position for our entirely revamped FO.

[dlockz]

Originally Posted by slickj102

How is playing a key player on defense out of position most of the year expected to do a lot for a struggling team??????? And there is absolutely no reason to think Porter will be cut before we re ready to compete.

1. How do you know the exact time our team will be competitive? Id be interested to hear that answer since our new staff hasnt even completed 1 draft yet.

2. How do you know how Porter will play at his correct position on this team? and how do you know when his level of play will start to diminish? If you can predict that then where were you last year when we all thought our defense was going to continue to climb the top 5 in the league?

People need to lay off Porter and hold their opinions until he plays at his probowl position for our entirely revamped FO.

None of us know anything for certain but most players dont fulfill thier contract and I see Porter as a cut after his third year.

[Deof Movestofca]

Originally Posted by jdang307

See now that to me is defining leadership with wins and losses.

If that's what you got out of what I said, then you missed my point entirely. What is inspirational in one circumstance, such as when a team is winning, can be a distraction in another, such as when a team is losing. There are times when the same behavior is going to be viewed differently according to circumstances... and good leaders figure out that what formerly worked isn't any longer and adapt. Furthermore, the articles you referred to are only indicative of his actions in Pittsburgh, as they predate his time with Miami.

[afishfan]

Originally Posted by 12MaN

I think some of the Fin Fans on here don't have the facts straight as to why Porter called out Cam. It had nothing to do with the state of the team or the fact that Porter was playing out of position. It had to do with how Cam handled the Keith Traylor incident.

As you may recall Traylor and Carey got into it on the plane flight back from Boston after the New England game (which I attended personally) and Cam let them go at it instead of stepping in and laying down the law. The only reason the fight was even broken up was because players like Joey Porter (who many of you say is not a leader) stepped in and broke up the fight. Now isn't that what your coach is paid to do? Isn't he the one that was supposed to be a leader and stop the problem, better yet avoid it from happening?

Furthermore when the team made it back to South Florida, Cam called Traylor into his office and gave him the walking papers. That is what a coward does in my opinion, Cam had no leadership skills once or ever and our record spoke for it self. Mind you that Porter was not the only one calling out Cam there were others that did but were not as vocal as Porter was. Also need I remind you that Z. Thomas also got in to it with R.Muller and even got in Muller’s face at one of the Dolphins banquets because Muller was questionings Thomas's heart and dedication to the team.

With that said last years G.M and Coach created a Cancer in the locker room between them and the players and it's the reason their both long gone and I couldn't be any happier. I think it's the first time in NFL history were a G.M and a Coach had players rooting against them, they were the ones that actually created a bad environment in the locker room. So I ask when was the last time you ever heard of this happening because of a coach and GM?

Now what is funny to me is how there are some of you questioning Porter's leadership when in fact he was one of the players that broke up the fight (sounds like a leader to me). Also by him stepping up to defend his teammate shows me that Porter has any of his teammates back no matter what or who he is having the problem with. IMO you have to admire that from a teammate. I think what Porter did was deserved by Cam and Co. and I'm looking forward to not having Cam Coward on our side lines any longer.

Yeah Zach did have some words for Mueller. I love Zach, but the same guy that reported the info to Zach (about the words being spoken about him - it happened to be a reporter by the way - can't remember which one) ALSO, AFTER THE INCIDENT TOLD ZACH HE HAD THE WRONG GUY. Zach acted in haste in this situation, and although it was never revealed who the person was, Zach was informed and it WASN'T Mueller.

Just goes to show though HOW DYSFUNCTIONAL this team was last year. A serious void in leadership at the top. I think Mueller really did do a fantastic job with this team last year, but Cameron was the wrong guy running the ship. Glad to have the new guys on board

[like2god]

Originally Posted by slickj102

Kinda hard for players to properly lead each other with no leader mentality in the coaching position. I think Cam being a moron and doing nothing hurt the team dynamic and caused a lot of the problems you blame Porter for speaking out about.

I'd love to be able to blame other people when I do something wrong, but the thing is I'm responsible for my own actions, so I can't. Trying to pass the blame to Cam because Porter decided that he was going to berate his coach is silly, Porter had no business acting the way he did.

How is playing a key player on defense out of position most of the year expected to do a lot for a struggling team??????? And there is absolutely no reason to think Porter will be cut before we re ready to compete.

Well seeing that Jason Taylor occupied Porter's spot on the weak side and the whole idea of bring Joey in was so he could play opposite of JT, it's kind of hard to blame Cam for that one. I agree that he is better off on the weak side, but Joey knew what he was getting into when he signed that contract. But again, playing out of position has nothing to do with the fact that he didn't know the playbook until a few weeks into the season. If anything, it shows that he didn't work as hard as he should have to learn the ins and outs of his new position.

1. How do you know the exact time our team will be competitive? Id be interested to hear that answer since our new staff hasnt even completed 1 draft yet.

Well seeing that Parcells and Co. said that this wasn't going to be a quick turnaround and the fact that we still have a long way to go as far as finding the right players to play in the 3/4 defense and our offense is still pretty weak, I'd say the chances are pretty good that we are going to be 2 or 3 years away from the playoffs, which is exactly the timeframe that Parcells and Co. have given.

2. How do you know how Porter will play at his correct position on this team? and how do you know when his level of play will start to diminish? If you can predict that then where were you last year when we all thought our defense was going to continue to climb the top 5 in the league?

Well, unless JT is sent packing, Porter has no chance of playing WLB. And as far as his play goes, just take a look at the past 2 years and the drop off is pretty evident. Whether it's due to injury or playing out of position, he isn't the same player that he was 2-3 years ago.

People need to lay off Porter and hold their opinions until he plays at his probowl position for our entirely revamped FO.

This is an open forum and as long as people are respectful, they can post their opinions. There are already rumblings that Parcells and Co. aren't all that enamored with Joey, so he might not be around much longer. Getting rid of him isn't an option this year, but next year might be a different story.

[slickj102]

Originally Posted by like2god

I'd love to be able to blame other people when I do something wrong, but the thing is I'm responsible for my own actions, so I can't. Trying to pass the blame to Cam because Porter decided that he was going to berate his coach is silly, Porter had no business acting the way he did.


Well seeing that Jason Taylor occupied Porter's spot on the weak side and the whole idea of bring Joey in was so he could play opposite of JT, it's kind of hard to blame Cam for that one. I agree that he is better off on the weak side, but Joey knew what he was getting into when he signed that contract. But again, playing out of position has nothing to do with the fact that he didn't know the playbook until a few weeks into the season. If anything, it shows that he didn't work as hard as he should have to learn the ins and outs of his new position.


Well seeing that Parcells and Co. said that this wasn't going to be a quick turnaround and the fact that we still have a long way to go as far as finding the right players to play in the 3/4 defense and our offense is still pretty weak, I'd say the chances are pretty good that we are going to be 2 or 3 years away from the playoffs, which is exactly the timeframe that Parcells and Co. have given.


Well, unless JT is sent packing, Porter has no chance of playing WLB. And as far as his play goes, just take a look at the past 2 years and the drop off is pretty evident. Whether it's due to injury or playing out of position, he isn't the same player that he was 2-3 years ago.


This is an open forum and as long as people are respectful, they can post their opinions. There are already rumblings that Parcells and Co. aren't all that enamored with Joey, so he might not be around much longer. Getting rid of him isn't an option this year, but next year might be a different story.

So you dont think Cam made a huge mistake not breaking up a fight between teammates and just sitting there and doing nothing? You say Porter is wrong and not a leader for calling out cam but would that of happened if Cam stepped up to take charge of a bad situation? I dont agree with everything Porter does but I can definitely see why he would call him out on that one.

[like2god]

Originally Posted by slickj102

So you dont think Cam made a huge mistake not breaking up a fight between teammates and just sitting there and doing nothing? You say Porter is wrong and not a leader for calling out cam but would that of happened if Cam stepped up to take charge of a bad situation? I dont agree with everything Porter does but I can definitely see why he would call him out on that one.

I'm disappointed in anybody that didn't step in to stop a fight, coaches and players. But that still doesn't give a player the right to berate his coach like Porter did.

We all know that Cam failed in Miami, part of that was due to injuries, part of that was due to his inexperience, part of that was due to the fact that he overextended himself as a HC and OC and part of it was due to poor personnel decisions made by the FO in the offseason that left our defense old and depleted. But to blame Cam for everything that went wrong last year is silly and dishonest.

It's up to the players to play hard out on the field and towards the end of the year some players just flat out gave up. I forget if it was ck or kb, but one of them pointed out that Marty Booker completely mailed it in before the season ended, that he would run his route, not even bother to watch the play and run at full speed right to the bench. If the players give up due to the teams record, poor coaching, etc there isn't much a coach can do.

I'm elated that Cam is out and Parcells and Co. are now in charge, but I'm not going to go out of my way to bash Cameron just because it's the easy thing to do. I have plenty of gripes with his job performance, but the argument that Joey was justified in his actions because of Cam is bunk.

[Finfang]

Originally Posted by like2god

I'm disappointed in anybody that didn't step in to stop a fight, coaches and players. But that still doesn't give a player the right to berate his coach like Porter did.

We all know that Cam failed in Miami, part of that was due to injuries, part of that was due to his inexperience, part of that was due to the fact that he overextended himself as a HC and OC and part of it was due to poor personnel decisions made by the FO in the offseason that left our defense old and depleted. But to blame Cam for everything that went wrong last year is silly and dishonest.

It's up to the players to play hard out on the field and towards the end of the year some players just flat out gave up. I forget if it was ck or kb, but one of them pointed out that Marty Booker completely mailed it in before the season ended, that he would run his route, not even bother to watch the play and run at full speed right to the bench. If the players give up due to the teams record, poor coaching, etc there isn't much a coach can do.

I'm elated that Cam is out and Parcells and Co. are now in charge, but I'm not going to go out of my way to bash Cameron just because it's the easy thing to do. I have plenty of gripes with his job performance, but the argument that Joey was justified in his actions because of Cam is bunk.

Excellent post Mike!

[slickj102]

agree to disagree

[Deof Movestofca]

Originally Posted by slickj102

So you dont think Cam made a huge mistake not breaking up a fight between teammates and just sitting there and doing nothing? You say Porter is wrong and not a leader for calling out cam but would that of happened if Cam stepped up to take charge of a bad situation?

If Carey and Traylor weren't fighting in the first place, then it wouldn't have happened that Cam should have had to break it up. Yes, Cam was wrong for not stopping the fight. But two wrongs don't make a right.

Originally Posted by slickj102

I dont agree with everything Porter does but I can definitely see why he would call him out on that one.

But there were other options available to him. First, he could have made his displeasure made known to Cam in private, with or without other players present. Second, if he was going to make it public, he could have placed the majority of the blame where it belonged, on Carey and/or Traylor for fighting in the first place.

[G-Force]

CAm should have sent all parties home and not took sides against the defensive veteran again like he did all season. Joey did exactly what any real leader would have done.

[like2god]

Originally Posted by slickj102

agree to disagree

Agree to disagree.

[dantheman#1fan]