Porter’s words ring true for Dolphins

By Jeff Dickinson  |   Monday, September 22, 2008  |  Comments( 9 )

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It wasn’t quite the bold prediction that quarterback Joe Namath made prior to Super Bowl III, when he said his underdog New York Jets would beat the highly favored Baltimore Colts.

Truth be told, linebacker Joey Porter’s words about Miami’s game against the New England Patriots weren’t really a prediction. Last Wednesday, Porter said that it shouldn’t be that hard for the Dolphins to beat Matt Cassel and the Patriots, even though the contest was in Foxborough, Mass., and the Pats had won 21 consecutive regular-season games.

Words like Porter’s can sometimes be used as motivation for opposing teams in need of bulletin-board material. This time, however, Porter couldn’t have been more right. After the Dolphins were finished totally manhandling the Patriots, 38-13, behind running back Ronnie Brown's five total touchdowns, Porter explained his startling words.

According to Porter, he meant that beating the Pats with Cassel was going to be much simpler than knocking them off with Tom Brady. With an unproven quarterback replacing a three-time Super Bowl champion and future Hall of Famer, Porter felt Sunday was Miami’s best chance in quite some time to upset New England.

While it remains to be seen just how much of an impact Porter’s words had on his teammates, they couldn’t have done any harm. Porter is a veteran on the Miami defense, a 10th-year player who has won a Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers. It couldn’t hurt some of the younger players to see an established player like Porter believe that his lowly Dolphins actually had a chance against the Patriots.

That’s not to say that Miami’s improbable win was all "Rudy" and "Hoosiers." What it lacked in belief and motivation, it more than made up for with smash-mouth execution. Brown’s five touchdowns were the show, but the play of the offensive and defensive lines was the dough.

On offense, the Dolphins didn’t allow Chad Pennington to be sacked once in the game. The line also paved the way for Brown and Ricky Williams to average a sparkling 6.0 yards per carry. In addition to Brown’s 113 yards on the ground, Williams gained 98 yards on only 16 carries.

Defensively, the line pressured Cassel into four sacks and held the Patriots to only 79 yards rushing. If you can’t run the football in the NFL, you'd had better have someone like Brady under center to keep your offense moving.

The 1-2 Dolphins have already heard the negative talk about their upset of the 2-1 Patriots. New England was without Brady. Laurence Maroney was also out of the game. Nevertheless, the Patriots still have plenty of playmakers in Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney and Ben Watson. They also have arguably the best coach in the game in Bill Belichick, though his legacy may have been damaged Sunday.

The win over New England might not be enough to propel the Dolphins to the playoffs this season. It might not even help them achieve a winning record. But what the victory does is show a young team that is used to losing how a Sunday can turn out when a game plan is embraced and executed.
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About Jeff Dickinson

I have been writing and editing professionally for 18 years. I spent the first three years of my career as a sportswriter for a daily newspaper in Alabama and got to cover sports and get paid for it! It was great until I got married and then it wasn't too much fun being away from my wife every ...
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CommentsComments: 9  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
JimmyD		11:38 AM
09/23/2008
I tend to speak softly and carry a big stick, but whatever gets you motivated will work. Porter is who he is and that will not ...
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No.2
03:03 PM
09/23/2008
Jimmy how about when the Fish don't run for 200 yards and have to throw downfield to move the chains? Pennington scares no ...
No.3
JimmyD		03:34 PM
09/23/2008
I think the outcome was obvious against Arizona. The offense is designed to be a 'run first - pass to keep'm honest' mindset. If ...
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