Miami Dolphins In Depth

Mortensen: Porter not playing anytime soon

Well, this one came out of left field, but because Chris Mortensen is so well-respected and highly decorated as a journalist, it demands repeating here: The ESPN information man just reported Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter is not playing against the Carolina Panthers Thursday night.

Or "anytime soon," for that matter.

"The bottom line is I wouldn't expect to see Joey Porter anytime soon, certainly not Thursday night against the Panthers, although that's a coach's decison," Mortensen said on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown show.

And there you have it, except I have a hard time buying it.

I could understand if Porter is not expected to start. I could understand if Porter is not expected to get a majority of the snaps. But not play? And not for the foreseeable future?

I call Bovine Stool on this report.

I know Mortensen is pals with Bill Parcells because the two worked together at ESPN. I assume as everyone else does that Mortensen gets information from Parcells. And I can see how Parcells, a no-nonsense type guy with little regard for trash talkers that bark loudly but don't bite on game day, might be sick of Porter's big mouth act.

But shelve Porter indefinitely?

It would make better sense for the Dolphins to simply cut Porter. And I believe that will happen before the 2010 season begins. But just put the guy on ice?

I believe Porter is expected and will play Thursday against the Panthers. I have not been told anything one way or the other. But instinct forces me to believe the Dolphins won't shelve Porter while, for example, Quentin Moses is active for the game.

Nothing against Moses, but a player like Porter does not fall from grace so fast and with such a mighty thud as to be a starter against New England one week and then you don't hear from him again "anytime soon," thereafter.

Now, if Porter were injured, I would understand the possibility of not playing him. But Mort's report did not mention injury, and in fact, made the case that Porter is out because both Charlie Anderson and Cameron Wake were outstanding against Tampa Bay.

Porter also practiced Monday, was not on the injury report, and said during his talk to reporters that he is healthy. “I’m good man. I’m ready to go," Porter said. "I’m healthy. I’m ready to play."

Porter, by the way, expects to play against Carolina. He said he was getting ready for Carolina at least twice during Monday's interview. So if he's about to get shelved, he wasn't aware of it Monday.

Another reason I have trouble with the report is what Sparano said Monday, which I reported in the previous post. Yes, there is a rotation set now for the outside linebacker corps. That rotation was set prior to the Tampa Bay game and will continue for the Panthers game.

But Porter is expected to be part of that rotation rather than be excluded from it.

“I will be honest with you and I might have mentioned this after the game, but our plan going in was to have a rotation and we will continue to have a rotation and get as many of these guys in the game that we can get into the game," Sparano said. "I think [Cameron Wake and Charlie Anderson] were both productive yesterday so there is no reason for them not to get into the game and play.”

Nowhere in that is a hint that Porter will be left out in the cold. Furthermore, Sparano's almost enthusiastic defense of Porter against what he said was a media "hunt," suggested the coach plans to continue using Porter.

Even the suggestion that Porter has lost some explosion while his sacks have gone from 17.5 last year to 2.5 so far this year, seemed to vex Sparano.

“That’s your opinion," he retorted. "I think that you’re entitled to your opinion, but I think that for what we’ve asked Joey to do right now in the games that Joey’s been out there and been healthy, I’ve seen some of those things happen.

"Sometimes they just don’t go your way. It’s like when you guys sit here, and you say to me, ‘How come the receivers aren’t catching the ball?, How come the tight ends, coach, aren’t getting this, that, and the other thing?’ We want to talk about tight ends today? I think that those things, the opportunities are what the opportunities are. There was a ballgame a couple weeks ago, Joey was playing in, and if you start counting front side runs to backside runs, Joey was on the backside of a lot of those plays, an awful lot.”

So where does this all leave us?

If Porter does not play, it obviously signals the end of the relationship between him and the Dolphins much earlier than anyone expected -- that being by the start of 2010. It would mean the Dolphins have grown tired of his big mouth and diminishing statistics.

Simply, it would be hard for Miami to shelve Porter indefinitely without some backlash from the player. Porter wouldn't take it calmly, trust me. And, frankly, Porter would have something of a right to be angry if the report is true because it would mean the club was laying out its plans for him to a media outlet before telling him. Porter might have heard of Miami's plans on ESPN rather than from a coach that he likes and admires.

That would not sit well with him. He could get ugly about the whole situation. So the Dolphins would almost be forced to cut ties to avoid any drama. In that regard, the bigger story would be Dolphins getting ready to cut Porter.

So we are at a crossroads.

You either have a report that is wrong if Porter plays Thursday. Or you have an accurate report and a head coach who, in his zeal to defend an embattled player, crossed the line from defense to outright deception about that player -- defending him to the media while dumping him otherwise.

That's not how I believe Tony Sparano operates. He might not tell the media everything. But he's not a deceptive type of guy. And he doesn't mince words with his players. If Porter weren't going to play, he would hear that from Sparano, not on ESPN.

So I choose to believe the coach at the moment. I choose to believe Porter will play.

We shall see.

Are the Dolphins backups that good?

It is the proverbial two-edged sword that the Dolphins now wield with the handful of players that sat out Sunday's victory over Tampa Bay and those players that took their place.

Obviously the Dolphins won the game, so the replacements were good enough to help Miami to victory. But because the Dolphins won the game, one has to wonder about the players who sat.

Here's the thing that is frying my brain right now: Were Miami's replacements that good? Or were the players being replaced not as good as we thought and thus easily substituted for?

Let's take it position by position:

At outside linebacker, Joey Porter was benched for reasons the Dolphins don't want to divulge. But in keeping those reasons and Porter under wraps, something very interesting became quite public. Porter can seemingly be easily replaced.

Either that, or the Dolphins have amazing depth at OLB.

Think about it. Porter has not had a full sack since September. He's been missing practice time. He was invisible in last week's game at New England. So he gets deactivated and, voila, Charlie Anderson and Cameron Wake not only pick up the slack, but play much better than Porter has recently.

Anderson had five tackles -- almost half as many as Porter has contributed the entire season -- and added a sack and two forced fumbles.

"I was able to get back there and I knew the guy was tough to take down, but he can't go anywhere without the ball," Anderson said. "A couple of guys were like, 'Hey go for the ball,' The second time I was able to do that."

And he did. So do you think Anderson is a super sub? Or do you think Porter has been playing so poorly that this is the type of production the weakside outside linebacker position should be delivering regardless of who is playing there?

Oh, by the way, with Porter out, Cameron Wake also got a few extra pass-rush opportunities than usual. He turned in a sack, bringing his total to four, and had two tackles -- again better than what Porter has been giving.

At the tight end spot, the Dolphins played without starter Anthony Fasano because he is troubled by a hip injury. To cover the void, the Dolphins moved Joey Haynos to the starting job and used rookie Kory Sperry in double-tight end alignments.

Well, in his first NFL outing, the rookie tight end caught three passes for 31 yards, including a touchdown. In other words, Sperry now has as many TD catches as Fasano has had this season. So did the Dolphins miss Fasano on Sunday?

That would be a no.

Is it because Sperry is really good, a diamond found in the practice squad rough? Or is it because Fasano just hasn't been producing up to par to the point a rookie could match the veteran's typical production with little problem?

Discuss.

By the way, Sperry was brought up from the practice squad because he has been consistently out-performing fellow rookie John Nalbone in practice. Nalbone was a Miami fifth-round selection. Sperry was not drafted out of Colorado State. So much for all the draft experts out there.

Anyway, the Dolphins were also without LG Justin Smiley on Sunday. He was replaced in the starting lineup by Nate Garner. I'm not going to try to fool you and say Garner played well or as well as Smiley might. I have no idea.

I do know the Dolphins didn't give up any sacks. I do know they rushed for 199 yards. So obviously the offensive line -- including Garner -- was doing something right.

The greater point is this: If the Dolphins can manage to get such good production from their backups, they are a team that either enjoys great depth, as I said before. Or they are a team with some starters that aren't much better than their backups.

One is very good. The other possibility is troubling.

Only the coaching staff knows the true answer. And I'm sure the answer is different in each individual case.

But if the Dolphins have reserves that can deliver pretty well on Sunday, perhaps using those players might be a good idea in the future. Maybe applying the thought to other positions might be worthwhile.

Perhaps Tyler Thigpen might get better results in the spread formation than Pat White. Perhaps giving Patrick Turner some snaps with the offense (he was limited to special teams duty far as I saw on Sunday) might actually surprise people with production.

The old adage is the starter starts because he's better than the backup. Perhaps with the Dolphins that isn't always true.

SI: Dolphins 8-8 and out of the playoffs in '09

The one thing you will be pleased to know by the time this post is over is that Sports Illustrated, despite being a beacon for excellent sports writing, is awful at predicting what the Dolphins will do in the coming NFL season.

Remember the magazine had the Dolphins in the Super Bowl in 2006. The Dolphins finished the season 6-10.

So in the 2009 NFL preview edition that hits the newstands (those still around?) tomorrow, the magazine is telling everyone it believes the Dolphins will follow their 11-5 season in 2008 with an 8-8 record in 2009.

That record, by the way, would not be good enough for Miami to be in the playoffs. SI has the Patriots winning the AFC East with a 13-3 record and the Dolphins finishing second.

The playoff teams, the magazine predicts, will be the Steelers (11-5) winning the AFC North, the Texans (10-6) winning the AFC South, San Diego (11-5) winning the AFC West, and Baltimore (9-7) and Indianapolis (10-6) earning wild card berths.

The magazine has the Patriots beating the Bears in Super Bowl 44 to be played in Miami.

So what do you think of the prediction?

The rest of the Ricky Williams interview

On Monday afternoon I had an interesting chat with Ricky Williams about his bye weekend, his current view of his career, and his maturation process as a man and player.

During that interview I asked Williams about Marijuana and he spoke openly about it. I asked him if he was tempted to smoke again, and interestingly enough, he admitted he was tempted during the bye weekend. I wrote a story about it in The Herald.

But there were other parts of the interview that were not included in the story for space reasons or because, mostly, they had less to do with the theme of the story. So I include them here:

How do you overcome addiction to Marijuana?

"I think you can get addicted to anything. I think overcoming it, you need help definitely. You need a support system and you need some way to remind yourself, one, why not to do it. And two, you have to remind yourself of the positive things that will come if you refrain from doing it."

"It's hard for me to say I was addicted to Marijuana. I'm not convinced I had a Marijuana problem. I smoked occasionally and I had bad timing. I was in a program where there was zero tolerance. And so for me it was a matter of if I was 100 percent sure I wanted to be a football player, it wouldn't have been an issue for me to [not] smoke. But I think a lot of times I had serious doubts [football] is what I wanted to do. So I wasn't motivated not to smoke."

So what changed?

"I think the problem is when you get to a certain point in your career, you see the end of football. And that's when the doubts become stronger. But I've already seen past the end of football and I'm looking forward to getting to life after football. But I also realize the longer I can play and the more productive I can be over time, it makes life after football easier. So I'm motivated to stay here as long as I can."

How much does money have to do with that?

"It has a big part to do with it. It's something I was never comfortable saying, that I played for money. But I'm at a point now where if I wasn't making money, there's no doubt I wouldn't be here."

You sound so much more mature about life than you used to years ago.

"One of the biggest things is over the past couple of years, I've started to embrace and appreciate  family life. So now I understand the decision I make don't just affect me. They affect my kids, they affect my wife, they affect everything. Being around them all the time makes it easier. Before them, I was more about myself and I didn't think too much about how much my decisions affected other people. That comes from maturity."

Dolphins should trade for Favre (sort of)

We all understand that Brett Favre has likely played his final game in Green Bay and could be traded sometime soon.

Here's a wild hair idea: The Dolphins should throw themselves into the trade talks.

I am not saying the Dolphins should trade for Favre for the sake of making him their quarterback. I am saying the Dolphins should try and trade for Favre with the idea of making him the Minnesota Vikings quarterback.

Huh?

Look, the Dolphins could give up a draft pick for Favre that is higher than any pick any other team can give for Favre because most of the teams involved in the conversation aren't expected to be as bad in 2008 as the Dolphins. So say Tampa gives up a third rounder for Favre. Well, the Dolphins could offer that and probably get Favre because their pick is likely higher and they are not in the NFC and, unlike like the Bucs, they don't play the Packers this year.

So Favre gets traded to Miami. And then the Dolphins turn around and trade him to the Vikings for a higher pick in an earlier round.

Would Favre go for it? You bet. Would Minnesota do it? You bet. Would it peeve the Packers? You bet. So what?

It is a devious move, even somewhat Machiavellian (google it if you don't know). But it is an opportunity to make the Dolphins better by trading a lower pick for a higher pick. The only thing that would derail this idea is if GB makes trading Favre conditional on the team he is dealt to not trading him again -- which most teams don't do because there rarely is a need to. They would really have to be on their toes to include that condition in the deal and from what I've seen of how GB is handling this situation, they don't really seem to be on their toes.

Anyway, this is obviously not going to happen. But I'm just saying ... it would be delicious if it did.

Reality: Favre to Dolphins doesn't make sense

Every credible sports news gathering entity with a website is chiming in on the Brett Favre story now. Most are tackling the issue with well-reported, cogent stories that outline why the statistical QB king wants to play again, why that causes a problem for the Green Bay Packers, and where Favre might land if not on the Frozen Tundra.

None of those stories -- seriously, not one -- regard the Dolphins as a logical landing spot for Brett Favre should he decide to continue his career.

And then there is The Miami Herald.

I opened my paper of record this morning (yes, I'm the guy that still buys the broadsheet instead of getting it free on the Internet) and read why the Dolphins should go after Favre. The story concedes what most right-thinking people understand: That Favre to the Dolphins could not happen. But then it stubbornly insists, "it could."

To which I stubbornly retort: No it couldn't. Really. It couldn't, wouldn't and won't.

Why? Let me count the ways:

First, the idea would thrill the Dolphins marketing department that is desperate to raise the organization out of a ticket-selling funk. But the marketing department doesn't make football decisions. And weighed against fanciful wishing, bringing Favre to the Dolphins is a bad football decision.

What would Favre bring the Dolphins? Lots of national attention. A better quarterback than they currently have. But a playoff shot? Probably not. Even if Favre is still able to be great, he can improve a team's record by one, maybe two games. That might make the Dolphins a 7-9 team instead of 5-11.

And when Favre re-retires it leaves the Dolphins weaker because their rebuilding program detoured because of a flirtation. We still won't know anything about John Beck or Chad Henne and the team will then have a lower draft spot from which to continue building rather than a higher one.

Not that this matters. The Dolphins know there is really no way to get Favre to South Florida anyway. Trade? Can't happen.

Here's the scenario: If the Packers trade Favre it would have to be to a team he approves because he could collapse the deal by simply not reporting if he doesn't like the team. The only teams Favre is interested in playing for are teams with a chance to contend for a Super Bowl berth.

The Dolphins do not qualify.

Yes, the winters are nice here and there is no state tax to pay, but Favre wants a proven offensive line to play behind. Favre wants proven receivers to throw to. Favre would like a West Coast offense to guide because that's what he's known his entire career.

The Dolphins again strike out on all counts.

Certainly, the Dolphins could force the issue if they really wanted. They could jump eyes-closed into the Favre lottery and offer to trade Jason Taylor to the Packers. And the Packers might go for it. But again, Favre would not report to Miami and then what you would have in Miami is another black eye to the team's reputation as yet another superstar admits he doesn't want to play for the once-elite organization.

And that speaks nothing to the issue of fitting Favre's $12.8 million cap hit, which is $4 million higher than Taylor's, into the Dolphins cap. That's right, any team trading for Favre would have to wedge $12.8 million into its cap which is impossible for many teams and a too-snug fit for Miami.

Of course, if the Packers were to lose their ever-lovin' minds and release Favre, the Dolphins would make sense as a free agent landing spot if no other team were to bid on Favre. Problem is the line of teams bidding on Favre would be long and cut straight to the quarterback's desire to get back to the Super Bowl.

The Vikings would be first in line. They are one QB short of being Super Bowl caliber. Bingo. The Bucs would be in that line, too. Jon Gruden runs the west coast offense and his team was in the playoffs last year. The Jets, Redskins and Ravens would also be in that line.

What suggests to you that out of all those teams -- including three playoff teams from last year -- Favre would elect to play for the Dolphins? The answer is nothing.

And what suggests to you the Dolphins would out-bid all those teams in a free-agent free-for-all when they don't share the same desperation to win now as those other teams? Again, the answer is nothing.

It simply doesn't make sense ...

... unless you are reading today's Herald.

Ferguson may make Samson Satele better

I talked to Jason Ferguson late this week and related his thoughts about how good the Dolphins may or may not be in a column I wrote for The Herald's print and online editions.

Regardless of how you feel about Ferguson's view of the Dolphins -- he believes they can be pretty good in 2008 -- there can be no denying his presence on the team will affect the offensive line as well as the defensive line.

Ferguson, you see, will be practicing every day opposite second-year center Samson Satele and the hope is he can help the young offensive player improve just as he helped Kevin Mawae (with the Jets) and Andre Gurode (with Dallas) become better players.

Both have been Pro Bowl performers, by the way.

"The last two teams I played with, I faced the best two centers in the league," Ferguson told me. "That was Kevin Mawae when I was with the Jets and Andre Gurode with the Cowboys. When you go against Pro Bowlers every day in practice, it made me better. And I think I helped make them better."

Ferguson says he and Satele should become close -- just as he did with the other two centers -- because it suits everyone's best interest as well as the team's.

"You become one of the guy's best friends because you go and check with him every day and ask questions that help each other," Ferguson said. "You say, 'What about my technique? How was it then?' And they ask me the same about themselves. That's what I expect from the young guy here.

"I think he's a good worker. He's a good, athletic kid. When I watch him, I say, 'Hey, he's not going to sit there and just take it.' You don't want no offensive lineman taking it."

Although I've talked to Ferguson only once, I like him already. He promises to improve the run defense, and his attitude is wonderful.

Example: I asked him how he did in his practice work against Mawae and Gurode: "You don't go in thinking I'll win this one and he'll win that one. I want to win nine out of 10."

HBO shines light on Patriots' shadowy cheating

Everybody knows the Patriots cheated right? Everyone knows they cheated from 2000 until September of 2007. Everyone now knows this, no matter how badly the NFL and its media sycophants want the scandal to go away.

But most of us have lives to worry about, so we've probably been believing what we've heard on the periphery of Matt Walsh's allegations concerning Spygate. Friday night is your opportunity to hear, no holds barred, right from the videographer's mouth, exactly how he helped Bill go from Belichick to Belicheat.

HBO will air an exclusive sit-down interview with Walsh on Real Sports from 8-9 p.m. My friend Andrea Kremer conducts what is, in my opinion, a thorough and candid interview with the man who worked for New England for several years, basically taping opponents' offensive and defensive signals against NFL rules.

By the way, I am doing my radio show from 10-noon on 790 The Ticket Friday. Kremer will be a guest on my show so tune in. If you are in South Florida it is 790 on your AM dial. If you are everywhere else, you can listen online at 790theticket.com.

[Afternoon update: Andrea came on the show and one of the more interesting things she added is that after interviewing Walsh, she called a couple of former Patriots players that she has developed a trust with. They told her they knew of the taping and that it was a benefit to the team. She said that verified for her that Walsh is not simply fabricating this stuff.]

Anyway, in the interview, Walsh tells Kremer the practice began in 2000 in a game against Tampa Bay and then extended to games against division opponents -- namely the Dolphins, Jets and Bills. Then, it became so successful, they did it against practically everybody.

And Walsh says it was a huge advantage, particularly for the New England offense, which started running no-huddle at odd times to maximize knowing the other team's defensive signals.

“They’d know exactly which play to call, that was, uh, there are certainly a number of plays to call that would be of greatest benefit to a particular defense," Walsh said. "Seeing how the blitz is coming from one particular side, if you know the coverage is gonna roll into a certain area, you’re aware of vacant areas on the field, and then, you run a play to that area, you stack numbers to that area. You know, it’s gonna give you a benefit.

"So when Belichick talks about the minimal impact of this .. what bothers you about that?" Kremer asks.

"All I know is the success rate that it had for the first game against Tampa Bay, and all I know is that it was something they continued to have me do throughout the two years I worked in video, under coach Cheater Belichick," Walsh answered. "If it was of little or no importance, I imagine they wouldn't have continued to do it, and probably not taken the chances of going down on the field in Pittsburgh or shooting from other teams' stadiums the way we did."

Walsh, interestingly, says that even as his team was CHEATING, he suspected one other team that played the Patriots of CHEATING, also. He infers that team was in the AFC East. He says he reported this suspicion to commissioner Roger Goodell when the two met earlier this week.

"There was only one other time that I ever suspected another team of possibly shooting our signals," Walsh said. "Both of us were shooting together on the roof of the old Foxboro Stadium. I was filming their defensive signals, and I would look over when we were on defense, and I'd see him panning over to our sideline, and then going back to the field, panning over and going back. I didn't say anything to him because I was doing the same thing. But after the game I went into our defensive coach's office, talked with Romeo Crennel, there were a couple of coaches in there at the time, but I said to Romeo, 'The team we just played was doing to us what we do to them. So, the next time we play them, we might want to change up our defensive signals a little bit.' "

And this is one of the many things that stink about this cheating scandal. Not only does it rightly impugn the guilty Patriots, but now there is a shadow of guilt present over other teams that played the Patriots more than once in a year.

Goodell knows the name of that team because Walsh said he told him.

Discuss...