Joey Porter Jr Appreciation Thread

Pay the man when the time comes.

 

I couldn’t agree more. That is just smart football.

 

Except Humphreys, He could trip, bite, and choke out a player before the ball gets there, and the refs won't throw a flag.

 

this will be on full display next week

 

Improving

 

And that time will come next year

He has one year left on his contract and that’s when they typically extend players of his caliber

 

The Steelers don't have a choice in the matter given how many holes there are on the roster; Cornerback doubly so and included. Losing Porter Jr. and then not only attempting to replicate his performance with another draft pick plus acquiring more talent at that position is nothing more than an Ouroboros from the basis of team building. It is self defeating to get rid of Porter Jr.


Peezy Jr will have earned that contract and may likely crack the Top 10 of Corners paid health permitting. What Pittsburgh's next main focus should be is finding a good running mate across from him. This upcoming Corner Class is very top heavy and the overall talent craters after the Top 75. Pittsburgh may have no choice in the matter in terms of finally drafting one in Round One as there isn't a starting capable Corner, for the teams System, in 2026. Mind you that my previous sentence is all speculative. Why?!


Will Teryl Austin be even here?! Not that it matters given that Tomlin does call the plays more often than not but that doesn't devalue Austin's input all together.

 

Side note; great picture of those Dogs!!


Are they recused or adopted?!

 

I guess you missed it earlier this season when Austin told the media he calls the majority of the plays , he said Tomlin can get involved if he chooses to.

 

I actually did read into it. Coaches cover for coaches a lot more often. Fact of the matter is that Pittsburgh has allowed multiple 30+ Point Games and 500 Yard games this season. That is unacceptable; doubly so for a Defense over $160 Million.

 

Watt and Heyward are top 5 of the highest paid players on defense both are pretty much washed, and the secondary has been remade on the fly.

 

Fantastic.


Teams like the Chargers and Jaguars, who don't come close to the Steelers as far as Defensive Spending is concerned, have better records and have performed better. Even more damning is that, sans Derwin James, neither team can boast that they have two HOF Players on that side. Coaching Matters.

 

If you don't think having two of your highest paid players being washed doesn't make a difference, then I don't know what to yell you . Watt used to close out games by himself when was the last time that happened. I bet the Chargers and Jaguars aren't as old as the Steelers are on defense .

 

If Cameron Heyward is washed, how come he has been the best IDL on the team?! Stats don't always tell the whole story. As for T.J. Watt?! Again, Myles Garrett, Aidan Hutchinson, Brian Burns, Maxx Crosby and Will Anderson Jr. all move around in their respective defenses. T.J. Watt does not.


For that matter, @Blast Furnace already pointed this out to you; no other NFL EDGE gets double teamed more often than not than T.J. Watt does. Whomever is a close second in 2025?!... isnt a close second. T.J. does need to win those for certain. To expect him to win every single one?! That is silly.


Only so much even a HOF Level player like T.J. Watt can do. Coaching needs to assist. Don't believe me?! I asked the Ravens how going from Mike MacDonald to Zach Orr changed Roquan Smith. Smith doesn't look like the Roquan Smith of old.



So again?! Coaching Matters. Coaches have to put players in the best spots to succeed. Kyle Shanahan seems to be doing just fine despite the fact that his 49ers are beat up all to hell.

 

We are in the business of recycling

 

I think it is entirely reasonable to keep a starting tandem of JPJ/ASJ with Echols in the slot and Pierre as the top back up. I don't think it takes us away from drafting a CB entirely, but I do think that it makes it a feasible option to skip this year's high end corner class and invest in more of a project player instead. To me, WR is our top priority. I'd be surprised to see us not take a WR in the first this season. Lemon, Tate, Tyson... pretty good options if one becomes available. DL could be an option for us too (McDonald or Washington type) as a late round 1 option. I could see us falling in love with Sonny Styles too, but I am not sure if he will be available or not.

As a Buckeye fan, I'd love to see us walk away with Tate, Styles, or McDonald with our first round pick. All three would serve a huge purpose for us. Then we can target another Buckeye in Sayin the year after

 

He's somehow not washed... He's not replicating his numbers from last season, but that was a PB/AP season. He's still producing at a really nice rate for us.... which makes it harder to cut him next season (which is probably the correct decision, particularly if we replace him with an early DL pick). Though, I could see us roll with him in 2026 at his current slated salary. If he plays hardball again for more money, we just gotta let him go. Gonna be 37 next year. Father time will win eventually. Don't be dumb and tie up more money in a player of his age.

Watt hasn't been what we're used to, but he's still a quality enough player while healthy. He's not worth the money we paid him... but I understand why we did. He's likely just a 10 sack a year type of guy for the next 2-3 years, but he's still turning the ball over at a maximum rate like he's known to do (he has twice as many INT/FF/FR as even Myles Garrett, who is having one of the best seasons ever as an edge rusher). If he can up his level of play a bit next year to like 10-12 sacks and still get us 6-7 turnovers... then his money is what it is. We can always trade him to a contender trying to make a push at the very end of his deal. It was only a 3 year extension.

We really need to consider keeping some of the good decisions that we made this year. Dugger, Samuel Jr., Pierre, Gainwell...

 

LoL. You people, and Your crowning of things so fast. Wow great for them. Let's see them do this year in, and year out..
Do You even know how many Awesome HCs have been talked about on this board from You, and many others since I've been on this board that have since been fired, or are about to be fired???
For the 500 time, it's easy to turn a team around, it hard to keep them turned in the right direction. Example: See all the Coach of the year awards given to coaches that have been fired before their next contract.

 

My "Crowning"?! Very fascinating choice of words. Considering you have me pegged as a front runner, allow me to prove you wrong. I don't condone things based on immediate results. I give praise whenever they have been proven over the course of time. Examples?!

1. Kyle Shanahan seems to be doing pretty damn well given the circumstances of his rosters being beat up all to hell, year in and year out.
2. Jim Harbaugh, where ever he goes, builds winners.
3. Sean McVay has proven to win time after time.
4. Mike Vrabel, someone whom you don't hold too high in regard, has built a winning culture already in New England despite them being one of the worst NFL Teams a season ago with largely the same people.
5. Sean Payton has turned around Denver, a team that was largely a laughing stock prior to his arrival, within two short seasons.
6. Matt LaFleur has taken the Packers to the playoffs in every season he has coached minus 2022.
7. Dan Campbell has transformed the Lions from the laughing stock of the NFL into a powerhouse NFL Team.

Now, regarding up and coming Head Coaches?! Ben Johnson, Mike MacDonald and even Kellen Moore all will need more years under their belt to prove that they belong among the pantheon for the best NFL Coaches today. Same goes for Liam Cohen but what he has done for Trevor Lawrence has been nothing short of a miracle given how inept Shahid Khan has operated historically. That said, all four are doing pretty well year one. DeMeco Ryans needs to get to the next level in the playoffs but has proven to be a very good hire for Houston thus far. People wanted to run Dave Canales out of Carolina year one; only to realize that he was essentially maxing out a roster with little to nothing a season ago. The fact that Canales even got the Panthers to 5 wins is nuts given how talent deficient the roster was; injuries to key players no less.

For the first statement of this, read above.


For the 150th Novemdecillionth time, good coaches stay complacent. Great coaches routinely innovate. Being Coach of the Year means jack$#%* anyways given how that award is based on nothing more than having done "exemplary work to go with an outstanding record." Whatever the hell that means is entirely up toward interpretation via the voting committee. I quite frankly don't give a damn since I did not, do not and will never use that as a metric.


Bottom line?! Coaching matters. It has been a proven fact time after time. No matter the era, players can only do so much. Coaches have to put their players in position to succeed.

 

Of the three Buckeyes?! Give me Styles. That does stink from my end considering how well Carnell Tate would fit into this Offense but other than Payton Wilson, the ILB position is in dire need of a tune up; arguably more so than Corner. Sonny Styles donning the Black 'n' Gold would make me one fan!


Highest grade I have ever given any Off Ball Linebacker I have scouted and he is currently ranked as the Number One Overall Player on my Board; the first time I personally have ever done so. There really isn't a single major flaw I can point out that would scream "this is going to be a major issue" at the next level. Of the flaws many have with him, all of those I'd constitute as minor at worst for Coaching can easily take care of those. Sonny is a rare blue chip among rare blue chips.


Now, this all said, don't expect Sonny Styles to last that long. Dallas will likely need him far more than Pittsburgh does and, even if that isn't the case, Minnesota sure as hell could use his capabilities. If anything, he'd fit hand in glove with what Brian Flores needs from his Linebackers.

 

And why do you think Watt doesn't move around much because he doesn't like rushing from the other side , Cam has played well the last few games but he's still washed. It's funny when Watt won DPOY nobody was talking about moving him around, he gets shut down too often in one on one when he rushes from his normal side.

 

Actually, even when he did win DPOY, I along with other people on the board did advocate for him to move around. While it didn't show up as much in 2021, the double team rate wasn't nearly as high as it is now. Since then, he has remained static and, as a result, teams can scheme against that more easily than they could have in 2021.


Regarding Cam?! Remove him and the Buffalo Bills would likely have broken the NFL Record for most Rushing Yards in a game. Remove him from the lineup against the Chargers and that game is a lot worse. Stats don't always tell the whole story; doubly so for IDL. Seldom will an IDL have double digit sacks to go with double digit run stuffs.


So again, Coaching Matters. HOF Players are not exempt from this either.

 

Shanahan seems to have a good season followed by a bad losing season, Vrabel and the Patriots spent almost $300 million in total contracts value in free agency and he inherited a franchise QB.

 

You can make all the excuses you want but Cam was invisible the first half of the season, it's laughable you think just moving Watt to the other side he's going to dominate.

 

?! Excuses?!


He is the highest rated IDL in all of football. What are you even talking about?! Dude is having another great season. Perhaps it is you who should give credit where it is due and stop having unrealistic expectations.


Fact of the matter is that Cameron Heyward has been a major positive despite the lack of stats.