Here’s a surprise: Joey Porter doesn’t like the New England Patriots.
“I don’t like them,” Porter said. “I ain’t never really too much cared for them. It is what it is.”
Take last year’s blowout. Porter took issue, strangely, with the Patriots running dives to Laurence Maroney [stats] with just under four minutes to go. Since they couldn’t kill the clock without getting a first down, the Pats handed off in an attempt to get one before punting with 18 seconds left.
“They could’ve kneed the ball,” he said. “We couldn’t win the game. We had no timeouts. They were up by 21 and still running running plays. So I really don’t care how they feel or what they’re getting ready for. Doesn’t really matter to me.”
That was in response to a question of whether he thought head coach Bill Belichick was embarrassed by what the Dolphins had done to the Pats in September.
“I don’t really care, to tell you the truth,” Porter said. “I don’t forget things like (not taking a knee). I hope our whole defense, our whole team doesn’t forget things like that. (Belichick) had the mindset last year where he said if he could put 50 up on you, he was going to put 50 up on you. That was his mindset. So why should I feel sorry about anything that happens on that side of the field?”
Porter remains angry about a pregame slight when the Pats practiced their punts directly over the stretching Dolphins.
“We were in a stretch and they walked directly down the field and start punting over our heads,” Porter said. “It was like, ‘Damn, would you want the whole 100-yard field? You got your 50 yards over there, then you walk through our 50, go to the end zone and kick to the 50?’ You don’t.
“Now they’ve got to come into our yard. All the little antics they had before the game and stuff like that, they’re not going to try that in our house.
“They let us know how they feel about us,” Porter concluded. “There’s no love lost. We don’t like them. They don’t like us. That’s exactly the way you should like it.”
The only problem with the Dolphins being relevant again is that Joey Porter is now relevant again. Still, you always have to appreciate some good “I hate you, you hate me” jibber-jabber from players before a game.
CL: I read the SportsBusiness Daily interview where you briefly mentioned a career in entertainment as opposed to sports and you’re a fan of TMZ. What would be the perfect role for you to switch to entertainment reporting?
