Author: John Paulsen (Page 908 of 937)

Over the past few weeks Joey Porter has been auditioning for his post-NFL career. Apparently, he wants to be a motivational speaker.

Porter claims he was on good behavior this week until Seahawks TE Jerramy Stevens gave his opinion on Wednesday about Jerome Bettis’ homecoming to his native Detroit.

“It’s a heartwarming story and all that, but it will be a sad day when he leaves without that trophy,” said Stevens, who said later he wasn’t guaranteeing a victory but was only saying what he felt.

Porter seemingly overreacted to the statements, giving Seattle lots of bulletin board fodder for the rest of the week.

“You look for the guys that say something that aren’t supposed to say nothing, and I feel like he definitely was out of pocket to say what he said,” Porter said. “I’m going to make sure he owns up to those words.”

“He’s too soft to say something like that,” Porter said. “He’s going to have the opportunity to back up his words. I’m going to have the opportunity to back up my words. So it’s something I’m looking forward to and I’m ready to get going.”

“If they ever leave him on a pass block, he’s a liability,” Porter said. “He’s soft. They better not let him block. I bet they won’t make that coaching mistake. My battle with him is going to happen. I’m going to find him.”

Porter also called Stevens “a first-round bust who barely made some plays this season.” He also said a player of Stevens’ stature “has a lot of nerve” to say what he said about Bettis.

On Thursday, Porter had this to say about the game:

“We’re going to try to tap out as many people as we can, I’m going to put it like that,” Porter said at the players’ final pre-Super Bowl news conference. “We’re going to try to send as many people to the sideline as we can.”

Asked what he meant by “tap out,” Porter patted the top of his head with his hand — a sign that the player is tired or injured and wants to come out of the game.

It should be interesting to see if Porter’s comments help or hurt the Steelers on Sunday. I’ve always been an advocate of shutting your mouth and playing ball, but with over two weeks of time for reporters to ask each player a million questions, you know someone is going to say something inflammatory.

When it seems like everyone and their brothers are picking the Steelers in the big game, ESPN columnist John Clayton likes the Seahawks. He points to ten different reasons ranging from the Steelers placing too much focus on the Seattle running game to predicting that Ben Roethlisberger will have problems in the first quarter with the new, slick footballs that will be used in the game.

I’m not really sure what to think of “The Professor.” He and that dimwit Sean Salisbury used to have fake arguments on SportsCenter and NFL Live, where they would trade fake insults and roll their eyes while giving their opinions and making predictions. He seems knowlegeable enough even though he looks like a church mouse.

I hope he’s right. I’m rooting for Seattle, but everything points to a Pittsburgh victory. Maybe that’s the key…

In a September post, I wrote about Mike Holmgren and the manner in which he left the Green Bay Packers.

In 1998, when Mike Holmgren demanded a head coaching job that also included complete control over all personnel decisions, it was obvious that he was going to have to find that job at a franchise other than the Green Bay Packers. The team was on the heels of two consecutive Super Bowl appearances and GM Ron Wolf was regarded as one of the best of the business and was deservedly given much of the credit. It was clear that the Packers weren’t going to fire him to appease Holmgren’s misguided career aspirations – back-to-back Super Bowl appearances weren’t enough? Many thought that Holmgren would land in San Francisco, a franchise that was familiar with the coach’s work and was at the time somewhat unhappy with their coach, Steve Mariucci, a Holmgren disciple. Oddly enough, the two teams faced each other in the playoffs that year and the futures of both coaches may have been altered by a blown call in that game. During San Francisco’s final drive (with the Packers leading 27-23), Jerry Rice fumbled after a catch. The Packers recovered, but the referee watching the play called Rice “down by contact” and the 49ers kept possession. The drive ultimately resulted in a last second touchdown pass from Steve Young to a then up-and-coming Terrell Owens, which gave San Francisco the win, 30-27. Had that fumble call gone the other way, Mariucci would have likely been fired for losing a first round playoff game at home and Holmgren would have been the favorite to take his place. The win bought Mariucci some time in San Francisco and forced Holmgren to look for complete control elsewhere. He ultimately signed with Seattle, where he has had mixed success in seven seasons and has recently had to relinquish his GM duties. Oh, the irony!

Fast forward four months and Holmgren is on the verge of winning his second title. While many Packer fans have mixed feelings about his recent success (or are blatantly rooting against him), I for one would like to see him win. I’ve always been a fan of his coaching style – he’s offensive minded, but knows enough about defense to keep his defensive coordinator honest. He’s very demanding and not always that popular with his players. He scripts the first set of plays and his teams are usually lethal the first time they have the ball.

But the biggest reason I’m rooting for Seattle this weekend is that Holmgren has had this success with the Seahawks only after giving up his GM responsibilities. I have to think, looking back, that he must regret (to some degree) leaving a great Green Bay team, only to be mired in mediocrity for several years in Seattle. He has to wonder what kind of success he would have had in Green Bay over that same span. His own ego drove him out of Wisconsin and he had to swallow that ego in order to coach a team to his third Super Bowl. I’d like to see that humility pay off.