Source: Andy Cohen, miamidolphins.com [ Full Article ]
It's the message and the method that impresses me most about the signing of Pro Bowl linebacker Joey Porter.
The message is clear and unmistakable. The Miami Dolphins are not going to accept some long, pain-staking rebuilding period. They have waited long enough to be a playoff team. They have no plans on taking two steps backs before taking several steps forward.
The Dolphins want to win now. The signing of Porter only underlines that. Do you think they would have guaranteed $20 million to a linebacker about to turn 30 years old, though still in the prime of his career, if they planned on approaching this season with baby steps? And if they were only looking past 2007, do you think they would have resigned veterans Vonnie Holliday and Keith Traylor, who despite their years in the league showed they still could play at a high level? Hardly.
Despite the fact that the Dolphins have already lost several players who were important parts of last year's team, it is now clear that coach Cam Cameron and general manager Randy Mueller aren't devising some long-range plan to slowly turn this franchise around. No, they want to do it in a hurry. Carefully, but in a hurry. That's what Wayne Huizenga wants, and that's clearly what the fans want.
Just like Porter charging hard from the outside, I believe the Dolphins will be on an all-out blitz during the months ahead. They will sign more players in free agency, players they believe are upgrades from a year ago. They will be aggressive on draft day, looking for players who can step in and contribute next season. If there were any doubts, the signing of Porter should dispel them in a hurry. Teams go from 6-10 to the playoffs with some regularity in the NFL. The Dolphins want to be one of those teams.
Porter stood before the media in his first press conference, wearing a Dolphins visor and the look of a man on a mission. "Their whole thing was, 'Dont think that we're rebuilding," Porter said. "Were trying to win the championship now.'"
That was not merely talk. That was Cameron and Mueller following Huizenga's marching orders. And wasn't it great to hear?
Now, for the method.
The Dolphins didn't merely pursue Porter. They went after him with a passion, a lot like the way Porter plays.
Most teams invite players in for a visit, even important players. The Dolphins took another route. They went right to Porter. Yes, Cameron and Mueller hopped on Huizenga's big jet and flew to a small airport in Porter's hometown of Bakersfield, Calif. Thats where they met, right there in the airport, hangar.
The two most important people on the football side of the Dolphins organization didnt want to wait for Porter to start his free agency tour. They wanted it to begin and end with the Dolphins.
"Very impressive," Porter said of the airport meeting with Cameron and Mueller. "You don't see a plane that big fly into that airport very often."
The negotiations went quickly. Porter was sold. It is that type of aggressive approach that can quickly separate one team from others, that can convince players other than Porter than this franchise means business.
It's early in the Cameron-Mueller partnership. Very early. But I like what I've seen so far. I like the time they are spending together. I like the fact that they appear to reside on the same page as this master plan is implemented.
The signing of Porter was a huge step in the right direction. Sure, the skeptics will wonder why the Dolphins chose to spend all that money on a defensive player when it's the offense that needs most of the work. But Porter's signing doesnt mean the Dolphins aren't just as serious about scoring points as stopping points. It simply means they want the strength of this team to continue to grow under Dom Capers.
The defense was very good a year ago. But great? Sometimes. Not all the time. Certainly not often enough. Now replace Donnie Spragen at outside linebacker with Joey Porter. Now picture a three-man linebacking corp of Zach Thomas, Channing Crowder and Porter. Suddenly, the possibilities are intriguing. Jason Taylor on one side, Porter on the other. Talk about a double threat. This could bring this defense to another level.
Porter is still in the prime of his career. I remember sitting with Nick Saban the week after the Steelers beat the Dolphins in last season's opener, Porter returning an interception for a touchdown to seal the deal.
"That linebacker," Saban said, "is something special."
Say what you want about Saban, he knows defense and he knew that Porter might have been the difference in that game. But now this 6-foot-3, 250-pound man resides on the other sideline. Now, he gives the Dolphins options they haven't had in a long time.
Yes, over the days and weeks ahead, the Dolphins will still go out and re-tool an offense that desperately needs some re-tooling. But now they can do so with the comfort of knowing that the defense will be better in 2007.
Joey Porter in a Dolphins uniform? How could you not look forward to that?
Joey Porter's Signing Makes Statement 
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