Tag: joey porter jr

Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. had one request for Mike Tomlin

Steelers rookie Joey Porter Jr. made his first NFL start at corner versus the Titans.

Joey “Penalties” Porter made a big statement in his first NFL start last night. The Pittsburgh Steelers rookie covered veteran receiver DeAndre Hopkins for most of the game and, despite penalties, was pretty darn stellar at it. On 11 targets, Hopkins was held to just 60 yards and four receptions. The Atlanta Falcons, boasting one of the best secondaries in the league, gave up 130 yards and three touchdowns in Week 8.

Porter personally asked Mike Tomlin to shadow the three-time All-Pro, and his wish was granted. “On Tuesday, I went to Coach T and told him, ‘I want 10,’” Porter told reporters after the win. “That’s what I was looking for. I don’t really hide from nothing. I said, ‘That’s the matchup I want, that’s the matchup I need.”

“Definitely a ticky-tac call, but it’s DHop, so he’s always physical on the top of his route,” Porter said. “You kinda gotta play that game with him, and sometimes you’re not gonna get it, sometimes you are.”

He got it last night with John Hussey‘s flag-happy crew. There were 20 penalties between the Steelers and Titans — four (one offset the other and was declined) were on Porter, each for first downs. His final penalty was on a critical fourth down, which extended the drive and could’ve won Tennessee the game.

Porter is a handsy player, dating back to his days at Penn State. But he’s quickly proving to be a shutdown corner, and that’s all that matters in the scheme of things.

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Steelers inactives: Starting CB Levi Wallace OUT vs Jaguars

The Steelers will be without starting cornerback Levi Wallce vs the Jaguars.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be minus starting cornerback Levi Wallace this week when they take on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Pittsburgh released its inactives for this week’s game and Wallace was the one surprise on the list.

The Steelers also listed nose tackle Breiden Fehoko, offensive tackle Dylan Cook and quarterback Mason Rudolph among the inactives this week. Of course, Rudolph is still dressed and listed as the team’s emergency quarterback.

With Wallace out, rookie Joey Porter Jr. should get his first NFL start. Porter himself has been dealing with an injury along with fellow cornerback James Pierre so this entire unit is dinged up. It also means newly-acquired cornerback Darius Rush is active along with Luq Barcoo and both could see action against the Jaguars.

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Steelers continue to make Joey Porter Jr. earn snaps

Stop all the pussy-footing around already.

Typically, in the NFL, if a player is the best in his unit, he starts. But, no, not with the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s enough to make you want to bang your head on the wall.

That player is everyone’s favorite new Steeler, Joey Porter Jr., who heads into his eighth game as a pro without a start. Even though he’s shutting down receivers — while Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace are not — his snaps have been limited.

“I thought he handled himself well,” secondary coach-turned-defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said of Porter. “He did some really good things coverage-wise. You know, it’s what we talk about every week, is the more he plays, the better he plays, the more he progresses, the more snaps he gets, then he’ll earn those snaps, and I think he earned those last week and he’ll continue to do that.”

Porter has shown patience that Mike Tomlin has preached, even if Steelers fans haven’t. “You definitely want to be out there for the first snap and hear your name called, but sometimes you’ve got to take a back seat and wait a little bit,” Porter said Thursday via TribLive’s Joe Rutter.

In limited duty (96 snaps), Porter has allowed just one 12-yard reception. On 10 targets, he’s forced three incompletions and snagged an interception for a 0.0 passer rating.

We’re all baffled as to how the Steelers are 4-2 with one of the worst offenses (31st – yards; 27th – points) AND defenses (30th – yards; 17th – points) in the NFL. While those numbers don’t tell the whole story, the secondary is the Achilles heel of the team, with the run defense in close second.

Suppose they want to get to 5-2 (and why wouldn’t they?!), the Steelers need their secondary to play better in coverage against a Jacksonville Jaguars offense that is 9th in points and 14th in yards. They have to slow Trevor Lawrence down if they have any hope of winning this one.

Getting Porter involved early and often is the key, whether he starts or not. That first start could come today, by default, if Wallace (foot) can’t go. Per Pittsburgh’s final injury report, the rookie’s status is also questionable with a calf injury, but told Steelers media on Friday that he will play.

We’ll see how things go in warm-ups and who winds up on the inactive list.

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5 surprises from the Steelers snap counts against the Rams

Here are some things that stood out from the Steelers snap counts against the Rams.

On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers were the comeback kids once again, using a strong second half to put together a big 24-17 comeback win over the Los Angeles Rams. Now that we’ve had a chance to go over our charting of the Steelers snaps we wanted to share some surprises.

Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. has a weakness that could delay his opportunity to start

Other than being generally stubborn with rookies, there could be a reason Mike Tomlin is handling JPJ with kid gloves.

Mike Tomlin is being careful with Joey Porter Jr. — almost to a fault. He’s been the best cornerback in the Pittsburgh Steelers secondary, which isn’t saying much for a 24th-ranked unit that’s surrendered the eighth-most yards in the NFL. Although Porter has shown time and time again that he has the chops to be in the starting lineup, his snaps remain limited.

Mark Madden, the Pittsburgh media member everyone loves to hate, had an interesting analogy for Porter being the team’s best corner: “[It’s] akin to being the smartest man in prison.”

All players have flaws, and Madden highlighted Porter’s glaring shortcoming in his latest column for TribLive: tackling. It could be what makes Tomlin hesitant to plug him in (in addition to his overall stubbornness with rookies).

“The job of a cornerback isn’t to tackle,” Madden wrote. “Deion Sanders never did it. A cornerback’s main duty is to cover. Porter can do that. Porter has the potential to erase one side of the field, like he did at Penn State. The Steelers need to better explore that potential. Sooner, not later.”

The head-scratcher is that Patrick Peterson and Levi Wallace aren’t great tacklers, either. So why not go with the guy with more upside and the future of the cornerbacks room? Throw the rookie label out the window and embrace the legacy label instead.

Nick Farabaugh, beat writer for Steelers Now, noted that Porter struggled in tackling drills in training camp. Secondary coach Grady Brown should make this weakness a point of emphasis in daily practice for Porter.

Porter has been more than adequate in the role he was drafted for, which is shutting down receivers. Again, a limited sample size, but in 76 coverage snaps (36 press), he’s allowed only one reception for 12 yards and no touchdowns for a completion percentage of .143. Meanwhile, Peterson has allowed a 109.8 passer rating and Wallace 87.4.

The Steelers should let Porter roll and do what they essentially used a first-round pick for. He can’t be any worse than the starters.

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Joey Porter Jr. blasts ‘old ass’ Odell Beckham, Jr. after game-sealing interception

Joey Porter Jr. gave Odell Beckham hell after intercepting what should’ve been a sure-fire TD.

Joey Porter Jr. made his first career pick at the most opportune time against arguably their fiercest rival. He made Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson pay on a poorly thrown ball to Odell Beckham Jr. with a game-sealing interception. And to add salt to the wound, Porter recalled his response to the veteran wide receiver.

“I’m like, go ahead, run that,” Porter said on the sideline after the play. “I already knew it was coming. I strapped his old ass. I told him.”

The rookie and Steelers legacy is inching himself closer and closer to a starting role. Though defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said it’s not yet his time, they’d be silly not to get him more involved the way the secondary has performed to this point.

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Steelers WR Gunner Olszewski makes promise to Joey Porter Jr.

JPJ bailed Gunner Olszewski out — big time.

Gunner Olszewski has been nothing but a train wreck since the Pittsburgh Steelers signed him in 2022, and Sunday’s game versus the Baltimore Ravens was another glaring example of that.

The ball was jarred loose from Olszewski’s grip by Baltimore on a late-game punt return. Cornerback Kevon Seymore stumbled, or it would’ve been an easy scoop and score. The play set the Ravens up nicely in the red zone, and if it hadn’t been for Joey Porter Jr.’s interception, it would’ve been an entirely different ball game.

After the win, Porter shared with Steelers media that Olszewski made him a promise.

“He said he got me a little gift,” he said. “So I’m waiting for that little gift. You know, he said he’s always got my back, and I said I’ve always got his.”

A promise never to fumble again might be a good little gift.

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Steelers’ Joey Porter Jr. is PFF’s highest-graded CB in Week 5

It’s hard to argue PFF grades when they favor the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

The way Joey Porter Jr. has been playing, though in limited fashion, it was just a matter of time before even the most fickle evaluator took notice. Pro Football Focus gave Porter a grade of 91.3 — the highest of any corner in Week 5 — for his outstanding performance against the Baltimore Ravens. It’s hard to argue PFF grades when they favor the Pittsburgh Steelers.

All the rookie’s been doing since he took the field is making plays, and Sunday’s win over the Ravens was no different. He covered veteran wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. like a blanket all game long, but no coverage was more critical than when Baltimore was in scoring position on a third down late in the game.

What better way to snag your first career pick than against the storied rival Ravens in the end zone of a fourth-quarter two-point game? It doesn’t get much better than that.

“I’m the rookie out there against Odell Beckham on a third down,” Porter said after the game. “I always kinda had that in the back of my mind that they were gonna try me on this play.”

It won’t be long until quarterbacks learn not to throw in his direction. It happened at Penn State and is about to happen in the NFL.

“Inside the NFL” highlighted Porter’s interception, which can be seen here.

Porter’s been targeted seven times through five games and 76 coverage snaps. Only one reception (12 yards) was allowed on those targets, two passes were broken up, and, of course, there was the interception of Lamar Jackson on the throw to Beckham. Porter’s 0.0 passer rating allowed is the best in the NFL.

Mike Tomlin must stop wasting his talent, especially in a suspect secondary. Tomlin has always brought rookies along slowly, but there’s no reason to hold him back when you’re playing lights out like Porter.

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Steelers CB Patrick Peterson on Joey Porter Jr.’s 1st INT: ‘It don’t really count’

Joey Porter Jr. got his first interception as a Steelers but Patrick Peterson keeps him humble.

On Saturday night, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Buffalo Bills 27-15 in Week Two of the NFL preseason. The game was filled with Steelers highlights from Jaylen Warren’s 62-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to rookie outside linebacker Nick Herbig’s strip sack in the second half.

Another big highlight was the interception made by rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. in his NFL debut. Porter got dinged by draft pundits for only having one interception in his entire college career.

Porter was hyped after the pick, rushing to the end zone to celebrate with his defensive teammates and he even took the football to his dad, Joey Porter Sr. in the stands.

But during the game, veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson was having none of it. He was being interviewed on the sidelines after he had called it a night and he wanted to make sure everyone knew he was happy for Porter but because it happened in preseason, it doesn’t count.

Peterson has been a tremendous asset to the Steelers since signing as a free agent. Not only a Hall of Fame resume in the starting lineup but as a great mentor to the young guys. By the way, Peterson also has 34 career interceptions and a season-high of seven back in 2012.

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12 best available players for Jaguars on Day 2

The Jaguars still have needs at cornerback, pass rusher, and tight end. Luckily for them, there are plenty of viable options in rounds two and three.

For weeks it seemed the Jacksonville Jaguars intended to focus their first-round efforts on upgrading their defense. Instead, the Jaguars traded down twice near the end of the round and opted to select offensive tackle Anton Harrison.

The move made plenty of sense for Jacksonville given the departure of Jawaan Taylor in free agency and the impending suspension of Cam Robinson. Still, it came with plenty of talent on the board.

With the Jaguars sitting at No. 56 and No. 88 overall in rounds two and three, respectively, there’s no shortage of exciting players still available Friday night. Here are 12 prospects who would make sense for Jacksonville to target: