Steelers: It's time to take the training wheels off Joey Porter Jr.
The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Joey Porter Jr. to be the future of the cornerback position. Yet, when he's been thrust into action, he looks like the answer to their problems in the present. But for some reason, Pittsburgh Simply won't commit to making Peezy Jr. a starter: "Not Right Now" When asked about the prospects […]
The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Joey Porter Jr. to be the future of the cornerback position.
Yet, when he's been thrust into action, he looks like the answer to their problems in the present.
But for some reason, Pittsburgh Simply won't commit to making Peezy Jr. a starter:
"Not Right Now"
When asked about the prospects of Joey Porter Jr starting as soon as this week in LA, Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said: "Not right now, when the time comes, it will come."
Well given the performance of Porter Jr in the Ravens game, and just about every snap before that, I would say the time is now:
He is a lot more effective when he's in phase means established contact or he's in like trail technique or he can kind of feel out the break. But I could see him picking up some holding penalties in these situations. So it was really confusing to me why Joey Porter wasn't made a starter sooner than this I think there will be some growing pains, but I definitely expect him to be an upgrade to Patrick Peterson, and I'm excited to see what he can do in a full time role. – James Foster, A to Z Sports Film Room
I fully agree with Foster, and many of you have seen me echo similar sentiments during my weekly Steelers film review.
So if it's that obvious to the trained eye, why isn't it obvious to the decision-makers in Pittsburgh…
As you can see Porter Jr, is still behind Patrick Peterson on the depth chart, and hasn't even received the "or" determinant that could potentially make him a co-starter. The same goes for another rookie who made a dominant start against the Ravens:
Broderick Jones.
So no matter which way you slice it, Porter Jr. has been exceptional to start his career. The film shows it, the stats prove it, and the analytics back it up. All he needs is the opportunity, but apparently, that's still a ways away:
"You can be somewhat pleased with the direction of the play….but the opportunity has to be there," Coach Tomlin told reporters when asked about the likelihood of rookies Broderick Jones and Joey Porter Jr. starting.
But as Coach Tomlin acknowledged in his own grumpy yet articulate way, Pittsburgh is currently letting up the eighth most receiving yards to opposing wide receivers.
If only they had a tool that could help them fix their problem…
Steelers’ Mike Tomlin notes the elephant in the room during recent presser
See what Coach Tomlin had to say about the state of the Steelers.
