The wise old veteran in Pittsburgh Steelers CB Patrick Peterson is already seeing a mature player in rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. Part of being a professional is taking the right mental approach to the game and for Peterson, Porter is far ahead where most rookies are.
In the latest episode of his All Things Covered podcast with co-host Bryant McFadden, Peterson shared a great story about Porter’s mentality and approach to each day in practice, calling him the top defensive standout of camp so far.
“The thing I love about Joey, I ask him one simple question every day,” Peterson said. “‘What’s the point of emphasis? What’s the point of emphasis for today? What are you working on today?’ And every day he’s giving me the same answer. You know why I think the same answer is perfect? Because he’s trying to perfect his fastball. What I mean by his fastball is something he’s gonna do almost 80 percent of the time when he lines up across. His go-to technique.”
Unfortunately, Peterson did not expand on Porter’s answer and his “fastball,” the part that’s core to his game. We can take a couple of guesses though. Perhaps he’s referring to his press-man technique, a long-armed corner brought in because of his size and ability to reroute receivers at the line of scrimmage, though seeing it 80 percent of the time seems like a high figure. Or maybe it’s a reference to flipping his hips to turn and run in man coverage, even if he’s not jamming, considering that Pittsburgh probably won’t have Porter playing a ton of off-man coverage this season.
Porter has spent every moment of downtime of practice working on his hands. Whether it’s playing soft toss with coaches or being the first to the JUGS machine before practice begins, it’s been a focus of his game. The results have paid off, tying the team-lead with two interceptions in camp so far, including a diving pick of Kenny Pickett in yesterday’s two-minute drill.
Whatever the answer is, Peterson loves the fact Porter isn’t trying to do too much and working on the most important things first: mastering his craft before focusing on the rest.
“The last three days, I asked, ‘What are your points of emphasis of today?’ In the last three days, he told me the same thing,” Peterson said. “That’s a sign of maturity. And a sign of growth because he wants to get his go-to down-pat first. Before you start working on anything else.”
Having a strong football background is helping Porter prioritize. His dad was a star pass rusher for the Steelers and Porter has been around NFL locker rooms and environments his whole life. He knows how the great ones prepare, how they gain an edge, and how they determine what’s most important. It’s one reason why the Steelers love drafting players with strong bloodlines.
Porter has enjoyed a strong start to training camp. Not only will he see serious playing time his rookie year, he could start Week One, though a lack of right cornerback reps could make a starting slot trickier if he were to jump Levi Wallace. But Peterson is impressed, fans are impressed, and Pittsburgh’s rookie class is showing promise.
Watch the whole episode, featuring interviews with Mike Tomlin, George Pickens, and Kenny Pickett, below.
