Throughout his NFL career, featuring stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals, outside linebacker Joey Porter always found a way to get to the quarterback, ringing up 98.0 career sacks across 13 seasons.
After he got to the quarterback, Porter would always make a show of it, too, doing his iconic butt-kicking post-sack celebration. That move has been imitated over the years by other Steelers outside linebackers, including T.J. Watt, and even his son, current Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr.
Heck, Porter even returned to the North Shore ahead of the Week 8 Monday Night Football matchup with the New York Giants to lead the pregame Terrible Towel Twirl and hit the iconic kick.
But that dance and the player were things that former Steelers outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley had so much respect for that he didn’t want to copy it during his time in the Black and Gold. So, he came up with his own version of the Porter sack celebration.
Appearing on the “Not Just Football with Cam Heyward” podcast that published Thursday morning, Woodley recalled his own iconic sack celebration from his time in Pittsburgh, which featured him kicking in the proverbial door after a sack, jumping into the air like Porter once did.
“Oh man, you know what, when you get a sack, you always try to think about ‘What am I going to do when I get a sack and you need a sack celebration dance?’ So I always, ’cause I was a big fan of Joey Porter, man, that boot with the kick, I was just like, ‘I love that.’ But I couldn’t do it because I’m like, ‘They gonna think I’m trying to be Joey Porter.’ So it was just like coming up with something different, just kicking in the door, getting in,” Woodley said of his own sack celebration that became iconic on its own. “If they don’t let you in, kick your way in, and that’s what I did. And I think one of the most exciting times that I did that kick is when Brett Keisel joined along with me and they caught us in the newspaper with me and Brett Keisel were doing that kick. Man, that was so sweet.
“But it kind of, it came from that though.”
It’s rather fitting that Woodley’s own iconic sack dance, one he broke out 57 times in seven years with the Steelers in the regular season and another 11 times in the playoffs, came from his respect and admiration for Porter, a player he grew up watching and liked a great deal.
That he then became other in a long line of pass rushers with success in Pittsburgh, shortly after Porter’s playing days, makes it all the better.
It was an iconic move from Woodley, one where he’s run and jump into the air with both legs and kick outward, aiming for that proverbial door to bust down. When Woodley was kicking the door down, it was going to be a long, long day for opposing quarterbacks and offensive linemen.
That move was a sight to see, and that moment with Brett Keisel was pretty iconic, too, from those dominant defenses.
Woodley recorded a sack on New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez in the AFC Championship Game at Heinz Field on January 23, 2011, and then leaped high into the air to kick down the door. What he didn’t know was that Keisel was right behind him and was in on the celebration, nailing the dance with Woodley, leading to an incredible photo, one in which you can see at the top of the page.
Here’s that play, too.
That takedown of Sanchez was one of three sacks Woodley had that postseason as the Steelers went to the Super Bowl again. Though that season didn’t end the way Woodley and the Steelers wanted as they came up short against the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV, they still have that moment from the AFC Championship Game, which is a unique look into the brotherhood the defense had back then.
Check out the full episode of “Not Just Football with Cam Heyward” below, featuring the interview with Woodley.
