I didn’t expect Mike Tomlin to go all Ted Bundy in his Tuesday press conference, but he mentioned CB Joey Porter Jr. having a “serial killer’s mentality.”
Getting past the obvious hyperbolic and infelicitous comparison, what is he actually trying to say? The psyche of a serial killer includes the ability to compartmentalize, and to carry on with Tomlin’s strange analogy, cornerbacks have to be able to do that.
“Heck yeah, man, he’s got a serial killer’s mentality,” Tomlin said via the Steelers’ YouTube. “But if you’re gonna be a top-flight corner, you better. And that’s probably one of the things that I knew about him because of our personal relationship that really made me comfortable drafting him. It’s not fake; it’s real. He’s not running from the fight, he is running to the fight. You better have a short memory at that position and he’s always had it. He was probably 9 or 10 when I met him, and he had it then.”
In order to be a successful NFL corner, a player can’t dwell on his mistakes. The rulebook is literally stacked against cornerbacks to allow receivers to make big, exciting plays in today’s NFL. There have been 222 defensive pass-interference penalties called this year, and just 22 offensive pass-interference calls.
Porter had arguably the worst game of his career Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals with six penalties called against him with four accepted. This isn’t the first (or second) time this year that he’s had multiple penalties in a game, and more often than not he’s bounced back with a great game the next week.
For example, he had three penalties against him versus the Washington Commanders and allowed a lot of big plays to Terry McLaurin before playing lights out against the Baltimore Ravens the following week. That response to adversity is what Tomlin is talking about. He further explained the serial killer mentality comparison.
“Meaning that, you know, he’s a competitor. He’s running to it,” Tomlin said. “He’s ill-affected by the outcome of plays, his confidence is unflappable and all of that is needed.”
There were very high expectations for Porter after his rookie season in which he locked down several of the league’s best receivers. He hasn’t lived up to those expectations, but it hasn’t been all bad either.
Porter’s season has been a little Jekyll and Hyde this year, but his confidence isn’t shaken, according to Tomlin. Because of that, the Steelers’ confidence in him isn’t shaken either.
