Joey Porter Jr. has taken plenty of criticism for the plenty of lumps he’s shown on the field. He’s not yet been able to ascend his game to the next height of a Pro Bowler and true No. 1 corner status. So far, this year has been defined by injury, missing three games with a hamstring injury, and the two penalties he incurred during Week 7’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
But there’s hope. One play from that game showed why. This deep ball incompletion to Tee Higgins down the sideline. In tight man coverage, Porter turned and ran with Higgins downfield. Porter got his head around and found the ball, getting a hand up as Higgins went to the ground. Incomplete, no penalty.
The two are at the bottom of the screen here.
This is exactly how DBs Coach Gerald Alexander wants Porter to play. During training camp, Alexander outlined his plan to make Porter a better player.
“Making sure that we’re getting our eyes back and playing the ball and not necessarily playing the receiver, especially when we’re in good positions to do so,” Alexander said in June. “You want to play to win versus playing not to lose. You’re not thinking about failure, you’re thinking about how do I put myself in position to finish this play versus preventing him from making one.”
That’s how Porter played it here. Eyes to the ball instead of to the man. Not only does that increase the odds of breaking up or intercepting the throw, it greatly reduces the risk of penalty. Vision on the ball gives defensive backs far more latitude than if they don’t. Compare the above rep to one of Porter’s penalties, never getting his head around and gifting Higgins a call.
Porter gets his head back for a moment but never finds the ball and is face guarding Higgins at the catch point. That’s an automatic flag.
Porter needs fewer penalties. He needs more impact plays. Getting his head around accomplishes both. Reps like the first clip show he can do it. There just needs to be a lot more of it.
