For most of the first half Joey Porter stood next to Dolphins defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni like an antsy puppy dog.
Anytime the Pro Bowl pass rusher wasn't on the field in the early part of Sunday's 23-13 loss to San Diego it was clear his patience was wearing thin watching the Dolphins' try to hold the line without him.
Then in the second half, the right hamstring strain Porter was nursing began to tighten, and his burning desire to get back on the field decreased noticeably. The Dolphins coaches decided to shut Porter down, limiting his repetitions significantly in the final two quarters of the loss.
Reserve linebacker Charlie Anderson and Cameron Wake filled in for the team's top pass rusher, who bolted out of the locker room immediately after the game, filled with frustration.
"The plan was to rotate him and Charlie, go every other series just to not put a lot of strain on it," coach Tony Sparano said of Porter's hamstring injury. "That was the plan. We were able to stick to that for a while and I think later in the game, somewhere just before the end of the half, he kind of felt it a little bit again. We want to be careful with him."
