What Parcells Should Tell Joey Porter
By
KC Joyner
The Football Scientist, KC Joyner, is a Fifth Down contributor. His latest book, Scientific Football 2009, is available for pre-order.
One of the underrated aspects of Bill Parcells’ coaching methods is how he was able to prod talented veterans into higher levels of performance. My favorite story along this line was how Parcells handled Harry Carson when he arrived in New York in 1979. Carson had been decorated with both an All Pro and a Pro Bowl berth the season before Parcells’ arrival, but that didn’t stop Parcells from throwing out a challenge to Carson to become an even better linebacker. Carson stepped up his game by making six All Pro and five Pro Bowl teams (and an eventual trip to the Hall of Fame) while under Parcells’ guidance.
I mention this because after reviewing the Dolphins’ defensive performance metrics for “Scientific Football 2009,” I am of the mindset that Parcells should throw down a similar challenge to Joey Porter. Porter was a second-team All Pro and a starter on the AFC Pro Bowl roster in large part because of his 17.5 sacks. That total wasn’t an anomaly; nine of those sacks were of the one-on-one variety and were achieved via an impressive set of pass-rush techniques.
What is troubling about Porter’s numbers is his run-stuffing ability.
He faced 82 Point of Attack (POA) runs in 2008 and defeated his blocker on only eight of those plays. That 9.8% POA win rate was the second lowest among the Dolphins’ defensive linemen/linebackers, and his 5.6 yards per attempt on those runs was the most of any Miami DL/LB. To put this into further perspective, consider that Matt Roth, the Fins’ other starting outside linebacker, had a 24.6% POA win rate on 61 POA runs and allowed only 3.5 YPA.
It’s not as if elite pass rushers can’t post top totals in this area, either. Terrell Suggs, one of the best pass-rushing OLBs in the league, posted a POA win rate of 33.9% and a YPA of 3.3 last year. He is the upper end of run stuffing, pass-rush specialists, but there are others of his ilk (DeMarcus Ware for example) whose run-defense metrics were also markedly superior to Porter’s.
Parcells isn’t a head coach anymore, but the Miami players say he is still a world champion button pusher whose presence is felt through the entire organization. That probably means Porter better ready himself for some kind of motivational tactic regarding his run defense, because if history is any indicator, Parcells will be sending one his way this off-season.
