Joe RutterPITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, January 27, 2006
After three AFC Championship game appearances, Steelers linebacker Joey Porter can finally savor a first trip to the Super Bowl and a Feb. 5 date with the Seattle Seahawks.
Even if the first missed opportunity still lingers in his mind.
Despite playing some of the best football of his seven-year career -- he has recorded sacks in all three playoff games, four dating to last season -- Porter continues to be haunted by a play he didn't make in the 2001 AFC Championship loss to the New England Patriots.
Had Porter not dropped a potential fourth-quarter interception in that 24-17 loss four years ago, the outspoken linebacker believes he'd be talking up his second Super Bowl trip, not his first.
"If I can walk off the field knowing I left everything out there, I'm not going to be down on myself," Porter said after practice Thursday. "That first time I walked off the field, I didn't feel like I played my best because I had a crucial mistake in the game. I was down on myself."
Porter was referring to a Drew Bledsoe pass intended for David Patten with 6:40 left in the game. The Patriots were ahead by seven points and had a first down on their 20-yard line when Porter stepped in front of Bledsoe's pass in the flat.
"I had a chance to make the play of the century," Porter said. "If I make that interception, I walk into the end zone."
Instead, the Steelers didn't get the ball back until late in the game. Kordell Stewart threw an interception, and the Patriots ran out the clock to advance to the Super Bowl, the first of three they won over the next four seasons.
"I felt like I let my team down because I feel like I'm a playmaker and should make that play," Porter said.
Porter felt better about his performance last January -- "I played my heart out" -- even if it resulted in another championship game loss to the Patriots.
The results, of course, were much better last Sunday in Denver when the Steelers blitzed the Broncos, 34-17, to advance to their second Super Bowl under coach Bill Cowher.
Porter, who had a team-high 10 1/2 sacks during the regular season and was named to his third Pro Bowl squad, had a big hand in the Steelers forging a 24-3 halftime lead. His sack of Jake Plummer late in the first quarter forced a fumble that nose tackle Casey Hampton recovered at the Steelers' 39. The turnover led to the Steelers' first touchdown and a 10-0 advantage.
The previous week, after he challenged the Indianapolis Colts to play a more physical style of football, Porter backed up his talk in the Steelers' 21-18 victory. He had 1 1/2 sacks on the next-to-last drive, including one on fourth-and-16 deep in Indianapolis territory.
Porter's drive to be an impact player this postseason is derived from his coach. Cowher has never tried to censor Porter's mouth or harness the feistiness that once got Porter kicked out of a game in Cleveland during pre-game warm-ups.
"He accepts me for who I am and he knows I play with a lot of emotion," Porter said. "I'm going to go out there and do what I do best. He accepts that, and he accepts how I play. As long as he appreciates what I do, he knows I'll feel the same way about him.
"He's given me more than enough chances to be in this situation. He's why I'm here right now."
Although he's never played deeper into a season than this one, Porter bristled when a reporter asked whether he has anything left for the Super Bowl.
"I always have something left in the tank," he said. "I've never been burnt out. We just finally got over the hump."
And, make no mistake, Porter not only will be ready for the Seahawks, the tank will be empty when he walks off Ford Field at the end of the game.
"You get to this game, there's no need to hold anything back," he said. "Use your full arsenal, whatever you've got. Whatever you've been saving for that moment, use it now. There's no bigger stage, so there's no need to hold anything back."
Porter offered no bold predictions about the game. In fact, he said he'll maintain silence after media day is held Tuesday even though player availability is made the next two days.
"I'm not going to be talking unless someone gives me a lot of money," he said, laughing. "Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I'm going to be getting ready for the biggest game of my life."
Joe Rutter can be reached at jrutter1234@aol.com.
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