Cocked, Locked, Loaded…First Shot Goes To SF

Let’s face it, when it comes to running off with your mouth, you will have a long way to go before you rival Miami Dolphins LB Joey Porter.  This of course is not a guy who started trash talking this season or even last.  In Pittsburgh, he was the mouth that never stopped.

Joey Porter is a lot of things.  A bully, a loudmouth, one helluva football player.  Fined twice this season alone, once for comments about officiating and once for, you guessed it, trash talking, J-Peezy as they call him is far from innocent.  So it comes as no surprise that heading into tomorrows game against the 49’ers, that something would be said.  It’s just a little surprising that when the gun got cocked, locked, and loaded, that it would be TE Vernon Davis of the 9’ers firing the first shot.

"“I’m pretty sure I’ve gone up against a lot of other linebackers/defensive ends who are better than him,” Davis told the San Jose Mercury New Thursday. “And I’ve pretty much won every battle.”"

For Davis, this will be a test.  The loud voiced Porter can get under anyone’s skin and Davis blew up in a game against Seattle that forced SF HC Mike Singletary to verbally undress Davis and end his day early when Davis allowed the smack talk to unsettle his presence.  Davis drew and unsportsmanlike penalty when he physically rebutted…something that Matt Light can now say is only a 15,000 dollar fine and an ejection…but you also get three punches.

Singletary and Davis say they each have spoken often this week about the J-Peezy yap and Davis has assured his coach that he will maintain his composure to which Singletary says he will be speaking again to his player on Sunday.

Porter is 2 sacks away from tying the Miami Dolphins single season mark of 18.5 set by Bill Stanfill and Jason Taylor.  Stanfill did it in 14 games, Taylor in 16.  For Porter, setting that mark on Sunday, the Phins 14th game will give him the tie and one half sack more gives him the record.

For Porter though, that team mark means nothing.  Should he get that mark this weekend, Porter would be 3 sacks away from the NFL mark of 22.5 by Michael Strahan.  He would have two games to do it.  The irony of the whole thing is of course that Brett Favre fell over to give Strahan that record and in week 17, Favre may be in position to “fall over” once again.

For now, Porter and the Phins will concentrate on stopping a revitalized 49’er team that has knocked off the last two AFC East opponents they faced…New York and Buffalo the last two weeks.  The Dolphins and Joey Porter have their sites set on an AFC Playoff spot and SF is a stop along the way to that accomplishment.  Unfortunately for Vernon Davis, Joey Porter also is on that quest.

Porter may not be one of the best LB’s that Davis has faced in his still young NFL career, but I doubt seriously that Davis has faced any LB’s with the “vocal” ability that Porter possesses.  And J-Peezy knows that.  The first shot’s been fired.  On Sunday, we will see who gets hit.