The Pittsburgh Steelers love for their defenders to be physical, but not to the point where they are committing multiple penalties per game. In Week 13, Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. committed six penalties.
Of those six, four of them were accepted. The second-year cornerback has now committed 14 fouls this season (both accepted and declined).
But Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin made it very clear on December 3 that he is unconcerned about Porter. Tomlin cited the 24-year-old’s mindset as the reason for his confidence in Joey Porter.
“He’s got a serial killer’s mentality. But if you’re going to be a top flight corner, you better,” Tomlin told reporters. “And that’s probably one of the things that I knew about him because of our personal relationship that really made me comfortable drafting him. It’s not fake, it’s real. He’s not running from the fight, he’s running to the fight.
“You better have a short memory at that position, and he’s always had it. He was probably 9 or 10 when I met him, and he had it then.”
Tomlin then further explained what he meant by “serial killer’s mentality.”
“He’s a competitor, he’s running to it. He’s ill-affected by the outcome of plays. His confidence is unflappable. And all of that is needed.”
Counting both accepted and declined penalties, Porter committed 12 fouls during his rookie 2023 season. Porter is playing more this season than his rookie campaign, but he is still trending in the wrong direction from a penalty perspective.
His 12 penalties in 2023 came on 807 defensive snaps. Porter has 14 fouls on 729 defensive snaps in 12 games this season.
Does Joey Porter Jr. Have ‘Target’ on Back
When Tomlin addressed the two penalties wide receiver George Pickens committed during Week 13, he said the third-year wideout has “got a target on his back” because of who he is.
Porter suggested the same thing is happening to him when he spoke to reporters about his six penalties on December 1.
“Some of those calls, I feel like I’m not doing nothing the average [defensive back is] doing,” Porter said to the media, via The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I got that target on my back and clearly, I just gotta keep working.”
There’s probably some truth to that. Once a player gets a reputation for committing fouls, NFL officials usually have an eye out of that player.
However, not all of Porter’s penalties in Week 13 were ticky tacky. That was especially the case on a pass interference penalty where Porter tackled Bengals receiver Andrei Iosivas in the back of the end zone even though the ball was throw well out of bounds.
Porter should accept some of the blame for his penalties.
Can Joey Porter Jr. Correct Penalty Mistakes?
Porter gained a reputation for being “grabby” while playing at Penn State in college. But it has become a particular issue over the last month.
Of the 14 penalties Porter has committed this season, 10 of them have come since Week 10.
Most of Porter’s fouls have come in coverage. Over the past four games, he’s committed five pass interference and three defensive holding penalties.
But in the past month, Porter also played very well against the Baltimore Ravens. The goal going forward is for him to continue developing at a high level without grabbing so often.
“The hurdle for the Steelers will be getting Porter to trust his technique and to get those grabs out of his game,” Penn Live’s Nick Farabaugh wrote. “If he does trust his technique, Porter will become one of the top cornerbacks in football. He already has all the techniques; it is about getting rid of the bad habits he has built up that put the referees in his crosshairs.”
The question, though, is whether Porter can shed his bad habits before making a costly mistake during the 2024 season.
“Right now, though, he is as volatile a player at the position as there is, and it almost always comes down to him just trusting the technique he already has. That is Porter’s problem, and it is something that secondary coach Grady Brown will have to sit down with Porter and figure out over the next few weeks,” concluded Farabaugh.
