Polamalu only Steeler on PFW's midseason All-Pro team

Yesterday Pro Football Weekly (PFW) announced its midseason All-Pro team. Safety Troy Polamalu is the only Steelers' player on the list. Notably, Joey Porter (Miami Dolphins) did make the team as one of the two outside linebackers.

Replacement of Porter now complete

The Steelers replaced LB Joey Porter's playmaking skills months ago, with James 'Silverback' Harrison well on his way to a Pro Bowl season. In fact, Harrison earned AFC Defensive Player of the Month honors in November, thanks in part to his "career game" against the Ravens. But until this week the Steelers hadn't found a replacement for Porter's "mouth," a role that the quiet-as-a-mouse Harrison could not embrace. But safety Anthony Smith appears to be more than willing to step into Porter's shoes and yap away. This week Smith delivered what I would describe as a qualified guarantee that the Steelers will beat the Patriots on Sunday.

I would imagine that Smith's teammates probably sighed when they got wind of the second-year DB's pronouncement. And Smith probably got called to the principal's office right away. Head coach Mike Tomlin reports telling Smith something along the lines of, 'Write your own checks, but don't write checks for the whole team.' Well said.

But in this case, does Smith's guarantee make much difference? I doubt it. New England is already plenty motivated to keep its unbeaten streak alive, and except for Steelers' fans, no one knows anything about Smith. Of course, Pittsburgh supporters hope that Smith has the opportunity to "introduce" himself to Randy Moss & Co. on Sunday with one of his punishing hits. After all, Smith arguably hits harder (pound-for-pound) than any Pittsburgh defender since Greg Lloyd. Anyway, the Steelers are 14-point underdogs, so no one is really expecting Pittsburgh to win. I doubt Smith is being calculated but he is using one of Porter's old tricks; by keeping the attention focused on himself it allows the rest of the team to prepare for the game in relative peace.

Dolphins: What are the Chances...?

Forget about the individual matchups and forget that key players like Troy Polamalu and Santonio Holmes are out with injuries. If Pittsburgh plays anywhere near its collective potential the Dolphins have no chance. But as we know, last week Pittsburgh failed to put its breast -- I mean, best -- foot forward against the 1-8 Jets, so one never knows....

Of course, the big storyline for Steelers' fans will be the less-than-triumphant return of former Steelers' LB Joey Porter, who hasn't done much thus far in Miami. In a recent post we noted that Pro Football Weekly named Porter the worst FA signing of the past offseason.

As for our prediction, "What are the Chances...?" is giving the Steelers an 85 percent chance of defeating the Dolphins (our highest percentage to date). The only thing really holding us back from going to 90 or 95 percent is the fact that Ben Roethlisberger is banged up and there are those key injuries to consider. Still, the Steelers haven't lost a Monday Night home game since the Chuck Noll era, and it's difficult to imagine the Dolphins breaking that streak.

But this raises an interesting question: If the game is close late in the 4th quarter would Steelers' fans begin rooting for the Dolphins? I highly doubt it; it's not like Miami is 0-15 or anything. But consider this: Back in the early '80s I went to a game at New York's Shea Stadium between the 0-14 Saints and the hometown Jets. With the outcome in doubt late in the 4th, Jets fans began rooting for the hapless Saints, who squeaked out a one-point victory and narrowly escaped a winless season.

Joey Porter: Worst free-agent signing of all-time?

Pro Football Weekly (PFW) has already published its list of best/worst free-agent signings of the year. Not only is Joey Porter (Miami Dolphins) listed as worst of the year, PFW postulates whether Porter will go down as one of the worst free-agent signings ever. Steelers' fans will get a chance to see Porter in action again next week. Meanwhile, has anyone been watching Miami games to see how he's been playing?

Porter Has Knee Surgery

According to espn.com former Steelers' linebacker Joey Porter recently underwent knee surgery and will be out of commission for at least two weeks. As one might expect, the surgery was performed by famed surgeon Dr. James Andrews. It's the third time in less than two years that Porter has undergone arthroscopic knee surgery, hardly a comforting thought for the Miami Dolphins, who gave Porter a five-year $32 million contract that includes $20 million in guaranteed money.

Porter to Have Right Knee Examined

Joey Porter's career with the Miami Dolphins is off to a shaky start. ESPN.com is reporting that the former Steelers' outside linebacker is having his right knee examined today (after missing the last two days of practice). No report is expected to be forthcoming until Monday. Sounds like Joey may have to refrain from doing 'da boot' for a while.

Dead Money on Steelers' Cap Now Over $10 Million

Pittsburgh has always done a solid job of managing the salary cap, keeping the amount of "dead money" counting against its cap to a bare minimum. But after cutting Joey Porter, Duce Staley, and Chris Gardocki (among others) $10.335 million of the Steelers' 2007 salary cap is now taken up by players no longer on the team [per updated figures posted on August 1 by Steelers Live 'Xtra]. With this year's cap set at $109 million that's roughly 10.5 percent of the team's allowance, a higher percentage than in years past.

In case you aren't familiar with the mechanics of the salary cap, here's an oversimplified example of how a team is charged with dead money: Let's say a player signs a four-year contract with a $1 million signing bonus and base salaries of $500,000 each year. The cap charge for his first season would be $750,000 ($500,000 for his salary and $250,000 for one-quarter of his signing bonus). If that player is released after, say, only one season with the team, the remaining prorated portion of his signing bonus ($750,000) "accelerates" and counts against the cap the following year, even though the player is no longer on the roster. Meanwhile, the remaining $1.5 million that would have been paid in salary (over the next three seasons) "disappears." This arrangement explains why the Steelers are sqeamish about signing aging veterans like Alan Faneca to long-term contracts that include enormous signing bonuses.

Of course, a certain amount of dead money is inevitable. Draft choices—like Orien Harris, Charles Davis, Cedrick Humes and Omar Jacobs—sometimes don't pan out, and veteran players (like Jeff Hartings) often retire before completing their contracts. So the Steelers certainly aren't the only team above $10 million. According to NFL.com, Detroit, Kansas City, Miami, New Orleans and Oakland are all over the $10 million mark—and there may be others. Yet, when it comes to this problem no one compares to the Houston Texans, currently saddled with more than $30 million in dead money, a serious competitive handicap.

As for players who remain on the Steelers' roster, LT Marvel Smith is scheduled to count $6.645 million against the Steelers' cap in 2007, the most of any player on the team. LG Alan Faneca, NT Casey Hampton, WR Hines Ward and DE Aaron Smith have cap charges of $6.12 million, $6 million, $5.92 million and $5.46 million, respectively.

Porter Fined $141,176

According to ESPN.com, the NFL has fined former Steelers LB Joey Porter $141,176 (the equivalent of three game checks) for his role in the Levi Jones incident, which occurred this past March in Las Vegas. According to Len Pasquarelli's article, the fine, "first reported by NFL.com and confirmed by league sources, is one of the biggest in NFL history." Click here to read the full story.