STEELERS Porter's presence benefits defense

The linebacker is in such good condition, he couldn't help but show off at camp.
LATROBE, Pa. (AP) -- They were the big talkers of the defense, but first Earl Holmes left and then Lee Flowers packed his bags. Are there any Pittsburgh Steelers left who can talk the good talk?
Cornerback Dewayne Washington thought about it for a moment.
"Probably Joey," he said of linebacker Joey Porter. "Joey probably talks the most. Other than that, we're pretty quiet back there, to be honest with you."
Last year Porter did more than talk the talk. He showed early on that it was his time to take a place in the team's linebacking tradition.
Porter's performance
Against Oakland, in the second game of the season, Porter made 10 solo tackles, had three sacks and intercepted two passes. He returned those interceptions for a combined 114 yards. It added up to an AFC Defensive Player of the Week award, even though the Steelers lost the game.
"Yeah, that was almost perfect, except for the time I got caught," Porter said of his 85-yard interception return. It ended with an illegal lateral to Chad Scott.
"I should've had a touchdown, but that's the tops and this year I'm shooting for something that'll be better than that. It doesn't have to be sacks or interceptions. If I have 10 tackles, don't make any mistakes and get everybody lined up and we shut somebody out, that would be the perfect game."
Porter ended the season tied for the team lead with nine sacks, and his four interceptions made him the first player, since the league began recording sacks in 1982, to have at least eight sacks and four interceptions. But the dream season came to an early end in the playoff semifinals, so Porter figured it was time to get serious about his career, which is entering its fifth season.
Revealing
Porter showed up at training camp last week weighing 250 pounds and was in such good condition he couldn't help but show off. Porter began his run test without a shirt and ended it without his shorts. At the finish line, he did a cartwheel into two back flips in his underwear.
"Joey's like a Broadway showman," said Clark Haggans, who's been a teammate since their days at Colorado State. "If he has any ability in something he likes to show it. He wants everyone to see it, like it. He wants to put a smile on everyone's face."
Statistics suffer
Porter finished slow, statistically, last season. He had only three sacks in his last 11 games and attributes it to being asked to drop into coverage on third down. Offenses also shifted their protection away from Jason Gildon and toward Porter after his fast start, but he never stopped talking.
"A lot of players, when they get caught up in the moment, talk out there," said Haggans. "But Joey's that poster-boy kind of talker. He has that Don King in him. He likes to promote, self-promote, team-promote, hype everything up and get the guys going."
And right now, Porter wants to go for that perfect game, that perfect season.
"Until you play that perfect game," Porter said, "until you go out there and leave knowing you didn't make any mistakes, and every time you had a chance to make a play you made it, you're not going to be satisfied."