DETROIT – Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter continued his tirade against Jerramy Stevens Thursday, calling the Seattle Seahawks tight end “soft” and “not worthy of talking about a player the caliber of Jerome Bettis.”
In what has been the only controversy in an otherwise gentlemanly Super Bowl XL week, Porter lashed out at Stevens Wednesday in reaction to Stevens’ comment that Bettis’ homecoming was a nice story, but that Bettis will be sad when the Seahawks take home the Lombardi Trophy as NFL champions.
Stevens also said Porter, while he’s had success in the playoffs, will have a difficult time trying to get around Seahawks all-Pro tackle Walter Jones.
Porter, surrounded by dozens of reporters Thursday, did not back away.
“He’s a liability when they leave him in to pass-block,” Porter said of Stevens. “If they run a play to my side and they need a tight end to block me, he’s a liability. If they do anything using him to make a play coming to my side, it’s not going to work. If they use him to block me, I’m going to hit their quarterback. Those are the facts.”
Early in the week, Porter vowed to avoid controversy, no matter how relentlessly the media prodded. That ended Wednesday, once Porter caught wind of Stevens’ comments.
“Now I know how they really feel with the comments they said,” Porter said. “Now, I can tell you how I really feel. I don’t have to hold no punches no more. It is what it is. If they’re ready for a fight, I’ve been ready for a fight.”
Stevens said Wednesday and repeated Thursday that he meant no disrespect to Bettis. He added that he regrets nothing he said because he meant it and that he expected some backlash from what he said.
“I think it’s part of the deal when you come to the Super Bowl,” said Stevens, a former star at the University of Washington. “(Reporters) look for stories. It’s just part of the deal.”
The consensus among media is that Porter needed something, anything, to grab onto, something that could help him with extra motivation for Sunday. He is no newcomer to controversy. By far the Steelers’ most outspoken player, Porter said an NFL officiating crew cheated the Steelers in their 21-18 playoff victory.
Steelers coach Bill Cowher said he wasn’t surprised that Porter went off. What’s more, Cower didn’t seem particularly upset at his player’s outburst.
“Joey was just being Joey,” Cowher said. “I was pretty proud he lasted this long. He’s the emotional leader for our football team. He’s very respectful and we understand that Seattle is a very good football team.”
Porter didn’t, however, sound particularly respectful toward Stevens.
“I’ll tell him he’s soft now and I’ll tell him he’s soft when I see him because he is soft,” he said. “He’s a tight end, and I’ve never, ever been afraid of a tight end. I don’t really respect his game or nothing about him.”
Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said he didn’t specifically talk to Stevens about his comments, but that he did speak to the team about dealing with the media.
“The whole effort on our coaching staff is to prevent any more distractions than there already are,” Holmgren said. “There are things that happen this week that you can’t avoid. There are certain things that you probably should avoid, and anything like that, I think, is another distraction.”
Home cooking: Bettis, a Detroit native, had roughly 40 teammates at his mother’s house Wednesday night for a home-cooked meal. On the menu: turkey, ham, roast, greens, yams, macaroni and cheese, dressing and more.
The cooks were Bettis’ mother and aunt.
“Dinner was incredible,” Bettis said. “There was nothing but empty plates when we left. A couple guys had two plates, but I’m not going to tell on them. I told them they’ll have to work it off by Sunday, or I’m going to get in trouble.”
Someone mentioned Bettis looked as though he hasn’t missed many meals.
“I do have to be cautious of what I eat,” he said. “I can gain weight in my sleep. When the season’s over, I kind of splurge.”
Steelers injuries: Fullback Dan Kreider (knee) is listed as questionable. He missed Wednesday’s practice, but was back Thursday. Linebacker James Harrison, who missed the past two playoff games with an ankle sprain, is practicing.
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