Ex-Steeler Recalls His Welcome to the NFL Moment Going Against Jonathan Ogden
Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter Sr. was a notorious trash-talker and one of the central figures in the heated Raven-Steelers rivalry in the early to mid-2000s.
A brash rookie in 1999, Porter learned the hard way that there was one Ravens player in particular that he shouldn't have mouthed off to: Hall of Fame offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden.
"My welcome to the NFL moment was me running my mouth against Jonathan Ogden," Porter said recently on “Not Just Football with Cam Heyward.” "Just me being me. I'm a rookie. We're playing Baltimore in Baltimore, like Week 2 or Week 3. ... So I'm looking at him. I'm looking at how big his shoes is. And I'm feeling good about myself. I'm like, 'This dude got on some size 18 [cleats]. There's no way he's going to be able to kick back that fast and block me.' I mean, he's 6-8, 370 or something. He looked real, real big, like a real-life ogre. There's no way I can't run around him. I'm like, 'This dude is cooked.' So I'm talking. I didn't know I was going against Kung Fu Panda.
"He looks over his shoulder to see who's talking, and he just hits me with a (nod) and went back to the huddle. And I'm over there digging in. I got wider. I said, 'Yeah, I'm getting all the way out here. I'm going to bring his ass out here to the HOV lane. This is the fast track.'"
Porter's ego – as well as his body – was dealt a massive blow.
"I got out, I'm coming around, I'm thinking I'm low and dipped. Man, he pushed me down and splashed me," Porter said. "All my weight in my heart just left. I just watched it leave to the sideline, and I followed it to the sideline, because I had to come out of the game. He splashed me.
"With Ogden I said, 'OK, I ain't there yet to be talking [crap] to him.' I knew that right away."