The legendary James Harrison has called out one of the young stars on the Pittsburgh Steelers defense — asking for cleaner play and more turnovers as the Week 10 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers arrives.
On a recent episode of the Deebo & Joe podcast, Harrison discussed with Joe Haden one Steelers defender he hopes will step up in the coming weeks — the son of one of his former teammates, Joey Porter Jr.
“DBs have to play tighter and cleaner,” Harrison said. “No penalties. I’m talking to [Joey Porter]. You’ve gotta use your feet and take advantage of your length and your speed. I’m talking directly to you, Nephew. Little Peezy, I’m talking directly to you. I wanna see you put together a whole, complete game, week in and week out.
“And I’m doing this on purpose. You know why? Because I know you’re your daddy’s son. When I call you out, I put pressure on you — that don’t mean nothing to you. That don’t do shit but motivate you. We need to create turnovers. Hey, Nephew, get me a pick or two. I need a game ball, Nephew. Get me a game ball.”
Porter has flashed moments of greatness, holding quarterbacks to a passer rating of 59.4 when he’s been targeted, with penalties being one of the few areas he needs to clean up early.
Harrison clearly has high expectations for his former teammate’s son, holding Porter Jr. to a high standard as the Steelers’ defense continues to find its identity as the second half of the season gets underway.
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