DETROIT – Joey Porter thinks Vegas made a mistake establishing the Steelers as 4-point favorites in Super Bowl XL.
“That’s all wrong,” the Steelers loudmouth outside linebacker said. “They were picked to go to the Super Bowl a long time ago, so there’s no way they can really feel like that.
“We took the scenic route to get here. We were supposed to be out way before we played Cincinnati (Jan. 8), way before we played Indy (Jan. 15), so there’s no way they can really, truly say that.”
Most of the time, the world is left thinking there’s no way the outspoken Porter could have said this or that. So a crowd gathered around him at Media Day yesterday.
Joey Willie Porter, he was not.
“The big story isn’t how I go out there and play football,” Porter said. “The bigger story is what he’s going to say next. That’s the only reason why I have people waiting for me right now. They feel like they’re going to tug and tug and tug until he breaks. But it’s not going to happen. I’m not going to give you anything special but to answer these questions, one at a time, and I’m going to take my time doing it.”
Porter was asked whether the Steelers’ tougher road as No. 6 seed gives them the edge. “No, it doesn’t give us the edge, it just keeps us hungry,” he said. “You don’t want to come all the way here and not play your best game.”
Porter, the Steelers’ modern-day version of Greg Lloyd, knows he is a key. “I have to do something to make (Matt) Hasselbeck feel not so comfortable in the pocket,” he said. “I have to do something to make him run and get him outside the pocket.”
All-World LT Walter Jones will be standing in his way. “I’ve just got to get an edge,” Porter said. “He definitely has put himself up there as one of the better left tackles in the game.”
OK, Joey Willie, how about the city of Seattle’s plans for a victory parade? “You don’t want to come to the Super Bowl and think about losing. I can’t be mad about that. I have my parade in my head, how I would plan it. The mental thought that you have to take to the Super Bowl is that you can’t be thinking about anything else but winning, so I don’t fault them for that.”
Well what about Seattle’s lack of star players? “How can you not have any stars when you’re in the Super Bowl? It doesn’t make any sense.”
Did Bill Cowher say anything specifically to you about Media Day? “No, he didn’t make any comments directed toward me, but he just gave everybody the talk.” Guaranteed.
steve.serby@nypost.com
