The greater question is this: Does the talking really matter?
Surprise - Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter thinks it does.
“I wish you could hate every team the way you’re gonna hate your rival. That brings your best football,’’ Porter said after the Miami win. “You’re gonna get your best fight when you hate him and he hates you, because there ain’t no running from one another.’’
Over the next five weeks, the Patriots tangle with these two teams - hosting the Dolphins Sunday, playing in Miami Dec. 6, and hosting the Jets Nov. 22.
The Dolphins say they plan on taking the chirping down a notch, following the lead of a strong-willed coach. The Jets have no such plans, likewise taking on the personality of the man in charge.
The Patriots wait quietly, as they usually do. Coach Bill Belichick is an honors student in the Lou Holtz School of Pregame Fodder, making each opponent sound like it’s got the ’86 Bears defense and the ’99 Rams offense. And he’s usually got all his players on message.
“From the start of the spring practices and the offseason program and minicamps and all that, you guys [in the media] bring up that kind of stuff a lot, so it’s always there,’’ Belichick said yesterday. “It pretty much goes on all year round - somebody did something, or somebody said something.
“That’s good competitive spirit. In the end, the talking gets done on the field, during the three hours the game’s being played.’’
But don’t take that as the coach being above poking his players with pieces of motivation.
In fact, former Patriots quarterback Jim Miller said, “Bill’s one of the best at it. He really is.’’
Miller cited the week leading up to a game against Seattle in 2004. The Patriots were coming off 19 consecutive wins, yet Darrell Jackson said on his radio show in the Pacific Northwest that New England was “beatable.’’
Inane enough? Not really. Belichick got the audio and played it for the entire roster in the team meeting room at the outset of the week.
