FOXSports.com senior NFL writer Alex Marvez weighs in with NFL news and notes  every Monday

* Know why Joey Porter hasn’t made an impact with Miami?

He needs help from three others to beat a left tackle.

Porter’s disastrous 2007 season reached a new low Sunday. He was exposed as a thug by my FOX Sports colleague Jay Glazer, who unveiled a videotape showing Porter and his buddies jumping Cincinnati left tackle Levi Jones at a Las Vegas casino in March. Porter then floundered in a 41-31 loss to Cleveland, tallying a meager four tackles.

Porter ran his mouth beforehand by again picking on Browns tight end Kellen Winslow, who he slurred with a homosexual innuendo last season while playing for Pittsburgh. Winslow finished with five catches for 90 yards and asked reporters afterward, “Did he play today? I didn't see him.”

Before games against Dallas and Oakland, Porter called Cowboys running back Marion Barber “cocky” and guaranteed a win against the Raiders. Barber rushed for two touchdowns in a Cowboys rout, while Oakland cruised to a 35-17 victory. Porter made no impact plays in those games and hasn’t registered a sack in Miami’s 0-6 season.

Still, nothing was as humiliating as Glazer’s expose. Details of the Porter-Jones altercation were fuzzy because of a shoddy police investigation, as the two were reported to have fought in a valet parking area. Porter was fined $1,000 in May after pleading no contest to misdemeanor battery.

The NFL then fined Porter three game checks, which is the equivalent of roughly $141,000. But the punishment would probably have been more severe had the video footage surfaced earlier.

Having landed a five-year, $32 million contract with $20 million guaranteed, Porter is this season’s biggest free-agent bust (although Denver running back Travis Henry is a contender if suspended because of drug issues). Compounding the problem, Miami offered an Adalius Thomas-sized deal even though no other suitors were going to offer the same cash for a fading eight-year veteran.

The only positive from this: The season-finale between Miami and Cincinnati (1-4) now has additional meaning besides being a potential duel for the 2008 draft’s No. 1 pick.

* Another suspect Dolphins free-agent decision was allowing punter Donnie Jones to join St. Louis as a restricted free agent. Jones and San Francisco’s Andy Lee are tied for the NFL lead in gross average at 50.1 yards. Jones also has an impressive net average of 42.0.

In comparison, Miami rookie punter Brandon Fields has averages of 43.0 and 36.3.

“I just think it’s getting a fresh start and having some extra motivation being in a new place with a new staff,” said Jones, who clashed this off-season with Miami’s new kicking coach. “It’s a very good work environment and our special teams coach Al Roberts is a tremendous guy. He lets me go out and do my thing.”

* Dallas Cowboys executive Stephen Jones waited outside the locker room to congratulate New England owner Bob Kraft following the Patriots’ 48-27 victory.

“Y’all taught us a lesson,” Jones said.

A much less classy move came from another Jones. During a Sunday night pay-per-view wrestling match, suspended Tennessee cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones threw money into the ring to distract his team’s opponent. The move was meant to spoof Jones “making it rain” earlier this year at a Las Vegas strip club.

Considering a club manager was shot and paralyzed later that night after a blow-up with Jones’ entourage, how can anyone think this would be funny?

FOXSports.com senior NFL writer Alex Marvez weighs in with NFL news and notes  every Monday

* The severe spine injury suffered by Buffalo tight end Kevin Everett in the season-opener greatly affected one of his teammates.

While not using it as an excuse for his early season struggles, outside linebacker Angelo Crowell said he needed time to block out the memory of Everett getting hurt making a special teams tackle.

"It really slowed me down," Crowell told FOXSports.com. "Linebackers have collisions all the time. What happened weighed on me mentally because I had never thought about those types of injuries. When you play linebacker, you can't think about those types of things."

Crowell returned to form with a team-high 11 tackles in last Sunday's 17-14 upset of the New York Jets. Crowell must play at the same high level Monday night for Buffalo's injury-plagued defense to have any shot at slowing down Dallas.

"Tony Romo is really the key," Crowell said. "We've got to get to the quarterback and rattle him. You can't give him time to throw because with his arm strength and accuracy, he'll pick you apart. As a whole on defense, we're going to have to do the small things right. We have to create turnovers and keep their offense off the field."

* Despite Sunday's 34-3 loss at Washington, Detroit left tackle Jeff Backus doesn't expect this year's team to tank like the 2004 Lions did after a 3-1 start. Such confidence stems from who is -- and isn't -- on Detroit's roster.

"We have a lot of high-character guys who know what to do and how to do it," Backus told FOXSports.com. "We're a different club than what we've been in the past even though we had a handful of big-name guys before. Maybe some of our guys are a little less talented but they give more effort and have more passion. That sometimes outweighs the extras."

Backus singled out wide receiver Mike Furrey as an example while taking a swipe at Charles Rogers and Mike Williams, two top 10 picks who never proved worthy of such lofty draft status. The undrafted Furrey played in two other football leagues (XFL and Arena) and even on defense before last year's 98-catch season.

"We've spent a couple high draft picks on guys who were all-world in college but didn't know how to translate that to the pro game," said Backus, a Lions first-round pick in 2001. "Sometimes you see it not just at wide receiver but with real talented guys where everything comes natural to them. They don't know how to work.

"It's not really their fault but they never had to push themselves to earn a spot. The guys we've got now, most of them never had a big name or were the most talented on their team. They've always had to fight and claw for what they've got."

* Replacing one drug-addled running back with another wouldn't make sense in Denver if Travis Henry is suspended for a positive marijuana test. But a Ricky Williams comeback would make sense in Tampa Bay, which needs depth after losing Cadillac Williams to a major knee injury.

A scenario that makes sense: Miami sends Williams' rights to the Bucs before the October 16 trading deadline. Compensation could be based on whether Williams is reinstated and how much he plays if given the green light to return by commissioner Roger Goodell.

Despite not having played since last fall in Canada, Williams has more upside than any other running back options the Bucs have explored. And considering Miami coach Cam Cameron has shown no signs that he wants Williams on his roster, the Dolphins would be getting something in return for a player likely to get released anyway.

* Speaking of headaches, Dolphins quarterback Trent Green's benching seemed imminent even before suffering another lights-out concussion Sunday against Houston. Green entered this weekend's games leading the NFL in interceptions and had clearly slipped from his heyday in Kansas City. Cleo Lemon (15-of-27 passing for 151 yards and one interception) was decent in relief but should look better when starting next Sunday at Cleveland.

* Is there anyone else who didn't envision Oakland leading the AFC West and New Orleans being winless five weeks into the season?