A tough Week 9 loss to the Patriots left Dolphins LB Joey Porter without much to say — at least nothing worthy of a bulletin board.

Porter was dressed like Johnny Cash — aka, The Man in Black — and jokingly said during his weekly Thursday appearance on NFL Network that the Dolphins’ 27-17 defeat was “like a funeral.”

“You know, even me, I know that after you lose a game and you don’t perform, at some point in time, you have to take a step back,” Porter said. “We lost a tough one that we wanted to win and was going to put us in a better situation than we’re in now. But, at the same time, they won that game. Now we’re on to the next. We have to get ready for Tampa.”

Last week, Porter expressed his belief that NFL officials treat New England’s Tom Brady differently than other quarterbacks and admitted that he had long hated the Patriots. Brady responded by telling The Boston Globe he didn’t believe he had ever influenced a call and later said after the game that Porter’s comments had motivated the Patriots.

Porter didn’t duck any questions about his previous comments and acknowledged that his stat line — zero tackles — was posted on the Gillette Stadium scoreboard after last Sunday’s game.

“Yeah, I thought it was pretty funny,” Porter said. “It’s all in fun and games. But, at the same time, we still have to see them one more time in a little bit. They didn’t put the stats up there the last time I was there. They had the upper hand and put the stats on the board when they won. They did a good job with that. I’m not mad at them.”

Porter and the 3-5 Dolphins will have time to right the ship because only one of their next six opponents has a winning record. That opponent is the Patriots, in Week 13 at Miami.

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