Expect Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter to have blood in his eye Sunday when he faces the Buffalo Bills.

Porter had four sacks and forced two fumbles in helping the Dolphins beat the Bills twice last season.

But he missed out on the Dolphins' pass-rush party against the Bills in October. He was

hurt as Miami swarmed Buffalo with six sacks in a 38-10 victory.

The Bills' offensive line is in dire straits this week. Backups are set to start at left

tackle (Jonathan Scott) and right tackle (Kirk Chambers), and Kendall Simmons takes over at

right guard just five days after signing with the Bills.

What's more, Porter is eager to pad his sack totals because his season has been much less

super than last year, when he ranked second in the NFL with 17.5 sacks.

The 32-year-old Porter enters Sunday's game with 4.5 sacks.

"I was geared up when I was 8 playing flag football, so being able to now play it on the

highest level that you can play it on, how can you not be fired up to get out there and play?"

Porter said this week on a conference call with Buffalo media. "This is your livelihood.

Everybody dreamed to be here when they were a kid. For having the opportunity to do it, I feel

you can't cheat a day, not one day that you're out there."

Injuries have played a role in Porter's decreased production. A hamstring injury hindered

him for a couple weeks early in the season. He missed a couple practices with a sore knee a

couple weeks ago.

But he was benched for a game two weeks ago against Tampa. A report on nfl.com said it was

because he ran afoul of a team policy.

Porter came back last week with his best game of the year against Carolina. He had eight

tackles and two sacks.

The Dolphins' defense ranks third in the NFL in sacks per pass attempt. The Bills are 27th

in protecting the passer.

"When I first got here in Miami, we lost twice to Buffalo," Porter said. "So for me, the

rivalry started right then because they swept us. It's a rivalry. They probably don't get the

credit that the other teams (New England and the Jets) get, but it's still a team that's in

our division that we gear up for and not look past. They'll never look past us, so we know we

have to gear up every time we play them."

The News' football writers preview the Bills-Dolphins matchup

Porter is one of the emotional leaders of the Dolphins and is known for his trash talking.

Earlier this year he called out Pats quarterback Tom Brady for getting preferential

treatment from officials. (He said the same about Peyton Manning in 2005.)

He says he has a "natural hate" for New England. After the Pats' Spygate controversy, he

said they cheated and there should be an asterisk next to their Super Bowl wins.

Last season he chided Denver receiver Brandon Marshall for "pouting" during a loss to the

Dolphins.

He even prompted the NFL to enact a trash talking rule. That came in 2004 when Porter, then

with Pittsburgh, got into heated pregame words with Cleveland players, which caused a brawl

before kickoff. The NFL subsequently passed a rule forbidding players (except for kickers) to

come within a 5-yard cushion of the 50-yard line during pregame warm-ups.

"I don't think I do anything to discredit anybody or anything like that," Porter said. "I

just call it how I see it. Some people can handle it, some people can't. But that's not my

problem to deal with."

Perhaps because of his recent struggles, or maybe because of the Bills' struggles, he

wasn't interested in fanning any flames with Buffalo.

"They've got two good running backs," Porter said. "So first of all you have to try and

take care of those guys. And if you take care of those guys and put the game on [Ryan]

Fitzpatrick's shoulders, now it's up to us to get to the quarterback."

Porter needs to do more of that starting Sunday. He is signed through 2011. But given his

age, he won't be a lock for a roster spot next year if the only noise he's making is off the

field, not on it.