Bucs “Wise” To Reject Incognito
August 12th, 2014
No.
Yesterday, Bucs coach Lovie Smith responded to questions about the possiblity of pursuing the notorious Richie Incognito. Only Lovie did so indirectly. Sort of.
Members of the Tampa Bay pen and mic club, apparently bombarded by Incognito questions, especially since Friday’s offensive line debacle at Jacksonville, hit Lovie with two Incognito questions.
Lovie, as Joe wrote, made it clear he wasn’t talking about Incognito, but clearly anyone listening could make the inference to what Lovie was saying: Incognito ain’t happening, not with Lovie as Bucs coach.
One person who agreed was Andrew Aslteford of Fox Sports Florida, who believes the last thing the Bucs need is a menace like Incognito to tear the team apart.
The talk of Incognito as an option for the Bucs should be a black-and-white issue, the what-if thoughts left to float throughout the Twittersphere and Tampa Bay’s airwaves without harm until they disappear for the next hot topic. That’s because adding Incognito and all the baggage he represents — a circus, a massive distraction and an all-around bad guy — would be wrong for this Bucs team at this time in Lovie Smith’s first year.
Yes, Incognito’s talent would be an upgrade over the Bucs’ current top options at guard, Oniel Cousins and Jace Daniels. No, the potential gain isn’t worth bringing him to One Buc Place, a development that would violate a standard that Tampa Bay should be about this fall: No drama, none at all, after moving beyond the Mark Dominik/Greg Schiano regime that drowned in the muck last year.
“All players that are available, we look to see if they would fit into our program,” Smith said Monday, addressing the Incognito attention without naming Incognito specifically. “All players. I’ll just kind of leave it at that. If we’re really interested in someone, we’ll bring him in. So again, we’re looking at everyone constantly.”
Astleford goes on to make point after point after point what a bad move it would be for Lovie to go get Incognito. Astleford points out, the team had enough drama with the MRSA and the antics of leaky, sleepy Josh Freeman and photogate and missed breakfasts and the alleged stuffed ballot box and all the other drama that former Bucs commander Greg Schiano brought with him.
One reason Lovie was hired was his lack of drama. If Lovie didn’t care about distractions, then Johnny Football might very well be the Bucs quarterback and not Josh McCown, who lives his life in the shadows off the football field.
Why is it so many Bucs fans who were sick of last year’s drama are so eager to revisit those days by infesting the locker room with Incognito?
August 12th, 2014 at 9:14 am
I personally think the offense needs some nasty. There is enough leadership in the locker room to keep Incognito in check.
August 12th, 2014 at 9:18 am
If the guy was a viable option, he wouldn’t be at home, sitting around waiting for his agent to tell him some team bumped its head and decided to sign him.
August 12th, 2014 at 9:23 am
If he can’t play that is one thing. If he can play, but isn’t because he “bullied” someone in the locker room or has a nasty disposition the NFL might as well take off the pads and strap on the flags.
August 12th, 2014 at 9:26 am
It’s ridiculous to even suggest that Incognito’s presence in the Bucs locker room will upset the applecart. To really think that Richie will come in here and act like a heathen after all the crap he just went through is asinine.
August 12th, 2014 at 9:26 am
Why is Incognito still being raised as a topic of conversation. Didn’t this already get put to bed yesterday? Filler I guess…
August 12th, 2014 at 9:27 am
If Incognito isn’t an option because his play is poor or he has criminal issues that is one thing, but if he isn’t in the NFL because he has a bad attitude than the NFL might as well drop the pads and strap on the flags.
August 12th, 2014 at 9:32 am
“Why is it so many Bucs fans who were sick of last year’s drama are so eager to revisit those days by infesting the locker room with Incognito?”
Because a lot of your readers aren’t exactly rational human beings? This has been another edition of easy answers to easy questions.
August 12th, 2014 at 9:33 am
We could bring him in to pick on Cousins & Meredith….
August 12th, 2014 at 9:40 am
Anybody talking about this guy joining the Bucs knows NOTHING about football! 1st he really isn’t that good of a player, saying he’s better than Cousin and/or Meredith isn’t saying much. If he was that good a team would’ve picked him up for his “immense” talents & dealt w/ his baggage ex: Talib, T.O. Let’s cut the s**t & bury this talk PLEASE! Starting to insult real Bucs/NFL fans
August 12th, 2014 at 9:45 am
bring they guy in!!!!!!!!!! he’s nasty, so what!
his only mistake was thinking he was getting rough with what he thought was a man, not a pu$$y with an attorney for a mommy. she and he did this, not incognito. a man would have just snubbed it off. sign him.
August 12th, 2014 at 9:48 am
Why is it so many Bucs fans who were sick of last year’s drama are so eager to revisit those days by infesting the locker room with Incognito?
>>> because I’m sick and tired of seeing poor Doug Martin wearing a pewter jersey at the end of the game……the day they were wearing WHITE.
August 12th, 2014 at 10:04 am
Pretty clear that the Oline is the bottom rung of their priority list. Even ignoring the debate of whether Incognito would be a good or bad. When you spend a 3rd rounder on a position the team is loaded at, and the team so disparately needs a OG, that in itself says it all loud and clear
August 12th, 2014 at 10:10 am
No panic moves please. Make value decisions in favor of coming seasons and season that will follow.
A good Oline has more value than an good RB. RB´s also can be easily found in later rounds and they are easy to scout.
Compensatory Picks are very valid assets. Two 5th rounds pick for example could allow us to get that specimen player in the 4th (a good returner – or burner WR or whatever… a ballhawking safety for the “big nickel package” sth like that).
Bucs have two players that could match what 49ers want/need and those are replaceable for Buccaneers (very) easily. with both being good value for compensatory picks also aaaand the 49ers should NOT ONLY GIVE US WHAT WE WANT IN BOONE BUT AN DRAFT PICK ALSO..
Give: a Clayborn(e) who is too slow for 4-3 but might be perfect for 49ers sheme + D. Marting, an good RB.
Get: Boone, a much needed versatile Lineman + an draft pick (4th) plus compensatory picks (maybe) = that not good for both parties?
Go Bucs!
August 12th, 2014 at 10:12 am
I have to agree with the anti Incognito mob concerning this badass bully playing for the Bucs. This was the type of behavior remembered from youth as to a guy everyone hated and wanted to be brought down. This behavior should have been left behind entering adulthood. That it was’nt is a warning sign.
August 12th, 2014 at 10:18 am
I hope our OGs and O-Line as a whole can play well enough the rest of the way so we don’t have to bring up the idea of signing Incognito.
One way to elminate this discussion would be for someone to step up, fill in admirably, and just flat out not suck.
If we continue to suck on the O-Line, specifically the OG position, then we may need to make a move.
I am very torn. While I want nothing to do with Incognito, even more so do I not want L&L to give up draft pick(s) for Alex Boone.
Hopefully Kadeem Edwards is ready to play.
August 12th, 2014 at 10:28 am
He may be an arse, but I’d rather root for an arse on Sundays than watch my QB get clobbered every play.
August 12th, 2014 at 10:41 am
I think we should definitely take a chance on him you are talking about a very nasty run blocker something we do not have on the team at all and will only cost us money no picks or crazy contract That whole situation got the way it got with Jonathan Martin cause Martin had no balls to take incognito on and straight punch him in the face and earn his respect as a player and a man how many players don’t have problems with their team mates and what almost always happens they fight , talk then become even closer get ride of cousins bring in the bully we need to toughen this line j Martin got another chance why not incognito as well he knows this will be his last opportunity to play the game he loves he will fall in line like a soldier
August 12th, 2014 at 11:14 am
“We could bring him in to pick on Cousins & Meredith….”
LMAO!!!!
August 12th, 2014 at 11:15 am
Awww…we don’t want him playing tackle football because he is a bully. Isn’t that sweet and nice.
August 12th, 2014 at 11:38 am
I am on the fence with this guy. I think he is an a ~hole but I also think he would be kept in check or would be released. My question is, if a team were to pick him up, would he be facing a suspension for everything that went down in Miami?
August 12th, 2014 at 11:44 am
@TampaBayBucFan
That comment steps up into HoF consideration.
August 12th, 2014 at 11:58 am
May be your best post, Guy. 🙂
August 12th, 2014 at 11:59 am
#GolfClap
August 12th, 2014 at 12:19 pm
The question should be, is how crazy and how much drama will Incognito would bring??? to answer this we need to compare to other crazy/drama players.
Joe should do a poll of crazy/drama players so we can put them in order, a list of Manziel, Mike (house-party) williams, Josh Freeman, and Incognito will suffice.
p.s. Josh Freeman is obvious choice for most crazy/drama.
August 12th, 2014 at 12:22 pm
Miami players loved him, but I get it, Lovie can’t take him to church.
August 12th, 2014 at 12:35 pm
Johnny Football is not the player he once was. He is a one women man now. I will say that the one women Colleen Crowley on a scale of 1 to 10 is like 45 or 50.
August 12th, 2014 at 12:39 pm
Joe, you may be the go-to for all things Bucs, but your site has become the mecca for the most uninelligent, short-sighted, drunk-at-10am Bucs fans..
For you inbred morons kneeling down with mouths open for Incognito… why havent any of the 32 teams brought him in by now??
If Al Davis was still alive, even that dude would backhand any staff member for considering that fat cancerous f—.
August 12th, 2014 at 12:45 pm
Incognito was a probowler in 2012.
No guard on our roster has ever been a probowler.
Offensive linemen are tough guys, and have a unique bond.
Martin- who was not a tough guy, or good player- Was sending the same text to all the linemen, that they were sending him. It was an O-linemen thing.
Only difference is, Martin was forwarding all the text to his mommy- the Lawyer- to build his case
What kind of Coward does that? I can tell you- but I’d be politically incorrect.
Martin is currently Dabbing his tear filled eyes in San Francisco- where his sensitive lil self will be more comfortable.
But he may not make the team.
He won’t be a Probowler
Incognito was supported by all the Dolphin Linemen. He hasn’t had any previous issues with Teammates. The only knock on Incognito was that he was a “dirty Player”
I promise you- that’s been said about every Offensive linemen in the Hall of Fame- it’s a tough guy posistion
We could sign Incognito for league minimum. A Probowler, who is twice as good as any guard on our Roster. Those of of you who said he isn’t a good player?
Well, your stupid. He has always been considered an above average guard.
After watching that pathetic excuse for an O-line
we marched out last Friday, we probably have a sensitive Soul or two on our current line. They were probably the ones in the fetal posistion after every play.
Incognito would still be standing. Probably kicking somebody on the Ground, and talking Smack to the Guy he just knocked on his arse.
Piece of Trash? No, that was Martin. Incognito was an NFL offensive guard. We don’t have any of those. We need one.
And what was the one Complaint about Lovie in Chicago, every year?
He couldn’t build an O-line!
When he signed Cousins, I knew we were in trouble
August 12th, 2014 at 12:57 pm
I have come to the realization that I am wrong and you guys are right. Screw this mean mean man. We wont have a winning season but at least we’ll have a polite team off the field. Then we can all hold hands and sing kumbaya together.
August 12th, 2014 at 1:16 pm
bravo captain!
August 12th, 2014 at 1:25 pm
Let’s start singing it now. kuuummmmabaaaaaaay Lord Kuuuummmmbayaaaaaaa.
August 12th, 2014 at 1:37 pm
Fire Lovie
Fire Lovie
Fire Lovie
He is an Upgrade, but yet he is not interested.
Get Rid of Lovie and his Ego and Throw Leslie Fraser out the door with him.
August 12th, 2014 at 1:43 pm
I am so pissed off with Lovie right now.
Dec 7, the Bucs play Detriot.
Who is going to be man enough to play and stand up against Suh?
Fire Lovie Smith and take his holier than thou attitude to the door.
August 12th, 2014 at 2:47 pm
31 other teams are tired of his crap too. it’s a simple formula, the bigger headache you are off the field, the greater your talent has to be for a team to tolerate it. the stigma around incognito has grown to the point where he needs to be the second coming of larry allen for a team to take on the baggage he brings. and this “last chance” nonsense is just that – nonsense. the guy has had so many chances and bounced among so many teams in college and the pros, he’s past his last chance and clearly has no interest in being anything other than the royal a hole that he has always been. the glazers and lovie want all the stories unfolding on the field, not in the locker room, this year.
August 12th, 2014 at 2:48 pm
Again- I got love for Lovie. In an amazingly short time- he has upgraded every squad on the Team
But one. His Achilles heel. The O-line
But knowing that, shouldn’t our GM step up and help him out.
Go get him a good guard or two. Meybe a better O-line coach.
That’s what good teams do- they have your back where you’re weak- so that you can dominate at your strengths!
If we start the season with Cousins as a starter, then we won’t be able to operate our offense.
It’s really that simple. And many of us said that the day they signed him!
What are they thinking?
August 12th, 2014 at 3:22 pm
People are just not researching enough about Incognito. If the only problem was him being a dirty player, I’d run even faster to sign him. That’s not the issue, not even a little bit. I can even get over the stuff that happened in Miami. However, there’s so much more to this guy that people obviously don’t know about.
The guy took a baseball bat and bashed his Lamborghini!! Does that sound like a player with any resemblance of sanity to you? While with the Rams, he cost them several games due to stupid, repeated personal foul penalties.
In Miami, he sexually harassed a woman. I guess that’s okay with all you guys, as long as he can block good? I wonder if you would feel the same if he did that to your daughter? He pushed his crotch into her arse, then dumped water on her face. He refused to apologize. What a great guy! Sign him up!
So if you guys want him on our team, then good for you. You have zero morals, and we should try to maybe get Rae Carruth out of prison, trade for Ray Rice, and get Greg Hardy on our team. Sad thing is, a lot of you guys would probably go for that. Some things are just more important than football.
August 12th, 2014 at 3:23 pm
Capt. Tim,
A better O-Line coach? Are you serious? That’s a laughable comment.
August 12th, 2014 at 3:31 pm
B1tch and moan, b1tch and moan, blah blah blah… Incognito has not been employed by ANY NFL TEAM!!! So, don’t shovel this crap that it’s Lovie’s hangup. Nobody wants that turd. Also, locker room chemistry does matter. Imagine in your own job, if there was one jacka$$ who made a bunch of people miserable every day coming into work… morale suffers, productivity drops… That’s just realistic. All the macho douchebaggery and bashing the “weak-minded”, in support of Incognito, doesn’t change reality. Nobody likes to have douchebags for teammates/co-workers.
August 12th, 2014 at 4:20 pm
he bashed his own car!!!!!
OMFG……please don’t sign this guy if he damages something that belongs to him!
the girl???? please, you know how many $lutty girls throw their a$$ around in the club and then feel it’s their right to be a bi@#h. and all he did was rub up on her and throw water in her face. who are you to judge? please….go recruit from the church.
August 12th, 2014 at 4:32 pm
@robert9,
That girl was a volunteer for an golf course. She wasn’t throwing her arse around at a club. So you would be okay with a man taking a golf club and sticking it at your daughter’s crotch (if you don’t have a daughter, how about your girlfriend)? You would be okay with him coming up from behind her and rubbing his cock on her? You would be okay with someone throwing water on her face? Wow, you are a piece of crap.
August 12th, 2014 at 4:33 pm
And he does have a right to bash his own car, but it shows a high level of insanity, very similar to the one you obviously have for thinking what he did at the golf tournament is acceptable.
August 12th, 2014 at 4:41 pm
You clowns can say whatever, Asshat Richie won’t be coming to Tampa, period. Get over it. Oline has work to do yeah, they’ll be OK. Only played one preseason game for chistsakes.
August 12th, 2014 at 5:57 pm
fifteenandagame Says:
August 12th, 2014 at 4:41 pm
Thank you. At least there are a few reasonable people on JBF.