Is Incognito Signing Up To Bucs Players?
August 26th, 2014
“All players that are available, we look to see if they fit into our program. All players. I will leave it at that. If we are really interested in someone, we will bring them in. Again, we are looking at everyone constantly, not just now. Every position.
“We consider everything. The total player and what he brings. Off the field; on the field, the total package comes into play. Every player we draft; every player we sign. It is very important that a player fits in the locker room. If a player doesn’t fit in the locker room, we have to go into another direction, it is as simple as that. You have to be accepted in there.” Bucs coach Lovie Smith, Aug. 11, 2014, when asked if he would consider sleazy guard Richie Incognito.
Yesterday, Bucs coach Lovie Smith, when peppered from all corners during his post-practice press conference about how he could infect his locker room with the likes of sleazy Richie Incognito, all but responded with the same reaction as he did two weeks prior. At that time, Lovie was asked if he would dabble with signing Incognito.
Little did anyone think at the time the Bucs may have been in the midst of their own Incognito investigation.
Yes, Joe was in the locker room when players were asked about the possibility of Incognito coming to the Bucs. While the words of the players were supportive, body language wasn’t. There was zero sense of excitement from the players of the news they may have a new teammate with a notorious past. Joe got a look from one player he very much respects as if the player was saying, “You are not going to ask me about Incognito, are you?” Words from players were carefully meted.
“Obviously, if they think he can help us win, they’ll bring him in,” Dietrich-Smith said of Incognito. “Lovie always talks about if you bring a guy into the locker room, you gotta accept the guy, you know, make him feel he’s part of the Bucs.”
Even uber-nice right tackle Demar Dotson said he would like to talk to Incognito “man-to-man” to gauge where he stands and what happened in Miami.
“Everybody deserves a second chance at life. I think that this is his second chance,” Dotson said.
One thing is clear and would be made crystal clear to Incognito if he were signed. Not only are all eyes watching him, but he is not a team leader. EDS and to a lesser degree, Dotson, due to his elder statesman status, are the leaders of the offensive line.
Make no mistake. There is one natural leader for the whole team, that the entire teams looks up to and respects. That is Gerald McCoy, who yesterday seemed to draw a line in the sand about a possible Incognito signing when he said the Bucs were “my team,” though publicly, he wasn’t opposed to Incognito wearing a Bucs jersey.
“He is a very vocal guy and you know his personality,” Bucs defensive end Adrian Clayborn said of GMC, the team leader. “It’s easy for him to lead. It’s easy for guys to follow him because he does everything right. Your play has to back it up and he has obviously been doing that.”
If the Bucs do sign Incognito, Joe is pretty sure he will have to first pass the smell test with both GMC and EDS. And those two likely will lay down the law with him about what will and will not be tolerated in the Bucs locker room.
That is, if they and others in the locker room sign off on Incognito, and if Lovie does listen to his players as he has stated he would.
August 26th, 2014 at 5:13 am
All the arguing about Incognito is silly. Everyone knows he will sign with Raiders tomorrow. I’m guessing a 6yr $80M contract. Raider Nation written all over him.
August 26th, 2014 at 5:19 am
Worth signing him for sure, better than Cousins, and at least he is tough and a tad crazy. Plus he will be super keen to prove himself
August 26th, 2014 at 5:33 am
@Tackleblockin,
I respectively disagree. I do not think Lovie can afford to let this guy out of the building without a contract. It goes back to the risk versus the reward. I’m quite sure his contract would be weighed heavily on his actions with little guaranteed money. We are in dire straits on the OL because of miss evaluations of prior personnel. Wouldn’t it be nice to have at least Zuttah back? How bout’ Davin Joseph? When will we start saying that this new coaching staff got this one wrong? Now the need to fix it is left with Mr. Incognito(Lovie). Me personally would have at least kept one of the two I mentioned ..only time will tell. Go Bucs
August 26th, 2014 at 5:40 am
Does incognito have an interview scheduled with raiders?
August 26th, 2014 at 5:42 am
Joe we know you are still bitter M-Will got the boot. And we can tell you don’t want Richie. L&L put WAY to much stock in Edwards, Cousins, Meredeth, and Nicks, and now are screwed. I ask Joe and all the good fans here, what do you want from them? Cousins is terrible, Omameh is progressing well. Last time I heard backlash like this was Vick, and since I live 20 mins from Philly, I heard that night and day for months UNTIL he took the field and played well. Then all of a sudden most of the yelling went silent. Philly also cut Desean Jackson for being a numbskull, but kept Cooper after the whole racist thing.
August 26th, 2014 at 5:52 am
The media has just been out to get Incognito. He hasn’t killed anyone, gotten a DUI, taken steroids, or assaulted anyone.
He’s just an a-hole bully. I’ll gladly take a bully over what we got at guard.
It does make the lovie/light regime look dumb though, with giving away mike williams. They really should have kept williams, but the Tardstar did go and overpay him.
August 26th, 2014 at 6:58 am
All of this nonsense I’m seeing in these articles and on the radio is ridiculous and the picture has already been painted that the “Pen and Mic Club” is doing everything they can for Incognito to not be signed.
I pay good money for tickets to see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers do everything they can to win football games. What I do NOT do is pay good money to watch opposing D Tackles use a high school level swim move to beat our current all-star guards and destroy our quarterback. If he signs and has issues immediately, cut him. He’ll be making the minimum so I am fairly certain we’ve dumped money down the drain on worse.
I get it, he’s not playing at an all-pro level. What I do know is that he’s far and away better than what we have right now. I would expect coaches to do their job along with veterans in the locker room to regulate on his behavior within the organization. I would expect the legal process and law enforcement to regulate his behavior outside of it. If he’s not breaking the law, there’s nothing to regulate.
The fans of the team want wins, and you get wins by putting the best available players on the field. There are no bonus points for being choir boys. The media doesn’t want the headache that comes with a guy that might POSSIBLY act a fool. So do the Bucs play for the fans or the media?
August 26th, 2014 at 7:00 am
Lovie, the man who ran to sign Sam Hurd….
http://mmqb.si.com/2013/11/12/sam-hurd-cocaine-bust/
August 26th, 2014 at 7:03 am
SLEAZY is being caught on camera with a rolled up twenty in a bar restroom.
SLEAZY is flippin’ the bird to the opposing team on Monday Night Football.
SLEAZY is taking money for your autograph while in college.
SLEAZY comes in all shapes and sizes.
August 26th, 2014 at 7:05 am
lightning buc well said
August 26th, 2014 at 7:11 am
Pure folly to think this guy could get ready to play and contribute this season.
Not wotth the media circus.
Lovie has a good thing going. Team is behind him. Dont screw it up with garbage like this.
August 26th, 2014 at 7:17 am
We will probably sign him…..Lovie & Licht have already taken the beating just by bringing him in. If he plays well & behaves and helps us win…..all will be calm.
August 26th, 2014 at 7:26 am
lightningbuc, I agree 100%. If JFB, Vick, and Cooper can get another job, Richie can’t.
August 26th, 2014 at 7:28 am
hey………whats the big dealllllllllll ray lewis killed someone and goddell kissed his ass!!!!!!!!!!
August 26th, 2014 at 7:29 am
Thanks again for leaving the cupboard so bare we have to consider signing a Lamborghini abuser, Dominitwit. His incompetence lingers like a stale fart. One other note, L
ovie was run out of Chicago because he couldn’t put an O line together to protect Cutler. Deja Vu.
August 26th, 2014 at 7:31 am
jjtixs. Ray Rice beat the hell out of his now wife.. allegedly…got 2 games. Very true. I go back to the OTHER dolphins who were also in on the bullying.
August 26th, 2014 at 7:37 am
@Tackleblockwin Says:
“…Everyone knows he will sign with Raiders tomorrow. I’m guessing a 6yr $80M contract. Raider Nation written all over him…”
IMO, no one is signing Incognito to any lengthy contract or for superstar money. My guess would be a one year deal, or two with a team option for the 2nd at about $2M per. If Richie was worth that kind of money he would not have been sitting on his couch for the past 9 months – his talent is worth more, his behavior is killing his bank account.
Now, lets hope Lovie does not let him leave One Buc Place
August 26th, 2014 at 7:39 am
Lightning buc,
Thanks for the wise reasoning. It makes me more glad we have a student of the game in Mike Glennon
SLEAZY gets hammered mid-day on a giant swan raft.
August 26th, 2014 at 7:42 am
Lightningbuc-lol
The pretentious indignation about Incognito- because he made a racial remarks! Omg!!!!
Funny, the Majority of Football players at many levels are Black! And believe it or not- I actually heard many racial remarks made to me!!
From Both Friend and Foe.
I neither died, required Therapy, called my Mother, or suffered emotional scarring.
The thought of a 6’6″, 320 pound trained athlete- being bullied by words- to the point that he ran off from his job, to his mommy’s, is ludicrous.
This would have been viewed correctly- a guy not mentally suited for the sport- if it wasn’t blown out proportion by hypocritical, agenda driven media.
Trying to create a story.pathetic.
According to your poll yesterday- the majority of the Buc Fans here are not buying in to the a Medias hypocrisy.
As many unit leaders before him- The Miami coaches directed Incognito to Toughen Martin Up. Couldn’t be done. Martin faked being friends with the other linemen- while betraying them behind their back- sending all their comments to his lawyer mommy.
6’6″. 320 pounds. Bigger than Incognito. Yet cries like he was a kicker getting pushed around!
Yeah- if Incognito was Black, this wasn’t a story. That’s why Pouncey- he did everything that incognito did- wasn’t part of the witch hunt
August 26th, 2014 at 7:56 am
The Bucs should not let him out of OBP before a signed contract with behavior incentives & clauses.
Political Correctness is going to kill the NFL.
Conrad Dobler was a far nasty & dirty player and he’s worshipped. Mgt. asks RI to toughen up a wuss and the world comes down on Incognito.
The Buc OL is soft. They need a Richie Incognito badly. He’s worth a few first downs and one prevented sack per game. That would be huge…
August 26th, 2014 at 8:13 am
I’ve read and listened to the arguments over the past two days and it looks like 80 plus percent of the fans in your survey want sleazy Incognito, the vast vast majority of the post are supportive of sleazy Incognito, and all of the players including Lovie are in sleazy Incognitos corner. So why? I ask myself does the media have their panties in such a wad over sleazy Incognito. He is big news and for the media that equates into $$$$$$$ and in my opinion that is pretty SLEAZY. GMC and company can and will control the guy, he’s cheap, and could potentially help our line and there is nothing sleazy about that.
August 26th, 2014 at 8:16 am
Part of Lovie’s due diligence on Incognito could be to gauge the teams reacton to the idea of signing him. He players don’t run the team and don’t make the decisions, but a player causing a rift in the locker room could and up being an issue. The negatives of that could far outweigh the positives of upgrading one of the guard positions. One player doesn’t make a team.
August 26th, 2014 at 8:31 am
Great points I agree sign him now
August 26th, 2014 at 8:46 am
no sense of humor Joe. you didn’t think you would get skewered like you have. taking your ball and going home on my post. so it be.
Joe doesn’t think about getting skewered on a football take because Joe doesn’t care. The moment Joe cares, then there’s a serious problem and it’s time for Joe to hang it up. –Joe
August 26th, 2014 at 8:46 am
for the ends-justifies-the-means people, they want him. not I, thanks.
August 26th, 2014 at 9:46 am
I was way against it but now I’m warming to it. Don’t you think he would be on his best behavior?
August 26th, 2014 at 10:39 am
It basically boils down to trust. Do we trust Incognito to learn the lesson & control himself? Do we trust Lovie’s & the team to keep a tight rein on him?
I, personally, don’t think I’d hire him, but I’m not running things, at 1 Buc place, or anywhere else, including at home. I do think this is a bit overblown, people encounter bully’s every day, and don’t go running for a lawyer, at work, on the street, & at home, from time to time. Learning to deal with it is part of life. At this point I lean towards trusting Lovie and the team….we’ll see.
August 26th, 2014 at 2:18 pm
Lol…I guess my humor did not come across to well this go round.