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Of the Bills and Incognito, the Sabres and Evander Kane |
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The Buffalo Bills have guard Richie Incognito in town for a physical and rumor has it that should he pass, the Bills will sign him.
Why should this be of any importance to a Sabres blog? Other than the fact that the two teams have the same owner?
Well...because.
Actually it kinda fits hand in hand with the whole Evander Kane debate and whether or not the Buffalo Sabres should pursue him in a trade with the Winnipeg Jets.
Kane's image in Winnipeg is that of a highly skilled player who may be described as "petulant, immature and lacking in good judgment." That description would be a compliment to Incognito who once had the dubious distinction of being voted the NFL's dirtiest player in a 2009 Sporting News poll of 99 players. Interesting to note that he played three games for the Bills that season after St. Louis cut him.
Incognito has never shied away from any of that stuff during his career, one that climbed to Pro Bowl status in 2012. It was his third season with the Dolphins and he started all 16 games for the team at left guard.
Bouts with stupidity and flare-ups of aggression and anger were as much a part of Incognito as were his indulgences in marijuana and intoxicating libations during those early years. To many who'd come in contact with him as teammates as well as in other capacities, his actions were asinine.
But in 2012, his Pro Bowl season, Jeff Darlington of NFL.com wrote and impressive piece on Incognito. It was a veritable rock 'n roll story where he rose up, nearly destroyed himself and rose again like a phoenix. "Sometimes, dirt leaves a stain that can't be washed away," wrote Darlington in his subtitle. "Despite facing a fresh batch of controversy, Miami Dolphins offensive guard Richie Incognito strives to manage the personal demons that almost ended his career."
Remember, this was 2012 over a year before the whole Incognito/Jonathan Martin "bullying scandal" would erupt.
Incognito bullied Martin and did what he'd been doing for years to other players. He taunted players to see how much it took for them to crack. As we would find out from the investigation, Incognito kept a "little fine book" of his escapades and it revealed that Martin was fined on numerous occasions for acting like a *ussy, according to Incognito's notes. But instead of Martin standing up for himself, like others had presumably done in the past, he "went to the principle." The "scandal" became public and an army of Soccer Moms raised their voices calling for justice to be done.
Look, Incognito's no angel. He knows it. But like with any type of bullying situation that occurs from grade school onwards for boys/men, standing up to the bully usually eliminates that type of intimidation. It's something that Incognito learned first-hand being an overweight sixth-grader. "He was accustomed to ridicule," wrote Darlington of Incognito.
Words of his father, Richie Sr., when he was young guided Incognito, "I'd always tell Richie," the elder Richie was quoted as saying. 'You don't take no s--- from anyone. If you let anyone give you s--- now, you're going to take s--- your entire life.'"
It was a lesson Incognito learned well, but one that Martin was never taught or never learned.
Incognito was suspended for the remainder of the 2013 season because of the scandal and was pretty much black-balled by NFL teams for the 2014 season. Now the Bills have come calling for his services and if all goes well Incognito will be a major upgrade at guard for Buffalo this season.
The Bills have changed philosophy when it comes to character. No longer are they intent upon bringing in a team full of choir boys. They're interested in football players like 2013 draft picks Kiko Alonso and Duke Williams, both of whom had problems in college. And they're also willing to give a player with a checkered past an opportunity. In 2013 they signed free agent WR Da'Rick Rogers, who had some trouble with weed in the past.
That change in philosophy continued at last years draft as they picked Seantrel Henderson in the seventh round. Henderson was considered a blue chip tackle coming out of high school but was steered in the wrong direction in college. Ironically enough, he may be next to Incognito on the right side of the offensive line in 2015.
When all's said and done, there's nothing in the rule book that says a team must be filled with choir boys. The Oakland Raiders and Philadelphia Flyers of the 70's were filled with some of the meanest SOB's playing the meanest, dirtiest games in their respective leagues. They won championships.
Times have changed and differing environments coupled with rule changes keep teams in check. But there will always be "old-school" players on teams.
Invariably, it will be up to the organization to channel a player's temperament into a positive for the team. The great counterweight to a player like Incognito or Kane, is the coach. The amount of respect a player has for the coach in many instances is the determining factor as to whether or not there will be success.
Bills veteran head coach Rex Ryan is highly regarded and respected, especially with his players. On offense is coordinator Greg Roman, who's also highly respected. GM Doug Whaley may be getting the reputation as a GM willing to play the role of King Moonracer on the Island of Misfit Toys. For players on the outs in need of a second chance, or those with marks on their college career, Whaley could be their guy.
Right now the coach of the Buffalo Sabres is Ted Nolan, a guy who has the respect of many a player throughout the league. Look no further than forward Chris Stewart.
Stewart was benched in December for "playing a soft game," according to Nolan. Initially Stewart defended himself by saying that he'd fought some of the toughest SOB's in the league. But that's not what Nolan was talking about.
Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald shed some light on what was a very intense meeting between the two back in December.
“He got mad, he got angry,” Nolan told the Times Herald on Friday inside HarborCenter. “I got a little bit angry myself. Sometimes people think I’m a mild-mannered guy, but I grew up on the other side of the tracks. I know how to talk both sides.
“Two bulls going at it in a china shop, continued Nolan, "he just needed someone to step up and let him know, and I did. It got him mad. The last thing I told him, ‘In this situation, I’m the coach and I get the final say.’"
Stewart initially was miffed, but in hindsight, it helped his game take off to the point where he's been the best Sabres forward since. "I could’ve made excuses and said, ‘You know what, he’s wrong, he’s pointing the finger at me,’” he said.
But Stewart, according to Hoppe, was grateful for the heated exchange. “There’s not too many people in my life right now that really hold me accountable,” Stewart said. “ … People think of me as a scary guy. One-on-one meeting with me, who knows what he was thinking? Things could’ve got ugly.”
Stewart's a big man who commands respect himself and when asked about the Kane saga on WGR's Hockey Hotline he laid it out bluntly. "I'm not too sure what really went down," he said of the track suit drama involving Kane, "but as far as that goes it's accountability. If there's 21 guys in a suit and one in a track suit, I think you're gonna catch some heat from the boys.
"Just follow the rules, it's pretty self-explanatory."
Stewart continued, "It's plain and simple, some guys get picked on, but in this case I think some guys do ask for it. From the stories you've read, you could see how his team handled it and in some ways I think that was the right way to handle it."
This is all about a culture change in Buffalo. The Bills want football players. The Sabres want hockey players. You don't need to be perfect.
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