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Rams finally earn high praise from fans
By Jeff Gordon
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
12/15/2009
The Rams finally did something to earn high praise from their long-suffering fans.
No, they didn’t score a bunch of touchdowns or win a game in entertaining fashion. That will probably have to wait for another season.
The team did cut ties with mercurial guard Richie Incognito Tuesday afternoon, turning the page on another unfortunate Rams Park plot line.
Fans had been calling for Incognito’s ouster since midway through Sunday’s 47-7 loss at Tennessee. His demise came less than 48 hours after he earned two personal foul penalties in Nashville.
After officials flagged Incognito for throwing a head butt – in a truly immature act – Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo benched him.
Spagnuolo put him back into the game, giving him another chance. Officials flagged him a second time, making a seemingly marginal call for a post-whistle tiff.
This time Spags yanked him from the game for good. Richie pled his case on the sideline, to no avail. Spagnuolo didn’t want to hear it Richie’s claims of innocence.
As a repeat offender, Incognito was a marked man with game officials. His cumulative bad behavior led to that second call.
Richie had exhausted whatever slack he once had with the NFL crews. He had also exhausted whatever slack he once had with the Rams organization.
After reflecting on Incognito’s situation, the Rams brain trust decided to release him and move on with their other guards.
The Rams have sent many veterans packing for many reasons. This time the team cashiered a guy to make an example of him to the rest of the organization.
This decision to jettison Richie came after the team learned that guard Jacob Bell would miss the rest of the season with a torn hamstring muscle. So Mark Setterstrom and John Greco figure to start now, with Roger Allen III likely to back them up.
All three players should get a chance to advance their case for 2010 employment here. Incognito will move along, a good bet to latch on a job with another injury-riddled team.
Knowing the Rams’ luck, Incognito will flourish elsewhere. But that is not the Rams’ concern. Richie had to be punished.
I would have buried him for a couple of games to see how he reacted, but Rams management had seen enough. There would be no more second, third or fourth chances for him here.
Richie a fiercely competitive man, but his penalties tend to be of the selfish variety – occurring after the play when an opponent got under his skin. Try as me might, Incognito could not learn how to calm down after the whistle.
The Rams knew Richie was a hot head when the team drafted him 81st overall in 2005. His college career was marked by violent incidents.
Previous Rams regimes have willing to gamble on talented players lacking character. From Lawrence Phillip to Claude Wroten to Anthony Hargrove and Pisa Tinoisamoa, the Rams have drafted athletes with background flaws.
The current Rams regime, led by Spagnuolo and general manager Billy Devaney, insisted they would take the team in a new direction.
“As a head coach, I will be committed to doing everything possible to bring success to this franchise,” Spagnuolo said during his introductory news conference. “I’m not about predictions, I’m not about bold statements. But we hope that we’re going to be about faith, character, core values and team first. Those will be the four pillars we will hang our hat on.”
All along, fans wondered where the oft-penalized Incognito fit with the four pillars. The Sporting News recently honored him with the title of dirtiest player in the NFL, as voted on by a panel of players.
That reputation finally caught up to him Tuesday.
“As with all other personnel moves, this is what we felt was in the best interest of the team at this time,” Spagnuolo said in the team’s official news release. “We appreciate Richie’s efforts and we wish him the very best.”
So fans are happy. Another failed project has ended. Another misspent draft pick has been written off. Accountability in the locker room has been restored.
Other players who fail to keep their composure will do so at their own risk. So amid all these losses, perhaps the Rams are making a little progress after all.
By Jeff Gordon
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
12/15/2009
The Rams finally did something to earn high praise from their long-suffering fans.
No, they didn’t score a bunch of touchdowns or win a game in entertaining fashion. That will probably have to wait for another season.
The team did cut ties with mercurial guard Richie Incognito Tuesday afternoon, turning the page on another unfortunate Rams Park plot line.
Fans had been calling for Incognito’s ouster since midway through Sunday’s 47-7 loss at Tennessee. His demise came less than 48 hours after he earned two personal foul penalties in Nashville.
After officials flagged Incognito for throwing a head butt – in a truly immature act – Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo benched him.
Spagnuolo put him back into the game, giving him another chance. Officials flagged him a second time, making a seemingly marginal call for a post-whistle tiff.
This time Spags yanked him from the game for good. Richie pled his case on the sideline, to no avail. Spagnuolo didn’t want to hear it Richie’s claims of innocence.
As a repeat offender, Incognito was a marked man with game officials. His cumulative bad behavior led to that second call.
Richie had exhausted whatever slack he once had with the NFL crews. He had also exhausted whatever slack he once had with the Rams organization.
After reflecting on Incognito’s situation, the Rams brain trust decided to release him and move on with their other guards.
The Rams have sent many veterans packing for many reasons. This time the team cashiered a guy to make an example of him to the rest of the organization.
This decision to jettison Richie came after the team learned that guard Jacob Bell would miss the rest of the season with a torn hamstring muscle. So Mark Setterstrom and John Greco figure to start now, with Roger Allen III likely to back them up.
All three players should get a chance to advance their case for 2010 employment here. Incognito will move along, a good bet to latch on a job with another injury-riddled team.
Knowing the Rams’ luck, Incognito will flourish elsewhere. But that is not the Rams’ concern. Richie had to be punished.
I would have buried him for a couple of games to see how he reacted, but Rams management had seen enough. There would be no more second, third or fourth chances for him here.
Richie a fiercely competitive man, but his penalties tend to be of the selfish variety – occurring after the play when an opponent got under his skin. Try as me might, Incognito could not learn how to calm down after the whistle.
The Rams knew Richie was a hot head when the team drafted him 81st overall in 2005. His college career was marked by violent incidents.
Previous Rams regimes have willing to gamble on talented players lacking character. From Lawrence Phillip to Claude Wroten to Anthony Hargrove and Pisa Tinoisamoa, the Rams have drafted athletes with background flaws.
The current Rams regime, led by Spagnuolo and general manager Billy Devaney, insisted they would take the team in a new direction.
“As a head coach, I will be committed to doing everything possible to bring success to this franchise,” Spagnuolo said during his introductory news conference. “I’m not about predictions, I’m not about bold statements. But we hope that we’re going to be about faith, character, core values and team first. Those will be the four pillars we will hang our hat on.”
All along, fans wondered where the oft-penalized Incognito fit with the four pillars. The Sporting News recently honored him with the title of dirtiest player in the NFL, as voted on by a panel of players.
That reputation finally caught up to him Tuesday.
“As with all other personnel moves, this is what we felt was in the best interest of the team at this time,” Spagnuolo said in the team’s official news release. “We appreciate Richie’s efforts and we wish him the very best.”
So fans are happy. Another failed project has ended. Another misspent draft pick has been written off. Accountability in the locker room has been restored.
Other players who fail to keep their composure will do so at their own risk. So amid all these losses, perhaps the Rams are making a little progress after all.
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