The Bills used to say they avoid players with questionable character. Well, that philosophy is out of the window with the signing of offensive guard Richie Incognito, who was released by St. Louis due to repeated personal foul penalties.
He was benched in the third quarter after his second 15-yard personal foul (both on head butts) in last week's 47-7 loss at Tennessee. He was also sat down earlier this season against Seattle for two more personal fouls.
Those weren't Incognito's only on-field transgressions.
Nov. 12, 2006: He was fined $5,000 for a personal foul after a Rams touchdown against Seattle. The penalty was costly because the Rams kicked off from their 15-yard line, which set up a short Seahawks drive that led to a winning field goal with nine seconds left.
Oct. 27, 2007: He was fined another $7,500 after two personal fouls and two holding calls in a home loss to Arizona.
Oct. 12, 2008: He was slapped with $35,000 in fines for three separate incidents against Washington. A personal foul for "repeated verbal abuse of a game official'' cost him $25,000. He also got fined $5,000 each for a major face mask and an illegal chop block.
Nov. 20, 2008: He criticized St. Louis fans, saying "Our fans get in their seats, they don't know how to cheer, when to cheer. Three days later, he cupped his hands to his ears to encourage abuse from the fans while leaving the field after a loss to Chicago.
Incognito came into the NFL with red flags because of off-the-field incidents while attending Nebraska. He got released from his scholarship after being charged with misdemeanor assault stemming from an altercation at a party in February, 2004. He tried to enroll at Oregon, but was dismissed for reportedly failing to meet requirements established by then-coach Mike Bellotti.
Incognito also faced accusations of dirty play at Nebraska. In the 2003 Alamo Bowl, Michigan State player claimed Incognito spit on him and a teammate.
It's too bad he has anger management issues because it has overshadowed the fact that he's a good player. He was a first-team All-Big 12 left tackle and the first Nebraska freshman to start opening day on 2001. Character concerns and a knee injury suffered at the combine probably prevented him from being a first-round draft pick (the Rams took him in Round Three in 2005).
You might say the Bills could use offensive linemen who are tough, physical and have a mean streak. But you had better hope he doesn't cost the Bills a big play or a game because of a brain cramp.
He said he's not going to change how he plays, but acknowledged that he has to clean up his act.
"It's something I've had to work on my entire career,'' he said. "It's something I've really put a lot of time into and leaving St. Louis, transitioning [into] Buffalo it's just something I have to work even harder at and eliminate from my game.''
Bills interim head coach Perry Fewell said Incognito comes to Buffalo with a "clean slate.'' We'll see if it remains clean or if Incognito reverts back to the form that made him the NFL's dirtiest player, according to a player poll in the Sporting News.
---Allen Wilson
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