with six years experience, the 27 year old Richie Incognito may start @ Center in our last game of the season. could he be the answer? does he have what it takes to consistently play the position @ a high level? can he potentially be a pro-bowl caliber center? 1) strength: max bench press 500 lbs 2) @ 6'3" not particularly long for an offensive linesman but an adequate height for a Center 3) compact & explosive off the line, his weight runs around 330lbs 4) has an infamous mean streak & is reasonably durable 5) how football smart is he? can he make the calls for the offensive line? can he lead & motivate the trench? 6) average mobility, he'll never be the Pulling-Guard we need so desperately, but he might be an/the answer @ Center History: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richie_Incognito Miami Center: http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sport...-incognito-stands-out-as-dolphins-center.html what do you think?
I love it. You gotta love how he did against Suh. Not only did he give us some of our best center play on the year last week, I think that was one of his best played games as well.
Friend uab_phin: agree completely will be interesting to see how he does against Wilfork & the Patriots
I give it a BIG YES vote. The kid blew people up in the middle in ways Berger could only dream of doing. Add to that, he did it with a less then stellar ( yet ) Jerry and a career backup, McQuistan at the guard positions and friggin Lydon Murtha at the RT position. Now, sit back and think about what he could do with two decent guards on either side and a regular starter at RT ? Goose bumps baby. Sad thing is this. He will most likely not be the center against the Patriots due to Murtha being out again most likely and we have no other OTs to replace him. Sad. Incognito will do well against Wilfork. My cousin lives in Orchard Pk and is a life long Bills fan.and said when Incognito came there last year he played RG and did great against Wilfork when theyplayed NE at the end of the year.
Amazing it took them 15 games to try this out. Simply amazing. It was evident Berger was not the answer a few games into the season. Too bad Berger cannot play guard, he cuold play there Sunday and McQuistan could play OT. woooo, thats a yukky yuk thought.
McQuistan played both guard & right tackle, as has Matt Kopa. Feinga is carried on the roster as a guard & of course John Jerry I think they will make a concerted effort to play Incognito @ Center to see what he brings to the table against Wilfork in Sunday's outing this match-up is potentially the best thing that can come out of the game
If RI can play the position at a consistantly high level, I don't see why not.... It's harder to find a great center than a great gaurd.
Yeah, there's no doubt our line looked better in short yardage situations. It'll save us a draft pick if he can swing it.
it would mean we'd only have to find a Pulling-Guard & QB to revamp the offense. the last game could be critical in defining needs
I would also like us to add a young running back. I don't care if it's free agency or the draft I just think it's time to start getting younger there.
I wouldn't use Suh as an example as he had 5 tackles,1 sack,and 1 forced fumble against Incognito and the Dolphins
That's fair I just thought Suh looked a lot less dynamic when Incognito was at center rather than Berger
this is the time to find out what Icognito brings to the table, the patriot NT is a top tier opponent
I think Richie Incognito has really surprised most fans. He's versatile. He's solid. So long as he keeps his stuff together, he's a valuable piece starting or backing up, plus he's versatile.
I would, rewatched the game twice. Suh did not beat Incognito one single time. He beat Jerry, Murtha, Jerry, McQuistan and Jerry. Each time Suh swung over center, he was stopped by Incognito. As far as Wilford goes, experts on the board please name any guard or center in the NFL that has consistently kept Wilford from tackling people, answer is none. So, do not expect miracles from the kid Sunday, Wilfork is one of the best and one of the hardest in the NFL to move. But, if there is someone that moves him frequently, please let the rest of us on the board know who that guard or center is. Wilfork punishes even the Jets center who just went to the pro bowl, Mangold so like I said, lets not get down on the kid if Wilfork makes tackles. Mangold has two very good guards alongside him. Sunday Incognito wil have Jerry, who IMO, is not a good guard just yet and to the other side ? We do not know yet. Even then, at best, our RT will be a backup to our backups. Get the picture ? Some here always love to condem people without looking at the big picture.
So, no one here has the names that move Wilfork around at their will ? Good, because there is no one, that case is closed now. Do not expect miracles Sunday.
We were screaming the idea for a good couple of months probably based on the fact that he atleast gives NTs some pop at the C position and if he can do that well against an aggressive 4-3 front that's a big start. Now if he can prove it against a 3-4 front then they've got something going. Get Mankins and hope Jerry progresses and that's a front that could take apart a 3-4 especially with Carey and Long healthy. Grove yes. Grove was a mofo last year at the beginning. Healthy he could have been better than Mankins.
He certainly did a good job against Suh. The whole Line looked great. When Murtha went down, and Berger came back in to play C, it went way downhill. Wilfork will be another test for him, we'll see how he holds up.
Grove was pretty good but again, Wilfork was not moved much. If you remember that game, Pat White ran around like a maniac, mostly on his own, all the time to the outside. Take away the 50 yards he gained rushing and the rest of the team had only about 75 yards rushing, total. Wilfork is a hard blob of crap to move, literally. Mute point anyway as I cannot see the Dolphins using anyone inexperienced at RT or LG for the game, impossible. Add in Jerry is still not very good and it spells disaster. Tony, once again, will have to shelve the progress of Incognito at center due to not having enough legit players at other positions. Berger CANNOT PLAY GUARD he simply can't. I expect to see LT Long LG Incognito C Berger RG Jerry RT McQuistan Feinga ? forget about it Barbre,? Really forget about it
No way they can play Incognito at center Sunday. IF Berger was a good guard yes, but heis not and Murtha will probably not be able to play.
Here's the other thing about Incognito. How many times has that "hot head" gotten a personal foul penalty or gotten ejected for fighting? Zero. And yet people still don't like Sparano as a coach.
Here's actually what I would like to see. Long, Mankins, Incognito, Carey, Rookie RT (1st round - alot of solid tackles in this draft). We could actually move down in the 1st and still find a solid RT, move Carey inside and sign Mankins. This line is much better. Maybe you can find an explosive back in the 2nd (obviously if you traded down in the 1st and picked up a 2nd). I want a franchise QB like the next person, but I also question each of the guys that we will have a chance at and thats not a good start for obtaining a franchise QB. Go offer a minor deal to the Broncos for Orton or to a lesser degree sign McNabb when he is cut. Let Henne and the veteran battle it out in 2011 and make 2012 the year that we go find a Franchise QB in the draft.
If I remember correctly Berger was at Center during that fateful time. While RI was C Henne's rating was over 100 BTW.
should never have cut Grove & Smiley would like to see them return if possible @ a better dollar on the pound
I really liked those guys while they were here especially Grove, but I think we may have squeezed everything they had left out of them as neither has done anything this year. Outside of a tryout with the Patriots, Grove hasn't even landed with a team at all.
If Sparano does not start Incognito at Center next year (assuming TS is back) - he should be fired on the spot. Berger is utterly worthless - a journeyman backup who should be borderline for making an NFL roster. Incognito did a fine job. What I thought was particularly surprising was how well he moved to the 2nd level. Probably the best O-line play of the year. Of course, this was against a 4-3 D. It will be a great challenge to see him against a 3-4 next week. I also think Jerry will be improved. The guy needs two main things: 1) an off-season in the strength and conditioning program; and 2) to work on his footwork. He has the potential to be good and a solid starter. Just will take some time. Most of the better interior O-linemen take a year or two before they become starters. He should be better next year. But, imo, we need a new OG and RT.
as long as we dont go in shotgun, it seems he bounces the ball to henne at least once a game, everytime he is at center though his blocking was superior to bergers
One would expect that lineup right ? Wrong, Feinga is not good enough to fill in at either guard spot. IF Murtha cannot play and believe me, not waiving a Murtha flag here at all, just using what we have currently on the roster, as I said, IF Murtha is out we will see. LT Long LG Incognito C Berger RG Jerry RT McQuistan IF Murtha CAN play, we will see. LT Long LG McQuistan C Incognito RG Jerry RT Murtha Personally I would love to see option number two and I am sure the coaching staff and entire fan base would love to see it. But sadly its already Thursday and from what Sparano said yesterday, Murtha has not passed any of those concussion tests yet. Whats even sadder is to replace our backup RT, we have to move three players around from an Oline that for almost 55 minutes played lights out Sunday, thats the saddest part. Silver Lining ? If they do not re sign Incognito for our starting center next year then even I have to admit, Tony Sparano is not the Oline person I thought him to be.
Guy had 2 minutes to practice in Chicago game and three days of practice for the Lions game. The bounces will iron out. One bounce in the Lion game did not effect anything as bad as Longs holding call and the 33 holding calls on McQuistan. Between Long and McQuistan they ruined three great potential scoring drives. THREE.
Actually, I like Feinga's game very much, he is one tough SOB in the mold of Rotten Richie, and JJ has been a disappointment, kid looks lost out there. Been on "Center is Incognito's natural postion" bandwagon for a time now, I'd much prefer to see him at Center and Feinga at G, McQ will wind up at RT. Feinga shattered his wrist in over 20 places, he also had a PED suspension as well as a car wreck (not his fault) and he still is playing, have to think that is one tough dude.
Shotgun and 3 wides Henne was working the Lions, if we are to have success in New England we have to continue to do so.
We will rotate Guards I suspect 23rd, JJ is just not a good pass blocker, Feinga maybe is, but if Murtha comes back we won't have nearly the lineup shake ups that we have otherwise.
The thing that bothers me about Sparano is that he defends players who get dominated physically (like Berger). He comes on with some, "well, some plays are not the player's fault, yada, yada, yada ..." But, when you see a guy get shoved back physically, there's no excuse. Make your block! Or, get out of the way and let someone else play. Hopefully he'll stick with Incognito and they will keep him on board for next year. Fact is, they can't afford to let a decent lineman go. They have so few right now! If we are makeshift on the OL next year - playing musical chairs in training camp again - I think I (and many others) will be done with the season and off-board of Sparano before the season begins.
Liking his game and the players actual game ability is sometimes worlds apart. My heart goes out to guys with the injuries and a wrist shattered in 20 places, for an offensive lineman, is not a good thing. I would have to imagine, since Feinga was activated and on the sideline for the Lions game, when Murtha went down , IF Feinga had any ability to play, he would have played then. Instead they changed out three Oline positions to replace our RT
Feinga played for the last 3 weeks. No first team reps, what would one expect, Sparano knew what Berger could do, not so much with Feinga, who lined up as the Tackle eligible the last 3 weeks and did a good job of it.
hope they fire Sparano @ the end of the season, ( although I recognize Parcells has spoken to Ross on his behalf ) would like to see: Gruden HC running the offense using Pennington as the official OC, allowing Nolan to run the defense without interference
Being a tackle eligible and replacing a starter at either guard position is like day and night. What I was bringing out IF he was able to play guard then IMO no way in hell do they take Incognito our from center, put Feinga at LG or even RT. Instead it looked like a Chinese fire drill and Berger immediately bot spanked by Williams and even Suh on a few shots where Suh stunted over the middle. Detroit D picked up on that chinese fire drill switch immediately. McQuistan did not do all that great IMO ar RT.
