Did Dolphins coaches ask Incognito to toughen up Martin?
Here’s a snippet from Florio’s post:
“Could Incognito claim that he was generally told to toughen up players who seem weak? Could Incognito claim that he was specifically told to toughen up Martin?
The possibilities quickly mirror the plot of A Few Good Men. While it’s unlikely that anyone from the Dolphins ordered a “Code Red” on Jonathan Martin, it’s not unreasonable to think that Incognito believed it was his job to ensure that teammates were as tough as he is when they’re all on the field together, trying to protect guys like quarterback Ryan Tannehill from being injured by the tough men who play for the opposing defenses.
One league source with knowledge of the situation believes that offensive line coach Jim Turner will become a focal point of the investigation. Even if Turner didn’t nudge Incognito to toughen up Martin, Turner would have had more access to the interactions between Incognito and Martin than any other member of management. What did Turner see? What if anything did he say?”
Interesting question. If this in fact did happen (which I’ll emphasize, we just don’t know at this point), you can pretty much bet that Joe Philbin, the Dolphins coaches, and Jeff Ireland will have some serious explaining to do. In my opinion, if Florio’s theory ends up being reality, all of these coaches will be gone. I’m sure that coaches tell veteran players to help younger players, even toughen them up to a degree. But if the things we’re hearing about Incognito are correct, he certainly crossed the line.
The big question is, when will we find out? The NFL is conducting an investigation and we have no idea how long that process will take or what it will turn up. We can only wait and watch this continue to play out in the news media. The media loves controversy and that is exactly what we have in Miami right now. The media will not stop with this story until the controversy ends and someone is ultimately given the blame.
Again, I got back to my original point: How are the 51 other players on the Dolphins handling this? There is increased media attention….they’re asked each day what they knew about the situation……How are they supposed to prepare with 100% of their attention, for the Tampa Bay Bucs? It’s not fair to them and it’s not fair to us fans. If the Dolphins win on Monday night against the winless Bucs, people will praise their ability to stick together and the story will return to Martin/Incognito. BUT, think about what will happen if they lose? The team will be 4-5 and on the brink of another failed season AND the season could very easily spiral out of control.
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