I hate this Incognito/ Martin thing so much that I hate that I even have to address it, but I do. I am so mad at all the media and fan speculation about this. We have no idea what really happened and I am not sure we ever will despite what the NFL will tell us. I do know that we need to move slowly and carefully with this as a fan base and we have to stop jumping to conclusions.

I also want to mention that situations like this are EXACTLY why I like to keep things positive. Believe it or not, players are people and they need our support. Players want to play for franchises that will support them through thick and thin.

Ben Volin wrote an article today speculating about the reasoning behind Martin’s blaming of Incognito AFTER the Dolphins said they were going to put him on the Non Football Injury list. The quick summary is that Martin needed to get out, but he wanted to keep getting paid so he blamed Incognito.

Now I hate speculation like this, and we shouldn’t judge anyone until we learn more about this situation, BUT if Incognito WASN’T the main reason for Martin having a breakdown I think the fans might be.

Every single week I heard fans tear down Martin even when he was playing well. He was letting sacks up but he had far less QB hurries than other linemen. He is a young player making a position switch taking over for a career pro bowler and fans ripped him apart.

Imagine if when you got home from work every day 1000 people on Twitter called you worthless. Martin might be too weak to take the NFL but there is no reason you should have to deal with that shit.

Fans can do very few things to make an actual impact on the team and we owe it to ourselves to use every opportunity to do so. Go to games, get loud on third downs and support your players. Make them WANT to play for you.

That’s what being a fan is all about. Phins Up!

This morning, the Miami Dolphins hosted a live chat — exclusively for the fan websites invited by the team to attend the annual Web Weekend — with left guard Richie Incognito.

Entering his eighth NFL season (third with Miami), Incognito, a third-round draft pick by the St. Louis Rams in 2005 out of Nebraska, has started all 31 games he’s played for the Dolphins. Make sure to follow him on Twitter: @68Incognito.

During the call, No. 68 touched on everything from playing for new head coach Joe Philbin in the new west coast offense to his favorite beer (Coors Light), and also told DolfansNYC what it means to him to see aqua-and-orange represented in opposing stadiums.

“That’s great, and it’s a really unique deal for the Miami Dolphins — everywhere we go, there’s always aqua-and-orange in the stands and there’s always a strong following and that’s really special to us,” he said. “I like playing on the road, I like going into hostile territory, and I like (having an) “us against the world” mentality. So it’s really cool to see fans up there, especially when we score and the whole stadium’s quiet and you see the aqua-and-orange up there rocking. It’s always a delight to see the fans out at visiting games.”

During the offseason, Incognito, who owns an event planning business, took classes at the Harvard Business School as part of the NFL Business Management and Entrepreneurial Program, which he feels will allow him to remain competitive in a new field once he hangs up his cleats.

“The Harvard experience was great — it was just geared for NFL players and they really gave us the tools to move forward with confidence in the business world,” he said. “I’m a small business owner myself, and it’s kind of hard to take care of the business while I’m on the field, so I have to trust people to help me run it while I’m busy with football.

“Harvard gave me great confidence moving forward, and it actually inspired me — I’m actually going to go for my MBA once I get done playing.”

During the 15-minute call, Incognito also offered plenty of insight on his expectations for the upcoming season after concluding the third day of training camp.
(more…)