In a way, this was inevitable. Richie put Coach Spagnuolo in a no-win situation in this last weekend’s games, refusing to play “team first” football. And after numerous voices in the media calling to make the move, the Rams have released Incognito.
In the fallout of this move comes a notable comment from ESPN’s NFC West blogger, Mike Sando:
Singletary’s handling of Vernon Davis, another reputed locker room cancer, lends some credence to this take. But are we also to conclude that this move should be seen as a sign of weakness on Spagnuolo’s part? Is sticking to your principles in the most difficult circumstances imaginable not a sign of strength?
This was not the easy decision to make by any means — cutting one of your more talented blockers, and weathering the inevitable fallout when the Rams’ offense continues its season-long struggles. When Richie first acted up in Week 1, RamsHerd offered an in-depth take on whether he might be the next Lawrence Phillips, and a poll of RamsHerd readers were pretty evenly split about whether Spagnuolo should cut him on the spot. A small majority favored giving Spagnuolo a chance to turn him around, and for about a month’s worth of games, that approach paid off. This was what I wrote at the time:
I personally think it would be interesting to see Singletary take up this challenge, and see how long he puts up with Richie’s BS before kicking him to the curb.
It’s also interesting to read Richie’s comments after the move was made. Clearly he’s not lacking smarts and class off the field. It’s just on the field that counts.
