Legal teams have been formed, finger pointing has begun, and the battle is, unfortunately, set to begin for the Miami Dolphins.
Here's the very latest:
- According to reports, Richie Incognito flew to Los Angelas today. Why? Nobody knows. But, it should be mentioned, that Jonathan Martin is out there as well. Coincidence? Reconciliation? Revenge? Who knows, but I'm sure we'll find out.
- As most of you know, Jonathan Martin's attorney, David Cornwell, released the following statement last night:
Jonathan Martin’s toughness is not at issue. Jonathan has started every game with the Miami Dolphins since he was drafted in 2012. At Stanford, he was the anchor for Jim Harbaugh’s “smash mouth” brand of football and he protected Andrew Luck’s blind side.
The issue is Jonathan’s treatment by his teammates. Jonathan endured harassment that went far beyond the traditional locker room hazing. For the entire season-and-a-half that he was with the Dolphins, he attempted to befriend the same teammates who subjected him to the abuse with the hope that doing so would end the harassment. This is a textbook reaction of victims of bullying. Despite these efforts, the taunting continued. Beyond the well-publicized voice mail with its racial epithet, Jonathan endured a malicious physical attack on him by a teammate, and daily vulgar comments such as the quote at the bottom. These facts are not in dispute.
Eventually, Jonathan made a difficult choice. Despite his love for football, Jonathan left the Dolphins. Jonathan looks forward to getting back to playing football. In the meantime, he will cooperate fully with the NFL investigation.
Quote from teammate: “We are going to run train on your sister. . . . She loves me. I am going to f–k her without a condom and c– in her c—.”
Obviously, that last sentence is the one everyone is talking about today, and, if true, could be a devastating blow to the Miami Dolphins. As I've said before, coaches will be fired when this is all said and done. Players will be fired when this is all said and done. GM's could very well be fired when this is all said and done. That quote may just be the beginning.
- This from NFL.com:
NFL Media columnist Michael Silver has been told Incognito's camp has evidence that suggests a "back-and-forth communication between the two men that would paint them more as friends who said things to each other." Silver called the exchange "mutually explosive."
"(Martin's) days with the Dolphins clearly are over," Silver said. "This is the point of no return. Richie Incognito's camp believes they have some material to release that will cast this in a different context. ... All kinds of Dolphins offensive linemen and players are freaking out. This is war."
Clearly, there is a lot of evidence from both sides here, and we haven't even seen most of it yet. Don't be surprised to see this end in court, with a bang. As I've said, this is just getting started.
- Here is exclusive video of Channel 10's Ross Palombo following Incognito through LAX (I apologize for the size, that's the best we could get):
LOCKER ROOM UNITED
Many of you have seen the various interviews given by players following Wednesday's practice. The notable ones included Brian Hartline, Tyson Clabo, and Ryan Tannehill. Here's a little of what they had to say:
"This is the same guy that was laughing about this voice mail at one point in time, first of all," Hartline said of Martin. "Second of all, I believe that if you look through the whole voice mail, there's some things said that you probably shouldn't say in general, friends or not friends. But I know for a fact, that I've said things to my friends that I kind of wish I've never said to, either." -Brian Hartline
"I don't know why he's doing this ... this is ridiculous. What's (being) perceived is that Richie is this psychopath, racist maniac, right? And the reality is that Richie was a pretty good teammate, and that Richie and Jonathan Martin were friends, or appeared to be friends." -Tyson Clabo
"If you asked Jonathan Martin who his best friend is on this team two weeks ago, he'd say Richie Incognito. (The) first guy to stand up for Jonathan when anything went down on the field -- any kind of tussle -- Richie was the first guy there. When they wanted to hang out outside of football, who was together? Richie and Jonathan. I'm not in those guys' shoes. I can't explain what's going on." -Ryan Tannehill
Now, many reports are out there calling this a revolt against Philbin. That's wrong. In-fact, NFL Network's Jeff Darlington has reported that Philbin told the team to speak up, and "stick up" for themselves when questioned.
To me, this is a DIRECT sign of things to come. Watching this locker room over the past week, and listening to them talk, you can sense a newfound urgency in their voices that hasn't been there all season long. Players are mad, fed up with the spotlight, and I expect them to use this as a rally cry going forward.
I won't give my prediction for Monday night yet, but I'll say this: Expect a fired up group of guys for 60 minutes, and expect an "us against the world" mentality that you haven't seen from this team in a long, long time. Bank on it.
OTHER NOTES
Now, to the actual football side of things.
- Former Fins WR Marlon Moore rejoined the team this week after a brief stint with the 49ers. Moore reclaimed his old #14 jersey. There is no word on whether he will be active on Monday night or not.
- And finally, the final injury report was released today:
OUT
T Jonathan Martin (illness)
DID NOT PRACTICE
LB Jelani Jenkins (foot)
LB Koa Misi (knee)
LIMITED
CB Dimitri Patterson (groin)
TE Dion Sims (toe)
K Caleb Sturgis (right groin)
FULL
CB Nolan Carroll (concussion)
S Chris Clemons (hamstring)
LB Dannell Ellerbe (calf)
G Nate Garner (knee)
Three Days.
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