St. Louis Rams Richie Incognito: “I apologize”
Embattled Rams guard Richie Incognito finally has uttered the words that incensed Rams fans have been awaiting: “I apologize.”
Incognito criticized the hometown faithful last week before Sunday’s game, asserting that they don’t know “how to cheer” or “when to cheer.” He dialed up the heat even more when, after the 27-3 loss to the Bears, he paused before heading into the tunnel to the locker room and encouraged the jeering fans to pour on the abuse.
After practice Wednesday at Rams Park, Incognito sought to make peace.
“I just want to apologize to the frustrated fans out there,” he said. “It was wrong, what I said. I said they don’t know how to cheer and when to cheer, which is definitely wrong. We’re not giving them much to cheer about. So, I apologize to the fans. I really want to put this behind me. We can’t really have any more distractions. We’re trying to win some ballgames to keep (coach Jim) Haslett, and I think that’s where our focus needs to be.”
Incognito said he understood the fans’ unhappiness with him. “We’re a 2-9 team, and you’ve got some unproven guy on the team saying the fans don’t know how to cheer or when to cheer,” he said. “So obviously it’s going to stir up some controversy.”
Incognito explained that his exasperation over the sour season probably prompted his outburst. “I guess it’s me just being frustrated, mostly,” he said. “But really, it’s uncalled for, and it’s just taking away from the focus that we need to be putting in to prepare to win. . . . I really appreciate our fans’ support. I really do not want to take a shot at them. It was a deal where I talked a little too much.”
<><><>
Notes & quotes:
*QB Marc Bulger (concussion) passed his neuro exam Wednesday morning and took virtually all the first-team snaps in practice. Bulger estimated his chances of playing Sunday vs. the Dolphins at 99 percent.
*LT Orlando Pace (knee) returned to practice after missing Sunday’s game. Haslett said he expects Pace to start Sunday.
*RB Steven Jackson (thigh) took just under half the reps during 11-on-11 team drills. The plan is to step up his work Thursday and then see if he can get in a full practice Friday before returning to game action Sunday.
*LB Will Witherspoon (shoulders) practiced, but rookie David Vobora also took some snaps with the first unit.
*DE Eric Moore (neck) got in limited work.
*WR Keenan Burton sat out after having his surgically repaired knee drained. He is expected to practice Thursday.
*Newly signed LB Larry Grant and C Cory Withrow practiced for the first time with their new team.
All for now . . .
Richie false starts in his apologies too.
We’re a 2-9 team? There are 2-9 teams and there are the 2008 Rams. Zero effort gets you blown out each week, regardless of your skills. Add inept coaching to the mix and you have the 2008 Rams. End of story……
Richie I forgive you.
Think we can trade him to someone? Will anyone take him?
I mean he said he apologizes, thats got to mean he is ready to play like a pro bowler…he’ll stop losing his temper during the games, stop false starting with his boy Barron, stop resorting to playing dirty, and stop the guy in front of him from crushing his quarterback?
His apologies are like crying wolf—he keeps making them, but everyone knows he doesn’t mean it. Who cares—good riddance when the day comes.
I know Richie is a kids name, but why does he act like one? Why do would anyone expect any intelligent thing coming from this guy. His job is to push people back, and he doesn’t do that very well. Half the team is toast and gone next season. I hope he is one of them. Addition from subtraction.
It doesn’t even matter if Richie apologizes. ( even though HE’S RIGHT!! ) I don’t live in the Stl. Area. I watch the games from Smokey Bones in Indiana, and EVEN I make more noise in my chair at the bar for the Rams than the dead domer’s do. I had buddy bear fans at the game last week who told me that Orton was easily able to make calls to his line. You could hear the call for venders selling peanuts iover the Stl fans for the defense. The only time the Ram crowd makes noise is when we’re already up ( yeah, thats happened allot this year ) But I wasand am always a fan WIN OR LOOSE. YES I don’t like the lack luster playof the O, the dropped int’s from the D, the penalties and the seive of a d line every back gains 120 plus yards against. But I AM A RAMS FAN!
If you wining, complaining, “oh lets blame a lineman for saying unpolular things” crap fans dont want to cheer them on, STAY HOME! Give the tickets to a man like me who’ll drive to the Dome and scream my head off…like I do from Indianapolis every Sunday!
Win OR loose, a true fan stays behind his team - and NOT so far behind that no one can hear his/her support!
Drink the kool-aid wr. You probably support Charlie Weiss too.
Right on wr82!
Sorry, Richie, but this doesn’t cut it. You see, the reason apologies generally get accepted is that we have all gotten angry, said something we regretted, and then when we cooled down, we were sorry. When you cooled down, you did it again. And again. Several days in between. And then you apologize after several more days - with a statement that looks like your agent wrote it for you. An insincere apology is worse than no apology at all.
Growing up is hard to do.
I have to agree with wr82. Real fans stand by their team no matter what. Incognito may not have gone about things the right way, but he is correct. Too many “wine-sipping, leave in the 3rd quarter” fans at the dome. The truth hurts. If you’re not going to support your team and get your feelings hurt when you’re called out, then sell you tickets to real football fans.
Who cares what Incognito says? He’s our best lineman this year. He’s right, anyway: Rams fans aren’t dedicated. Truth hurts. They sell their tickets when the season isn’t going well. He’s out there trying to win games, and his home games are actually away games. I don’t understand why people are so insulted with this stuff. Can’t a guy be frustrated without people taking everything so personally? He just means that he feels like the fans aren’t as enthusiastic in St. Louis as they are in other places. He is right about this, but it’s not something to get mad about.
So, Richie finally got around to apologizing, huh? NEWS FLASH, Richie! Just who do you think pays for your salary, anyway? It’s not the man in the moon. Your philosophy should be, Just what have we done lately to give the fans anything to cheer about? This isn’t the 60’s Mets, whose fans cheered a parody of a team and made a hero out of that joke Marv Throneberry. This is the N-F-L, and it’s a vicious, competitive league. It’s predicated on that one principle: What have you done for us lately? Give the fans something to cheer about, and you’ll win them back. But, you have to convince them that you guys are actually trying your best to win games. That’s what sustains teams like the Packers, even in their down years. If you can’t give them that much, then find another occupation.
Oh, wr82: You really need to use the spellcheck option. As a former teacher, I don’t know if I have ever seen more misspellings and grammatical errors in one letter before.
has anyone noticed that most of the ram disgards are doing well with their respective teams?? even if they were put in different positions to succeed what does that say about the coaching
wr82 is right. The atmosphere at the dome stinks. Partly because we are usually down 30 at halftime. But even the games we are in people dont even want to stand up on 3rd down or cheer on the defense. A lot of people dont even wear any Ram apparel. Pretty ridiculous…if we want this team to stay here we better at least act like we are behind our team.
yea i gotta agree with WR. i was at the game against miami on the club level and when we were on defense, i could faintly hear pennington hike the ball. and we were in the game the whole time……… pretty sad guys. we’re obviously great baseball fans but we gotta stick with our teams through the thick and thin, i mean when were good, i couldnt even hear myself in that damn stadium so i know we can get loud. guys are just looking like a bunch of fair weather fans at this point.