Dolphins guard Richie Incognito has long had a reputation as a dirty player, and it’s not surprising to learn that with replacement officials running things, Incognito tried to take advantage.
Texans defensive lineman Antonio Smith said after Houston beat Miami 30-10 on Sunday that Incognito was attempting to injure him, and the replacement officials didn’t stop it.
“A dirty player being let to play dirty . . . Richie Incognito,” Smith said, via the Houston Chronicle. “Everything that’s illegal that can be done on the football field he does it, but mainly he was hitting people after the play, sliding down on your leg grabbing your ankle and trying to twist to break your ankle and he was doing it right in front of the referees and he was still in the game.”
Smith blamed the officials for failing to do anything about it, and he said that if he had his way, he and Incognito would have settled things with their fists.
“It’s the referees’ job to stop him from doing it because everything that I would do to stop him I would get a penalty for,” Smith said. “I told myself you’ve got to humble yourself and keep playing. There were so many times that I would have to loved to just be like hockey. Drop the helmets off, drop the gloves, go fisticuffs. We’re men. Let’s go at it.”
Incognito probably would have taken Smith up on that offer.