Fox' Jay Glazer said there were "absolutely no restrictions" on his interview with suspended Dolphins G Richie Incognito that aired this week on "Fox NFL Sunday" and added Incognito conducted the interview "against the wishes of his agent." Appearing on yesterday's "PFT Live" podcast, Glazer said he told Incognito "straight out, 'I'm going to ask you everything. I'm going to tell you right now I'm not holding back and you can't have any control over any of this. The only reason I'm telling you is because I don't want you getting up and walking out after one or two questions.'" PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio replied, "That would have been great TV if he had gotten up and walked out." Glazer noted, "But then we have a 30-second interview." Glazer said Incognito "never saw my questions" and the "way I sold" him on doing the interview was the "court of public opinion come Monday, it closes, it's done. Do you want to testify?" Glazer noted he told Incognito, "By you keeping silent anybody that you think is on your side … they won't have a leg to stand on, so this is your chance to testify on your own behalf because come Monday, dude, it's over." Glazer acknowledged when he asked Incognito whether he was ordered by Dolphins coaches to "toughen up" Martin, Incognito gave a "lousy answer." Glazer said Incognito "went into this canned, 'Well, it's a legal thing. I'm not allowed to talk about it. I love Jonathan,' and it kind of went right into Jonathan Martin." Glazer: "It was definitely bad TV." Glazer said Incognito was a "lot more guarded than I expected. I thought he'd be a lot more free" but added that he did not allow Incognito's attorney "in the room" during the interview ("PFT Live," PRO FOOTBALL TALK, 11/11).
SILENCE IS GOLDEN: Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman said Incognito avoiding the topic of whether any orders given to him by the Dolphins coaching staff during the interview was the "most telling thing to me of that interview." Freeman: "If it didn’t happen then he would say it didn’t happen. The fact that he didn’t answer it tells me something came from the coaches as been reported. It seems like to me that the core of this case is who knew what, who told what player to do what and that is yet to be answered” (“Rome,” CBSSN, 11/11).
SHARPE WORDS: In Buffalo, Jeff Simon writes when CBS' Shannon Sharpe during the net's "The NFL Today" on Sunday "had his say on the whole nationally inflammatory brouhaha" over the Martin-Incognito scandal, it was a moment that "stunned me with the rawness of its truth and passion." Sharpe’s "usual role" on the show is to "provide the personality that the ex-coach (Bill Cowher) and the star ex-quarterbacks (Dan Marino and Boomer Esiason) lack." Simon: "What I never expected to see was as much genuine outrage on TV as Sharpe expressed at what he knew of the bullying and hazing 'culture of the Dolphins' locker room'" (BUFFALO NEWS, 11/12).
