Everybody watches LeSean McCoy. He's the star running back, the elusive play-maker.
On Wednesday, at the announcement of McCoy's presence, media members rushed to his locker. On the previous Sunday, fans erupted as he evaded defenders and rushed for 112 yards against the Texans. On both days, five offensive linemen were content with living in his shadow.
While the likes of Richie Incognito, Eric Wood and Cordy Glenn aren't often recognized for the Bills successful rushing attack, they provide the momentum for a ground game that has averaged 165 yards per game since the bye week. McCoy doesn't hesitate to give them their due.
"The line up front lately has really just been putting it down, they really have," said McCoy. "Whatever thing they are dealing with, no matter who it is, [they] get the running game going."
Like the rest of the team, the offensive line came out of the bye week rejuvenated. Incognito credits the week off for the group's second half success.
"We had a new staff come in in the spring," he said. "We had a bunch of new starters. We had new running backs, a new quarterback. Everything was brand new. The bye week gave everybody a chance to take a deep breath and evaluate what we block well, what we run well, what the running backs have a feel for, and how we can really hurt defenses. We're playing more to our strengths [now]."
Despite spending a year and a half out of the NFL, Incognito has been a key facet to that success. His strong play prompted general manager Doug Whaley to say that he is playing the best football of his career.
"He's had better guard play this year than I've seen scouting him for the last five or six years," Whaley said in a recent radio interview. "He's impressed all of us, and I would say . . . he should be a candidate for Comeback Player of the Year. He has to be mentioned as a top five guard in the league."
Incognito agrees with Whaley's assessment.
"I'm playing good football right now. I'm playing sound. I'm playing physical. This is by far the best football of my career," he said.
Still, in typical offensive line, avoid-the-spotlight character, he attributes his stellar play to the organization that gave him another chance.
"[This organization] has done a great job of backing me up, from the top down," said Incognito. "From Kim and Terry Pegula, to Doug and his staff, and the coaches, and my teammates, they've done a great job of embracing me and supporting me and giving me an opportunity to come here and prove that I can be a good teammate and contribute."
For their part, Incognito's teammates are happy to have him.
"The impression a lot of people get when they meet him is [that he's] not quite the person [he's] made out to be," said Wood, who has put together one of his better seasons as well. "He's a good football player. Big and strong and powerful."
"He's been a great leader in the room so far," said Kraig Urbik.
Incognito's strong play and the support of his teammates are a result of the goals that he set for himself while he was on the outside looking in.
"I envisioned it. I thought about it. I set goals to get back to this stage," he said. "Everything I envisioned, everything I worked towards, has come to fruition. It's all materialized, and I'm just trying to get better every single day and play my best football every Sunday."
