Bush, Incognito sit for miscues
Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin has made it clear there's nobody bigger than the team, and in Sunday's 37-3 loss to the Titans he backed up his philosophy with action.
Philbin benched two starters -- tailback Reggie Bush and left guard Richie Incognito -- for their mindless plays during Miami's embarrassing loss.
Bush, who ended with 21 yards on four carries, was benched for the remainder of the first half after he lost a fumble on Miami's second possession of the game.
"I didn't deserve to be back in the game," Bush said. "I fumbled the ball, and I've had two fumbles lost this year so I've got to do a better job protecting the ball."
Incognito was benched for a few plays after he committed an unnecessary roughness penalty in the second quarter. Instead of first-and-10 on Tennessee's 14-yard line, the Dolphins faced first-and-25 on the Titans' 43. They ended up kicking a 40-yard field goal.
"I understand why he did it," Incognito said. "He holds us to a high standard and I think he wanted to discuss it right then and there."
Philbin wouldn't flat-out acknowledge that both players were being punished, and called Bush and Incognito "professionals."
However, Philbin also benched Bush for a few series after he fumbled against the Jets in the Oct. 28 win.
Both Philbin and Mike Sherman insist the game plan against the Titans was to spread the workload out between all three of Miami's tailbacks because of the upcoming Thursday night game, so the six-series benching of Bush wasn't necessary all attributed to his fumble.
"We weren't functioning anywhere at that time and I don't know if it mattered," Sherman said. "We were into a different mode as far as throwing the football so putting (Bush) out there as a pass blocker wasn't a major priority at that point."
