The Black Rock Came before the Ship in the Incident by Echo1776

Ok, I know a lot of people are curious about the arrival of the Black Rock due to the fact that it appeared on the Island during a storm and not during a sunny day as depicted during the little chat between Jacob and MIB at the beginning of "The Incident." As it is highly unlikely that the Lost Producers would make such a critical (and obvious) continuity error so late in the game, we can only conclude that the ship was NOT the Black Rock. So the question remains: Did the ship come before or after Alpert's arrival?

Now, at first, I automatically assumed the Incident scene occured before Richard's arrival, but after some reflection, I've come to the conclusion that the ship came AFTER Richard and that we will see this as the season progresses. Here's why:

1. In Ab Aeterno, Jacob's reaction to Richard and the attempt to murder him suggests that up unto that point, Jacob had been bringing people to the island solely to prove MIB wrong in his qualms with humankind. As other people have mentioned, it appears that Jacob was NOT looking for a candidate/replacement because it would seem that MIB had never tried to kill him before. The final scene between MIB and Jacob seems to be the beginning of the whole "I'm gonna kill you--No, I'll find a replacement--Then I'll kill them too" debate. With that under our belts, the scene in the Incident now appears to have happened later, as the "Loophole" and the desire to kill Jacob via a third party is now firmly established. Richard was not depicted in this scene, but he could have been elsewhere on the island at the time hunting boar or whatever.

2. The appearance of the MIB and Jacob in Ab Aerterno are slightly different than when we first saw them in the Incident--their hair is noticeably shorter. Hair can change over time, but the shorter length, to me, serves as a subtle hint that this flashback in Ab Aerterno is (currently) the earliest flashback in the show.

Well, this is just an idea and may be completely wrong but I'm curious to see what everyone else thinks. If it is true, it may help to explain Richard's significance as a non-candidate/secret candidate as he would be the 'first' among many to participate in MIB's attempts to kill Jacob. The 'game' has been going on for centuries--but the stakes were raised post-Ab Aeterno. Thanks!