Misquoted

I'm often amazed that football players and coaches even talk to the media. It rarely seems to matter what they say. The media will turn around and report what they want the player or coach to have said. The media is driven by stories or headlines that grab the reader or listener. Even if they have to make up that story. They want controversy. They want drama. I actually prefer the truth.

Last Thursday, a Minnesota Vikings delegation met with Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel over dinner. The team was very well represented at Manziel's Pro Day earlier in the day. They may have had the largest delegation. General manager Rick Spielman, head coach Mike Zimmer, offensive coordinator Norv Turner, and quarterback coach Scott Turner were all there to check out the hotshot quarterback. They took Manziel out to dinner after the Pro Day. They had a private workout with him the following day. If there was even a question whether the Vikings were interested in Manziel before his Pro Day. There was no question after. That's some significant time and effort. About ten days earlier, the Vikings had spent a similar amount of time with Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. However, Zimmer wasn't part of that delegation. He was at Florida's Pro Day. He had no conflicts to keep him from the Johnny Manziel Pro Day. Zimmer made some headlines following Manziel's Pro Day when he said that it was like a "sideshow." How could he not? There was a circus element to the whole event. The music. Former President George H. W. Bush, wife Barbara, and their dogs. The governor of Texas. It was unlike any Pro Day anyone had ever seen. Zimmer simply said as much. This was when the media started rolling with Zimmer's thoughts on Manziel. I never took what Zimmer said as a criticism of Johnny Manziel. It was more of an observation. An accurate observation. The media just took advantage of the fact that he said something about the show. At least, they didn't stray into fiction. That came a few days later.

"Vikings met with Manziel Friday; 'flags' came up in conversations"

That was the headline of a recent Mineapolis Star Tribune's Access Vikings blog. Surprisingly, it's an accurate statement. It came from Monday's appearance by Mike Zimmer on 104.9 The Horn in Austin. The Vikings did discuss the notable 'flags' that have come up during Manziel's celebrity tour since he won one of those Heismans.

The first sentence of the blog, however, isn't accurate. It just brings more drama than truth.

"Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said there are some 'flags' that popped up during the team's second meeting with Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel on Friday."

Zimmer said nothing about flags that popped up during the conversation with Manziel. Zimmer said that they asked Manziel about the 'flags' that have popped up with his off-the-field actions of the past year. The national media made their own spins off of the Star Tribune report. Those spins also circled the truth. All of the reports portrayed Mike Zimmer as anti-Manziel. I can see Zimmer loving Johnny Football. He just has concerns about Johnny Hollywood. No coach is happy when a player is in the headlines for something other than football. Especially his quarterback. He should be in the film room. If the Vikings are going to invest the #8 pick in the draft on a quarterback, they want to know about that quarterback. If they had no concerns, or 'flags', there was really no reason for spending any extra time with Manziel. They wouldn't have spent all of that time if they weren't interested and they wouldn't have spent all of that time if they didn't have concerns. Every team that is considering Manziel has these concerns. Zimmer just said it. He was being honest. He even said in his introductory press conference back in January that he's always honest. The media, especially the Vikings beat writers, is going to have to get used to that. They aren't going to be able to twist his words to get the headline or story that they want. They won't have to force out some hidden meaning or read between the lines. Zimmer says exactly what he's thinking so it's going to be pretty obvious when he's misquoted.