Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Just Listen

The media never ceases to amaze. Last week, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator George Edwards was asked if he thought rookie cornerback Trae Waynes could be ready to start the season opener. His response:

"Well, that's what we're aiming for, that's what we're all working for, but we're going to take it from week to week."

Without really thinking about what Edwards said the media ran with the story that the Vikings are expecting Waynes to be one of the starting cornerbacks in the opener against the San Francisco 49ers. The storyline was an attention-grabber as the rookie had struggled in the first few games of the preseason. The media created a story without really hearing what Edwards had to say. The Vikings selected Waynes with the 11th pick of the 2015 NFL Draft to start opposite Xavier Rhodes for a nice long time. They expect Waynes to be a starter. "that's what we're aiming for..." says Edwards. I heard Edwards answer to the question before I saw the media response to it. I didn't really think anything of it other than the Vikings are "aiming for" Waynes being a starter. So am I. There's nothing there saying that Trae Waynes will be a starting cornerback in week one. Nothing. Yet, that was the headline. It became such a story that Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer had to respond to it this week. I'll bet that there were some chuckles among the coaches in the days in between. The media really does provide no end of amusement. It's tiresome. Zimmer said that Edwards' comment were interpreted incorrectly. Exactly. Having to answer to this sort of nonsense probably makes Zimmer long for his assistant coaching days. Probably not. I think that he loves having a team of his own. Even if he has to deal with a media that refuses to listen.

No comments:

Post a Comment