These days, NFL teams almost always choose to leak information to their television broadcast partners; not their local media. The same can be said of MLB, NBA etc. Teams make sure the actual news goes to the media professionals who work for the broadcast rights holders that the leagues are in bed with, instead of the local beat professionals who are there covering the team each day.
Yes, it sounds absurd, perhaps even unfair and unjust, but indeed it’s reality. Look no further than the Chicago Bears with Jay Cutler injury news.
Bears Coach John Fox wouldn’t even tell the media what kind of medical examination and testing Cutler was undergoing. Going to Halas Hall that day for Fox’s media availability was worthless in regards to acquiring Cutler injury news. (Going to pretty much any Bears media availability can be pointless in regards to acquiring actual news, but that’s another story for another time)
It was actually Adam Schefter of ESPN, a guy who lives and works in Bristol, Connecticut who first broke the news that Cutler would be out 2-3 weeks with the hamstring injury.
In a meritocracy, this news would have been broken by a poor soul who has to go to Halas Hall everyday and endure the pain of hearing “next man in,” “just need to make plays,” “it’s all about execution,” “we try to go 1-0 every year,” “we’re focused on ourselves,” and other meaningless, mind-numbing gobbedly-gook and somehow retain his sanity.
The Jay Cutler-Chicago Bears-Adam Schefter example is just one instance, but it’s every team, in every market, in every league that engages in this kind of behavior.
With the Chicago Bears trading Jared Allen and Jon Bostic, the “fire sale” narrative took hold.
NFL Network’s Ian Rappoport on the trades made by the Chicago Bears:
“My understanding is it’s really not a fire sale. These were two players, Jared Allen and Jon Bostic, who were not deemed vital to this defense; Allen in fact brought up the trade himself with general manager Ryan Pace and they agreed to consider it. That being said, the Bears’ mantra from the front office is essentially almost everyone is available and as a rival general manager described it to me, what the Bears say is don’t be afraid to ask.
So yes, Matt Forte is considered to be one of the players available. In fact, he has been quote-unquote available for some time. The problem is he’s almost 30, he’s making $7 million. At this point, it does not seem like a trade is likely. In other words, it does not seem like anyone would want to trade for him.”
FOX Sports Jay Glazer reports that despite the trade of Jared Allen this past week, the Chicago Bears are not having a fire sale or looking to trade away other veteran players:
“No it’s not true, but the rest of the league thought there was as well, so all of these GMs started calling the Chicago Bears and were talking about Alshon Jeffery, Matt Forte, Willie Young and [the Bears] were saying, ‘No, the big thing was that [Jared Allen] didn’t fit what we were doing. He was an older guy, standing up as an outside linebacker, we knew he didn’t fit, he knew he didn’t fit, that was the one guy where we were looking to move on from.’ Now, the other thing they were saying was, ‘We are not having a fire sale, but, if you want to send us a great offer for somebody, we’re listening.’”
So really, by this juncture what is the point of going out to Chicago Bears practice and then going through the pain-staking, mind-numbing process of transcribing audio? Why sift through all the worthless coachspeak to try and find an actual nugget of information, when Glazer, Rappoport, Schefter et al just get the actual meat and potatoes just handed to them on a silver platter? Those guys aren’t at the stadium for nine-ten hours of work on game days.
It’s worth noting that Glazer and Rappoport’s info came out today BEFORE the Chicago Bears beat the Oakland Raiders; not afterward.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and sometimes writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. The website is also featured on News Now.
Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye. He also appears regularly on numerous talk shows all across the country. Catch him Tuesdays on KOZN 1620 The Zone.
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