Content available exclusively for subscribers
What is going on here?
In an era where people can be tough as hell on Twitter, the questions in sports press conferences have gone soft.
It’s above my paygrade to figure out exactly what is going on, but things are way different than they used to be.
I don’t know if it’s people wanting to be liked by the coaches and players they cover, so they don’t want to burn bridges, or some weren’t trained properly as journalists.
I will give you a perfect example: Right after Tuesday’s OTA practice, a session where Aaron Rodgers hurt his calf, Jets tight end C.J. Uzomah, was brought into the press room to talk to the media.
He spoke to the press for six minutes and 21 seconds, and there wasn’t one question about Rodgers going down in practice. Not one.
Don’t the wrong idea. This isn’t about asking Uzomah for a medical diagnosis on what exactly happened to Rodgers. That would be ridiculous.
But how about, “What was your reaction when you saw Rodgers get hurt during stretching?”
Nothing.
Whether it’s minor or serious is irrelevant, the franchise QB goes down with an injury during stretching, that keeps him out of the rest of the practice, that is something you ask the veteran tight end about.
People will say, why didn’t I ask? I will tell you why: When you are one of the few people asking tough questions, sometimes you get tired of it, and you pick your spots. You get tired of having to be the bad guy, and then reporters who don’t have the backbone to do it, reap the benefits of the answer, which everybody can use. I prefer, when the locker room is open, to go up to players and ask tough questions one-on-one.
This doesn’t mean I never do it in press conferences, but it’s few and far between these days.
I did ask Rodgers a question about the kind of training he was doing when he got hurt, including work with medicine balls and pulling sleds.
“I haven’t done it before,” Rodgers said. “I haven’t done it in 18 years, but obviously there’s some science behind it.”
I don’t know if he was being a little sarcastic here. I don’t know him well enough to discern that.
But some would argue that, while the Jets have a very good sports science department that comes up with unique conditioning drills to prevent injuries, perhaps you don’t have a 39-year-old QB do all this stuff. He knows how to get ready for a season. He has a team in California he works with. So maybe you ask him which of these routines do you want to do, and which ones do you want to avoid. Perhaps some routines that are good for younger players, aren’t ideal for a 39-year-old QB.
Look, I’m not a doctor, and I don’t play one on television, but covering a lot of calf injuries over the years, I know it’s a lingering injury. I remember RB Thomas Jones once missed basically an entire training camp with a calf. That was probably more severe than this one, but I’m just pointing out calves can be tricky, and take a while to heal.
Rodgers should be fine for training camp, but how much valuable time will he miss in the spring practices, throwing to weapons he’s trying to get on the same page? The work he was doing up until yesterday’s injury has been very helpful with chemistry and timing. How much time will he miss? That remains to be seen.
But one thing that doesn’t remain to be seen is how soft a lot of reporters have become with their questioning. Not all, but too many.
So please spare me with how tough the New York media market is.
May 24, 2023
Premium will return by 9:30 pm on sooner on Thursday.
