Zimmer, CBs Now Say Jordy Nelson Coverage Controversy Was 'Miscommunication'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Did Vikings cornerbacks Xavier Rhodes and Terence Newman go rogue on Saturday, ignoring Mike Zimmer's game plan for covering packers star wide receiver Jordy Nelson, as Rhodes said they did on Saturday?
Or should we believe the version presented Monday, that nothing untoward happened and players simply did the wrong thing on accident?
"Terence would be the last guy ever in the world to ever be belligerent or go against anything that we do," Zimmer said.
So in other words, chalk this all up to just one big...
"It was just a little miscommunication for a series, you know, we handled it after the first series you know and that was about it," Rhodes said.
"It was a miscommunication. I believe they punted on the first drive. So after that we got it corrected and there was no issues," Newman said.
"We'd changed a couple calls later in the week, I probably wasn't specific enough in the things that I was asking them to do," Zimmer said.
That's the Vikings' story and they're sticking to it. The only trouble being that their story has changed since Saturday, when Rhodes said after the game that the defensive backs decided amongst themselves to disobey Zimmer's game plan for covering Nelson and Zimmer criticized his cornerbacks for not doing what he wanted them to do.
"Us doing our own thing, us making our own calls and whatnot, none of that ever happened," Newman said. "This whole thing is blown way out of proportion, to be honest with you."
Zimmer said Monday he does not believe his players purposefully conspired to defy him.
"It was one series, and I talked to him on the sideline, and that was that," he said.
Newman said Monday it's something the Vikings secondary has done throughout the season -- it was nothing new. Then why was Zimmer upset enough about it to bring it up on his own and voice his frustration publicly?
"Typically when we lose and we don't play good in the back end, I get upset, so there was a lot of different things I was upset about," Zimmer said. "I think when I said it, that was one of the things that came to my mind. So I probably shouldn't be as honest after the games as I typically am, which, I'll learn my lesson."
