JLC vs. Cerrato takes a new twist?

Jason is a reporter and should report the news and investigate matters that may be newsworthy. Tampering is newsworthy and, so, Jason should investigate incidents that could constitute tampering.

That said, Jason should not have had to consult the league office to realize that Vinny's comments regarding Kiffin would never, ever, ever be deemed tampering. Either Jason played dumb and wanted to needlessly stir the pot, in which case he is childish, or he does not know what tampering is, in which case his competence is questionable.

Also, Jason would be wise to avoid taking personal swipes at Snyder and Cerrato. His credibility rests, at least in part, upon being perceived as a neutral, objective observer. Getting in little jabs at Snyder and Cerrato might make Jason feel better, but those petty slights work to his detriment as a reporter.

Jason is a reporter and should report the news and investigate matters that may be newsworthy. Tampering is newsworthy and, so, Jason should investigate incidents that could constitute tampering.


That said, Jason should not have had to consult the league office to realize that Vinny's comments regarding Kiffin would never, ever, ever be deemed tampering. Either Jason played dumb and wanted to needlessly stir the pot, in which case he is childish, or he does not know what tampering is, in which case his competence is questionable.


Also, Jason would be wise to avoid taking personal swipes at Snyder and Cerrato. His credibility rests, at least in part, upon being perceived as a neutral, objective observer. Getting in little jabs at Snyder and Cerrato might make Jason feel better, but those petty slights work to his detriment as a reporter.

I have no problem with JLC getting the answer straight from the horses mouth. He wants to get it right and takes a beating. If he gets it wrong he takes a beating. Either way he cant win.

Why does JLC have to know that? Hell, lots of players play the game and they dont know all the rules. I suspect JLC knows in general what tampering is but something specific like this could be a potential grey area. I have no problem with him wanting to get his facts straight because if he's wrong he will get crushed by the arm chair experts.


JLC writes a column for the Wash Post. It is not a columnists job to be neutral or objective. I understand the beat reporter being objective but JLC is a columnist.

JLC is a beat reporter, Wilbon, Wise, Boswell, and Jenkins are the columnists.

JLC is a beat reporter, Wilbon, Wise, Boswell, and Jenkins are the columnists.

JLC writes a column called On Football for the Post. It was in Monday's paper.

Even if he writes a column, do you think it is wise for him to make his animosity towards Cerrato and Snyder public? It's one thing to intelligently criticize Snyder and Cerrato for their decisions which directly affect the franchise, it's quite another to take cheap, petty shots at them as people. In case you haven't noticed, Jason frequently attacks their character in stories which have no bearing whatsoever on the Redskins franchise.

He's undermining his own credibility as a neutral, objective observer. Neutrality and objectivity are NOT synonymous with negativity and petty personal gripes. He's biased and makes no bones about making his biases well known to the public.

Also, from a practical standpoint, Jason is dumb for alienating his constituents (i.e., Redskins fans). Redskins fans don't want puff pieces, but we don't want pessimism and personal attacks either. Nunyo and Maske were good beat reporters; Jason is not.

JLC could have gone about this so many other ways, including not being specific about why he called the NFL offices...but he thought he was onto something and played his hand. Which turned out to be crap that he should have folded...

If JLC wants to criticize the Skins, so be it. But get your ducks in a row first. JLC needs a lesson in subtlety. That is a big problem with the age of 24/7 media...too many people jump the gun before getting their shit together.

Even if he writes a column, do you think it is wise for him to make his animosity towards Cerrato and Snyder public? It's one thing to intelligently criticize Snyder and Cerrato for their decisions which directly affect the franchise, it's quite another to take cheap, petty shots at them as people. In case you haven't noticed, Jason frequently attacks their character in stories which have no bearing whatsoever on the Redskins franchise.

He's undermining his own credibility as a neutral, objective observer. Neutrality and objectivity are NOT synonymous with negativity and petty personal gripes. He's biased and makes no bones about making his biases well known to the public.

Also, from a practical standpoint, Jason is dumb for alienating his constituents (i.e., Redskins fans). Redskins fans don't want puff pieces, but we don't want pessimism and personal attacks either. Nunyo and Maske were good beat reporters; Jason is not.

Maske was thought of as too friendly by the post and Nunyo might have been murdered by a deranged Skins fan because of his confrontational and negative reporting. JLC was def much more reasonable in the early stages of running this beat but now he is has moved into Nunyo territory. I guess the Skins just make it hard for reporters and wear them down into bitter confused twits.

In general I'm tired of the bickering back and forth between the Skins and the media. I think the Skins are probably mostly to blame. I just wish they would squash it already.

JLC could have gone about this so many other ways, including not being specific about why he called the NFL offices...but he thought he was onto something and played his hand. Which turned out to be crap that he should have folded...

If JLC wants to criticize the Skins, so be it. But get your ducks in a row first. JLC needs a lesson in subtlety. That is a big problem with the age of 24/7 media...too many people jump the gun before getting their shit together.

Exactly. It is why JLC calls Dave Elfin at the Time "Day Late Dave". Because Elfin doesn't throws bombs. He actually reports what he finds out once he has sourced it properly and deteremined is validity. JLC has prescribed to the new notion that no news is worse than wrong news.

If he calls the league office and asks "what are the tampering ruless if a team representative is talking about another teams coach or player in specifics", this is easy. He just doesn't know and wants to get clarification. But he didn't. He called and used Vinny's name.


Obviously trying to get a guy in trouble. He should own up and apologize to Vinny and the fans. He just created a lot of enemies. He better start a little damage control (not just try to "spin" it).