Episode two of offseason Hard Knocks contained plenty of “meh” moments. Which is good for the team that is the subject of it.
In one specific scene, the Giants peeled back the curtain as to a very important aspect of the NFL, and really all professional sports.
Which is good for the audience. But it’s not good for the Giants. Or any other team. Or the league office.
The scene exposes, with surprising nonchalance, the game that routinely gets played: When it’s time to talk to the media, the truth is irrelevant. What matters is the message.
After episode one, we pointed out the disconnect between G.M. Joe Schoen’s internal comments about running back Saquon Barkley (the Giants decided well before the Scouting Combine that they wouldn’t use the franchise tag again) and Schoen’s comments to PFT Live at the Scouting Combine that all options were on the table.
The second episode includes a glimpse into the P.R. strategy session aimed at ignoring reality and coming up with a comment that serves the team’s strategic purposes.
“I’m just gonna come out and [say] like, ‘All options are on the table still with Saquon,” Schoen tells senior director of football communications Dion Dargin. “We’re gonna talk to his people and — but I’m not gonna say we’re not gonna franchise him.”
Cut to the press conference. Schoen is asked if the franchise tag is off the table for Barkley.
“I wouldn’t say the franchise tag’s off the table,” Schoen says. “No, I mean, it’s — I think the new number, if we were gonna franchise somebody for the first time at that position is like [$11.9 million], and his number’s not much more than that. So the salary cap changes your philosophy and how you’re gonna attack things. So that’s not off the table.”
Later, Dargin gives Schoen some advice about the potential interpretation of body language, which can be a very useful way to spot when someone is telling something other than the truth.
The whole thing is presented as usual and normal; the narrator prefaces the segment by saying General Managers “don’t take to podiums without a plan.” It underscores how common this kind of strategic untruth-telling is, in many high-profile businesses.
It’s never about telling the truth. It’s always about developing and sending and reinforcing a message. (That said, the truth is sometimes accidentally told, if/when the preferred message and the truth coincide.)
That’s not a “right” or “wrong” thing. It’s just part of the game. On certain subjects, truth and candor creates plenty of problems.
Remember this in the future. Far too often, fans and media take the things said in press conferences and interviews at face value. The Barkley remarks from Schoen prove that the bullshit is lurking anywhere and everywhere.
Hell, it’s baked into the cake. It’s often one of the core ingredients.
Keep that in mind the next time you’re watching a press conference that delves into a delicate subject matter. And get ready for the answer to be just another slice of birthday bullshit cake.