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Xavier Rhodes says Vikings had a miscommunication, not a mutiny

Minnesota Vikings v Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, WI - DECEMBER 24: Xavier Rhodes #29 of the Minnesota Vikings tackles Jordy Nelson #87 of the Green Bay Packers in the second quarter at Lambeau Field on December 24, 2016 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

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Everyone agrees that the Vikings did not match cornerback Xavier Rhodes one-on-one with Packers receiver Jordy Nelson at the start of Sunday’s game, even though head coach Mike Zimmer wanted Rhodes on Nelson. But the details of the issue remain unclear.

Initial reports indicated that the Vikings’ defensive backs had mutinied against Zimmer and the coaching staff. Since then, the Vikings have tried to downplay the matter.

Now Rhodes himself is speaking up, and insisting that the team didn’t mutiny against its coach.

“It was just a miscommunication during the first series,” Rhodes said, via Brian Murphy of the Pioneer Press.

Asked to clarify, Rhodes repeated that it was just a miscommunication. Rhodes also took to Twitter and suggested the story was overblown.

“It amazing that ppl believe everything they hear,” Rhodes wrote. “It’s more to the story. To all who knows me knows I obey authority.”

But if there’s more to the story, why doesn’t Rhodes or someone else on the Vikings explain exactly what happened? Some reports have indicated that cornerback Terence Newman was the ringleader in the players deciding to disregard the coaches’ game plan, which is surprising because Newman is a longtime favorite of Zimmer’s who was brought to the Vikings specifically because Newman thought he could be a good veteran leader in Minnesota. No one inside the Vikings organization is saying whether those reports are accurate or not.

Until the Vikings explain exactly what happened, questions will linger. If it was just a “miscommunication,” the Vikings should communicate with the rest of us about what really happened.