LOL, Whitlock rips Herm again!

[ChiefRon]

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chi...y/1163995.html

Herm is Palin-esque in his ESPN gig

The front-runner for biggest bust in the draft lives in Kansas City.

Herm Edwards, the rookie ESPN analyst and fondly regarded as the Human Sound Bite as an NFL head coach, turned in a disastrous and distracting performance during the two-day NFL draft.

Edwards was so bad that my sources in Dallas reported that Emmitt Smith could be heard shouting: “I would’ve have did a better job!”

Emmitt is right. At least the former Cowboys legend tried to answer direct questions when he starred at ESPN. At least Emmitt was unintentional comedy.

Herm spent two days on air making damn sure he didn’t offer one opinion that could potentially put him at odds with an NFL owner, general manager or remotely talented player. Edwards isn’t the first former coach to hit the television airwaves determined to pick up an easy paycheck and protect his future coaching prospects.

There’s an art to saying nothing in clever fashion. John Madden mastered it. Edwards needs lots of work.

On Sunday, Trey Wingo, the host of ESPN’s day-two coverage, put Edwards in a very difficult spot. Wingo asked Edwards a direct, relevant question about a talented NFL player.

“Herm, if you are a head coach and you’re looking at the idea of picking up Plaxico Burress,” Wingo inquired, “what kind of factors are weighing into your mind here?”

Fair question. It’s a relatively easy question. Edwards could’ve stated that a veteran team with an established head coach might be a perfect fit for Burress, the way the Patriots were a nice fit for Randy Moss.

Instead, Herm took a page from Sarah Palin’s debate playbook and treated Wingo as if he were moderator Gwen Ifill.

“Well, uh, I think the factors that everyone understands (pause) the complications of this situation right now with Plax. And, uh, still the commissioner has to rule on that,” Edwards said while turning away from Wingo and before starting a different discussion with Ron Jaworski, Chris Mortensen and Mel Kiper.

“But when you’re talking about trades now with veteran football players that are already on one football team,” Edwards continued, “what most teams generally do in this situation, you’re gonna have some minicamps and some OTAs. You can evaluate the players you drafted and then from there….”

Uh, Wingo didn’t ask about trades. Burress was released by the Giants after his nightclub shooting incident. He’s a free agent.

Just as Edwards was a big-time free agent after getting released by the Chiefs in January. We knew some television network would recruit Edwards. As an NFL head coach, Edwards was a terrific broadcaster. He was glib, intelligent, humorous, passionate and occasionally insightful. He liked to talk.

In the annual broadcaster draft, Edwards was a top-five selection signed to a megacontract. He was pegged for stardom.

If he’s not careful, his ESPN job is going to sabotage his coaching career. In two days of breaking down the draft, Edwards came across as sound and fury signifying absolutely nothing. His commentary was a mixture of Mike Ditka, Sarah Palin and Michael Irvin.

I’m sure Edwards’ ESPN producers told him he did a fantastic job. This is the network that allowed Emmitt to reinvent the dictionary for two years and in the process dirty a once-spotless image. If you’re willing to wear a clown suit, ESPN has an endless supply of red noses, floppy shoes and makeup. Skip Bayless can’t use it all.

I fully expect to soon see Edwards standing in front of the pointless touch-screen prop that had promising Michael Smith looking and sounding more like Vanna White than the next Chris Mortensen during the draft weekend.

For a man who was supposed to be a broadcasting natural, Edwards mumbled, stumbled and clichéd his way through two days of draft coverage. Kansas City’s 2-14 record made sense.

To reach Jason Whitlock, call 816-234-4869 or send e-mail to jwhitlock@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com.