EDITOR@WORK: defensive linemen

This sentence has "defense" in there once and "defensive" twice.

The defense appears to be aging quickly, but defensive end Jared Allen and defensive tackle Kevin Williams are among the best players in the league at their respective positions.

You don't need "defensive."

The defense appears to be aging quickly, but end Jared Allen and tackle Kevin Williams are among the best players in the league at their respective positions.

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MORE EDITOR@WORK BLOG ENTRIES

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

BLOG ENTRIES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

ANECDOTES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer OUTTA there!

ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

This story is from the wire, but the headline has a problem: No. 1 pick Wilkerson among handful of Jets D-linemen to meet up for position drills.

Muhammad Wilkerson was a first-round draft pick of the Washington Redskins, but this makes it sound like he was the No. 1 pick in the draft. The Carolina Panthers drafted Cam Newton No. 1 overall.

The newspaper could have avoided any confusion by saying First-round pick Wilkerson joins handful of Jets D-linemen for workouts.

The headline would be longer at the beginning, but it would be shorter overall. Also, Wilkerson joins is more active than Wilkerson among. And it's an accurate headline.

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