Suffering a delay is not about not knowing what to do. The unexpected happens, even for Apple.
That' being said, it is a bit too much to assume that removing the port on the iPhone 7 was merely a vehicle to sell AirPods, and one cannot live without the other or some sort. Of course the development of those 2 things is intertwined but the AirPods are for a small, small subset of IPhone 7 users that are willing to shell out $170 for an optional pair of earbuds, and a slice of fhe AirPods buyers will be on other iPhone models too. Meanwhile for the iPhone 7 there are earbuds packed in the box, there is a lightning headphone licensing program, any wired headphones are compatible with the included adapter, any bluetooth headphones are compatible, and Apple already have available a whole range of products branded as Beats. I don't see the big hoopla here, it's bad sure but the issue is the same as with any other product delay - people want to buy a certain product and will have to wait a bit more or pick up an alternative.