Joe, did we miss out?

[joecrisp]

Sorry it took me so long to reply to you, backrow, but Matty and Bunglehead (my older brother) pretty much explained it for me.

During the second minicamp, in early May, Coach Gibbs started expressing concern over the number of reporters in attendance, and said he was really uncomfortable with the idea that one of us might report something that we shouldn't be reporting, in terms of the technical aspects of what the team is working on for the upcoming season. He also didn't like the fact that players seemed to be spending too much time looking over to the sidelines to see who was among the media throng. He felt like the media was a distraction, and presented too much of a threat to leak sensitive information about his strategy.

At the last practice of that second minicamp, Gibbs closed the practice after the first 30 minutes or so, and the reporters were herded up and escorted back to the media room, where we couldn't see what was happening on the field. We were allowed back downstairs to interview the players and coaches after practice, but it's tough to get a whole lot of questions in when players are hurrying back into the locker room. So we were basically left with whatever we could get from the post-practice press conferences.

Knowing the situation would be the same-- if not worse-- going into this third minicamp, combined with the long drive from Richmond, the bad weather and cicadas, I just felt like it wouldn't be worth it. I think everyone gets a lot more out of what I'm able to report from the actual practices, rather than what few soundbites I can get from the players and coaches after practice. You guys want to know how particular players are performing in practice, how the positional competitions are shaping up, and how the atmosphere and chemistry of the team have changed in the offseason. Reporters really need to be able to watch the whole practice-- particularly the full-squad scrimmages-- to be able to accurately report on those aspects of the team. Unfortunately, that also creates the risk that a reporter will divulge too much of what is happening on the practice field, and that's a risk that Gibbs just doesn't want to take.