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The craziest of NFL seasons has opened the door for some restrictions to be placed on media covering the NFL teams.
On Thursday, Packers GM Brian Gutekunst took the blame for limits implemented by his team, and he explained the reasoning for the changes, which include banning players from taking first-reps, position matches, and lineup rotations.
‘I think, you know, the changing landscape at this point of preseason without games for preseason, no fans on practices, because we got in, it just changed things, and you know, of course, there are certain limitations that boys are always placed on you for what you can and cannot report; and I just thought from a competitive advantage this was the right thing to do for, you know, in the short term, ‘said Gutekunst, via Tom Silverstein of PackersNews.com.
Gutekunst made the change after seeing how other teams handled the issue of reporting off training camp practices for fans.
“[A]That we kind of came the first three days and saw the landscape of what other teams are doing and kind of information we gather, again, without 8,000 people at practice and four preseason games, I just thought we were at a bit of a disadvantage , ”Said Gutekunst. ‘We wanted to level the playing field. . . .
“Well, sure, our pro-scouts have always followed the local beat reporters in every team they cover. Sure this year it’s more prominent just because there [are] no pre-season games and you have to go less [on]. Again, will we make decisions about this information? Maybe, maybe not. But it is all useful to us as we go along and we attack the task we have to do. Again, this is a very temporary thing. It’s nothing permanent, I think it’s 10 days we have left before this changes [to regular-season reporting rules]. We always try to make the best decisions we can for our football team, and that is why this decision was made. “
The Packers sent the following email earlier this week to the reporters covering the team: “By moving forward, media are no longer allowed to name who gets reps with the first team, second team, third team etc. Who is still used in certain packages or when players rotate between positions. It is allowed to comment on game results / player performances, but you must avoid all projections on the depth map and staff packages. “
This year, decisions regarding roster and exemption cuts and training team additions will become even more important as teams try to build the right mix of players in the various positions to ensure they can play and play well as / as there is a COVID-19 outbreak. Players who can play multiple positions will have greater value, and teams will be even more strategic than normal when making decisions about who to demand, cut, sign, and so on. Without benefit of the pre-season movie.
