After spending the past six seasons as an NFL beat reporter, I knew there were two critical rules for covering training camp: Apply lots of sunscreen and do not forget the binoculars. Now as an NFL staff writer for The MMQB, I get plenty of opportunities to tan in multiple stops for my first training camp tour. I plan on visiting with eight teams on the West Coast throughout the next two weeks. But my first stop was with the Raiders, and I broke one of the critical rules—I forgot my binoculars. This was a costly mistake because Raiders coach Josh McDaniels is known for having his players practice as far as possible from the media. But it wasn’t so bad Monday, with the Raiders practicing indoors to escape the desert heat for a day.
Crisis averted, but this mistake won’t occur again for my stops with the Cardinals, Cowboys, Chargers, Rams, 49ers, Seahawks, Broncos, and with the Saints in mid–August, when they conduct joint scrimmages with the Chargers in Southern California.
Despite not having my binoculars to kickoff the tour, there was still plenty to see from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and the rest of the Raiders.
