General manager Bruce Allen made a rare decision to take a second round of questions from reporters this evening in an effort, he said, to give reporters a better opportunity to ask questions that weren't addressed in his earlier interview.

Talking more extensively about the potential Brett Favre trade, Allen was similarly vague but did directly address a few issues:

• He said the Packers did not give the Bucs a chance to match the Jets' offer, adding that he learned the details only after they surfaced in media reports.

• The Packers, Allen said, did not specifically tell the Bucs what type of compensation would satisfy their wishes. Curiously, Allen said the Bucs, in turn, opted against making a trade offer to Green Bay.

• After learning details of the trade, Allen said he had doubts about whether he would have been willing to do a similar deal.

• Regarding Jeff Garcia, Allen said he did not feel the Bucs' pursuit of Favre would affect Garcia's play or attitude.

• Allen gave his most direct answer to the question about the Bucs' level of interest in Favre, saying, "We were receptive to hearing what they wanted to do. I'm not going to say I wasn't interested in Brett Favre. Yes, I was interested... The big question, and I'm not going to play the hypothetical game myself, what if there wasn't an AFC team that was available? Now what? That changes the dynamics. But I don't want to start to get into it."

As for why Allen chose to do a second batch of interviews, it's fair to say the Bucs were not pleased with the way Thursday morning's interview played out. It was contentious, at times, largely because of reporters' frustration with Allen's evasiveness. This evening's chat was perhaps an effort to make things right.

We'll have more training camp coverage as the night proceeds. The Bucs are taking the field now for their first night practice at Disney, a full-squad workout under the lights.

STEPHEN F. HOLDER