As it is often said, there is no offseason in the NFL, unless there is a lockout of course. But that was last year, and if everything holds true, we have been guarenteed football for the next 8 seasons under the new CBA. But thats all legal mumbo jumbo that as fans, we do not care about. So whats next?
February 25-28- The NFL Scouting Combine- Probably the least exciting but among the most important is the Scouting Combine held in Indianapolis annually. Here over 300 prospects from college come in and do a variety of drills such as the 40-yd Dash, Bench Press, the Wonderlic test, and sometimes the most crucial, team interviews. A star can go from an automatic first-round pick to a second-round pick within a weekend at the combine. While top prospects Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck plan to hold their own workouts March 21 and 22 respectively, many other prospects will showcase their skills.
March 13- Free Agency starts- Ah yes, the day some players either hate or love. Depending on their performance in recent seasons, players either get a big payday, like Kevin Kolb last year and Julius Peppers the year; or their lost in the football world such as Brady Quinn or Chris Simms. Here is a list of the notable free agents.
April 26-28- The NFL Draft- It is said you have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than predicting the entire first round of the NFL Draft every year. And here is why, coaches spend months after the regular season watching film, scouting, and strategizing who is going to do what in the draft. For example, in the 2010 draft Josh McDaniels of the Denver Broncos drafted Demaryius Thomas with the first pick for the Broncos in the draft. 3 picks later, he traded up and picked Tim Tebow, who wasn't projected to go until the third round. Bill Belichik always stockpiles his picks while the Falcons traded away some to get Julio Jones in the 2011 draft.
While it hasn't been announced yet, the preseason normally starts in the middle of August. In the mean time between April and August, fans anxiously await the season while filling their time with NBA basketball till July or even NASCAR; or they just spend time with their families as much as possible because once football season starts, it is back to Sundays watching football for the men and boys, and even ladies sometimes.
Regardless of how much time you spend (or don't spend) following football, it is still very clear, that there is no offseason in the NFL. As Rich Eisen said in his book Total Access "The NFL is seperated into two seasons, a season where they play football and a season where they don't."
