Every sport has an offseason, but the NFL benefits from such a rabid fanbase that the offseason is still filled with interesting storylines. But, I am going to be completely honest here: we’ve entered a dead zone for the NFL. How do I know this? The NFL important dates calendar for 2019-2020 doesn’t have any major dates left in June and the next important date is July 15. That is the deadline for franchise tag players to sign a long-term deal. If they don’t do so, they must play under the tag. That affects exactly three players — and three fan bases.
That doesn’t mean NFL fans should disappear from the internet to come out after the 15 of July. Fans can look at potential free agents who remain unsigned. They can look at everything our own Doug Farrar writes because it is all amazing content. Fans can educate themselves by watching film breakdowns or learning about specific coverages, schemes, blocking patterns, or route combinations.
This is the time when NFL fans should try to educate themselves to become smarter. This is when fans get the knowledge to impress their friends by breaking down the complexities of specific defenses. This is not the time to ditch football. No one every ditches football.
Breaking news will be at a slow trickle. That’s just how this works. You know what they say, “it’s always darkest before the dawn.” Fans have some hope. They should also hope that none of the players they cheer for get injured or find their way into the news for something non-football related.