It’s been said that the NFL is a year-round sport. An abundance of off-season activity always seems to keep the NFL in the headlines for months after the Super Bowl has been played. While this statement is entirely true, it’s inarguable that the time period between the initial wave of free agency and the commencement of the league’s draft festivities can be excruciating.
Simply, put this time period is the NFL’s version of the calm before the storm.
Yes, we’re hearing constant updates about draft prospects’ private workouts. Hey kids, Blake Bortles is visiting with the Texans right now! We’re hearing smokescreen after smokescreen about which teams are interested in which players. Draft gurus and casual fans alike are putting the finishing touches on the latest revisions of their mock drafts. Fantasy publications are gearing up with early content and articles to give fantasy players a head start in preparation for next season.
We’re seeing a lot of headlines but the most important goings-on are happening behind closed doors. The draft process is in full swing right now, and NFL executives are so absorbed in preparing for May 8th that fans find themselves in the midst of the time of the off-season that shall henceforth be known as “tweener time”. Okay I’ll admit it, I don’t expect that name to catch on, but I like how it sounds.
Tweener time is the time of the year when we all trick ourselves into thinking we know what in the world is going on, when in reality most front office people have no idea. This is the real fantasy football, folks. One random blogger can project a blockbuster draft day trade and the internet takes the prediction and runs with it. Speculation and conjecture rule the day and leave us basically salivating over what’s to come.
And therein lies the brilliance of tweener time.
By allowing the fans to create their own storylines, the NFL ensures our constant interest in their product. The draft is a three-night prime time event for a reason. With less than a month to go before draft night, every possible scenario will be bandied about on the airwaves. Draft prognosticators will see more airtime on major networks than imaginable.
What makes tweener time so exciting this year is the uncertainty that surrounds the draft. I’m not going to pretend to know what the Houston Texans are going to do with the first overall selection. While it appears likely that the pick will come down to Jadeveon Clowney or a quarterback, the Texans have been exhausting all possibilities and doing their due-diligence. This pick is no slam dunk.
Generally, at this point in the process, we have a pretty good idea who goes number one, and as such, can prepare scenarios for how the draft will unfold. Without that consensus, it’s nearly impossible to project what happens next. There are a litany of quarterback-needy teams in the top ten. Should the Texans pass on someone like the aforementioned Bortles, how far would he drop? What about Clowney?
Questions abound at this time of year, but concrete answers will not be provided until the draft itself. For the next several weeks fans will wait with baited breath to see what moves our teams ultimately make. We’ll wring their hands and wrack our brains in the hopes of figuring out what will happen next. Then draft night will be at hand and something completely unexpected (and oftentimes illogical) will destroy our mock drafts in an instant, effectively having wasted all of our prep time. And you know what? Ultimately, we’re going to be okay with that. It’s fun to speculate. It’s fun to have such passion for something you love. It’s fun to be a fan.
Tweener time is awesome, don’t you think?
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