Those of you preparing to pick up where you left off late last August might want to sit down for this one.

Despite the increasing popularity of contests and tournaments that use the NFL playoffs to offer hardcore owners an additional month to scratch their collective itch, the vast majority of Fantasy aficionados view the close of the regular season as an indication that it's time to resume their "real" lives.
The fact that many of you have barely started to make inroads necessary to make the long belly crawl back into the good graces of spouses, children, significant others, employers, coworkers, pets and the like, is probably going to make what I'm about to tell you that much more difficult to deal with.

So you've been forewarned, I'm going to assume you're ready. Here we go:

This just in. ... That extended period of downtime between January and August, previously known as "the offseason," no longer exists.

I realize that's probably the last thing many of you want -- or need -- to hear right now. But the sooner you come to grips with the "year-round, 21st-century NFL mentality," the better you'll be able to deal with it.

And if you think I'm kidding about this one. Think again.

A cursory review of upcoming dates of significance for NFL teams and players -- which in turn makes them significant to anybody hoping to field a successful Fantasy squad this fall -- reveals the following:

The first date of interest came and went on Jan. 9, the date NFL teams could begin signing previously terminated free agent players for the 2002 season.

Super Bowl XXXVI is the next big event on the NFL calendar, but as far as Fantasy owners are concerned the real significance of this year's Feb. 3 kickoff will be the fact it serves as a two-minute warning for teams still looking to hire a head coach. With the expansion Houston Texans slated to select somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 to 42 unprotected veterans from the rosters of the other 31 teams, it's hard to imagine anybody dragging their feet when it comes to hiring the guy they want.

The fact that Feb. 22 is likely to be the first day NFL teams can start slapping Franchise tags on their top superstars in an attempt to keep them from jumping ship only increases the urgency to assemble staffs as quickly as possible. By the way, teams failing to get their Franchise free agent under contract before 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, on March 15, officially lose their Franchise Player designation in 2003.

Also in February. The 28th is a big day, if for no other reason than it will serve as the official expiration date for all NFL player contracts due to expire in 2002. It is also tentatively scheduled to serve as the deadline for the submission of the qualifying offers clubs must make in order to secure their rights of first refusal and compensation for restricted free agents whose contracts have expired. Teams also have to submit the minimum salary offers necessary to retain their exclusive negotiating rights to players with fewer than three seasons of free agency credit whose contracts have expired.

Oh yeah. The 28th is also the first day of testing and timing at this year's NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Workouts will take place daily at the RCA Dome through March 4.

Next up is March 1, which is the day this year's Free Agency and trading periods begin.

Also in March, this year's NFL Players Board of Representatives Meeting will be held from the 15th through the 18th in Maui; the NFL's Annual Spring Meeting will run from the 17th through the 22nd in Orlando, Fla. Make a note of the latter, it's generally when the all-powerful NFL Competition Committee imposes its will on the rest of the league.

The 2002 NFL Draft, scheduled for the weekend of April 21 and 22, is the next event on the agenda, following closely by what might actually be the most hectic and vital two-month period of the year. That's right. Starting the last weekend of April, teams will begin getting their first serious look at this year's incoming rookie class, the league's 32 franchises run what has become an almost nonstop series of mini-camps, passing schools, conditioning drills and coaching sessions that run right up through the end of June.

While most teams won't come right out and say as much, the vast majority of all 32 teams' depth charts -- at least as far as the offensive skill players are concerned -- should be all but chiseled into stone during that two-month span.

I already hear the wheels turning out there. Many of you -- primarily those of you currently trying to rejoin the civilized world -- are wondering just what the heck what I mean by a "vast majority?"

I generally feel extremely confident in the status of at least 75 percent -- and reasonably confident in the status of close to 90 percent -- of the league's offensive skill players by the time training camps open on July 15.

Of course, I'll qualify those figures to some degree by reminding you that I've done nothing but cover the NFL from a Fantasy-specific perspective for the last nine years. And yes; it's pretty cool work. Cool enough to keep me from letting minor distractions -- for example; things like having a "real" life -- from clouding my focus. You're wondering if I work as hard over the "offseason" as I do during the regular season?

That depends on how you define hard.

I generally work 20-plus hour days during the regular season in an attempt to keep the folks most important to me -- the folks in question being those who subscribe to my premium service -- as happy as I possibly can. But my annual obligation to those subscribers ends after I've posted my Week 17 Sunday morning updates.

And those 20-plus hour workdays quickly fall by the wayside in favor 12-hour days that seem downright idyllic. And yes. I know what you're thinking:

What the heck could I possibly spend 12 hours a day on during the "offseason"?

Why don't you take a quick look?

Visit my online Headline News and Analysis archive and scroll through the articles posted over the last three years. You'll find nearly 550 total articles -- all featuring fairly in-depth Fantasy-specific news and commentary. Those of you diligent enough to double check that figure will find that well over 450 of those articles -- more than 150 annually -- were posted during the "offseason."

But hey, it's ain't like I have to stand outside digging ditches all day. In fact, even though I'm neither young nor rich, I often find myself thinking of the title cut from The Tubes' 1976 album Young And Rich -- in particular the line in which lead singer Fee Waybill croons, "Work is play. ..."

And the truth is, you'd probably feel a heck of a lot better heading into your league's draft this year is you started spending an hour or two each week -- let's say starting next week -- trying to keep up on the news as it happens.

In fact, we highly recommend making CNNSI.com the first stop on your new weekly "offseason" study program. In addition to the usual collection of wire service stories, you'll find some of the best inside information available anywhere as delivered by pros like Don Banks, Peter King, Paul Kirwan and the inimitable Dr. Z.

And of course, the Back Page will continue rolling on a weekly basis, ensuring a solid supply of Fantasy-specific info to compliment the straight NFL news.

I'll kick things off next Friday by tossing out the complete list of offensive skill players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents on March 1 before running through each position on a weekly basis over the next month. We'll also spend some time previewing this year's incoming rookie skill players before shifting the emphasis more towards the all-important -- and seemingly endless -- series of mini-camps, quarterback schools, coaching sessions and conditioning programs that take place throughout May and June.

Remember: Serious Fantasy owners realize that superior knowledge is the key to fielding a consistent winner; and I'm going to make sure you find exactly that right here. We 're going to spend the next six months making sure that's exactly what you get from CNNSI.com's Fantasy Central.

And let's get one last thing out of the way. I suggest spending the a few minutes honing your ability to mimic Jim Mora as part of your preparation for the inevitable questions from other owners in your league wondering why you're spending time studying news in the "offseason. ..."

I suggest keeping 'em guessing by launching into a Mora-esque diatribe anytime somebody gets up the nerve to ask you. ... Something along these lines might be nice:

"Offseason?!?" Don't talk about "offseason. ..." Are you kidding me? "Offseason?!?" I'm just hoping to make it to the exhibition season.

We'll see ya next week.

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