The 2010 NFL Schedule is Released!
Is it Christmas morning? No, that’s what Thursday will feel like. It must be my birthday. No, that will be in September when the Falcons begin the regular season.
It has be something though because tonight at 7pm ET, the 2010 NFL Schedule will be released. Outside of the NFL Draft, the release of the schedule is the highlight of an otherwise quiet period for an NFL fan.
We’ve known WHO the Atlanta Falcons will be playing and WHERE they’ll be playing them but today we found out the WHEN.
J. Michael Moore thinks the Falcons could see as many as four primetime games this season.
Perhaps even a Thursday night kickoff vs. the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints? One can hope.
Check back at Blogging Dirty as we break down the schedule as only an absurdly biased Falcon fan can do. In the meantime, let’s get caught up on the NFL happenings that will distract for the final five months of the offseason.
ESPN provides us with some key dates for the 2010 offseason.
April 21: Deadline for old club to exercise right of first refusal to restricted free agents.
April 22-24: Draft, New York. Lots of different opinions on who’ll the Falcons will take.
May 24-26: NFL spring meeting, Dallas
June 1: Deadline for old clubs to send tender to unsigned unrestricted free agents to receive exclusive negotiating rights for rest of season if player is not signed by another club by July 22.
June 1: Deadline for old clubs to send tender to unsigned restricted free agents or to extend qualifying offer to retain exclusive negotiating rights.
June 15: Deadline for old clubs to withdraw original qualifying offer to unsigned restricted free agents and still retain exclusive negotiating rights by substituting tender of 110 percent of previous year’s salary.
June 27-30: NFL Rookie Symposium, Carlsbad, Calif.
Mid-July: Training camps open. We should know July 1st when the Falcons officially begin.
July 22: Signing period ends at 4 p.m. for unrestricted free agents who received June 1 tender.
Aug. 8: Pro Football Hall of Fame Game: Cowboys vs. Bengals, 8 p.m. ET, Canton, Ohio
Aug. 12-16: First preseason weekend
Aug. 31: Roster cutdown to maximum of 75 players.
Sept. 4: roster cutdown to maximum of 53 players
Sept. 9-13: Kickoff 2010 Weekend. Will the Falcons be playing on Thursday night?
Sept. 12: TBD at Giants, Meadowlands Stadium
Sept. 13: TBD at Jets, Meadowlands Stadium
Feb. 6, 2011: Super Bowl XLV, Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas. Will the Falcons be representing the NFC in this game?