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Atlanta Falcons training camp kicks off this week and players are already rolling into Flowery Branch. This is an important milestone for football fans everywhere. It's simple: training camp immediately precedes the preseason which immediately precedes meaningful football. It's been a long off-season and we've tried our best not to bore you. But never fear, Falcoholics, because as Dave likes to say after a fifth of Mad Dog 50/50, "it's 'bout to get poppin'."
Meanwhile the NFL just released their 2017 off-season dates. Here are some dates you might want to throw in your calendar:
March 9, 2017
New league year kicks off and free agency begins. The Falcons may have some hard decisions to make.
April 17, 2017
Teams with returning head coaches can begin their off-season programs. Assuming Dan Quinn isn't fired between now and then, the Falcons will start their OTAs on or around this date.
April 27-29, 2017
The 2017 NFL Draft. Ideally the Falcons will be picking 32nd. (But let's be honest, we're probably looking at something halfway through the first round; just low enough to avoid the "sure things" but just high enough to get our hopes up.)
Your thoughts?