It's almost that time of year when we normally have the NFL schedule. Last year, it was revealed on April 18th. That's still a week away, so maybe the league can still hit that mark. For now, we'll have to make do with the preseason schedule, which was released on Wednesday.

The full preseason schedule can be seen at this link. The games don't count and the starters often play very little, but whatever, let's make a few observations anyway.

Week 1 is probably the least interesting, since starters might not play at all in most games. That's too bad, since it's there where we have some interesting matchups. For example, there's a Super Bowl rematch in Denver, with the Seahawks at the Broncos. Maybe Russell Wilson and Peyton Manning will get on the field for a series or two, and we can see if the Seahawks pass rush is still as intimidating without Chris Clemons and Red Bryant on the defensive line, and if Denver's protection will miss guard Zane Beadles (and benefit from having Ryan Clady back). Realistically, though, Manning will hand the ball off a few times and be out of the lineup by the second series.

Week 2 puts Manning and company against another Super Bowl-caliber defense, San Francisco. In that game we might see a little more of the starters, fun because it's the Super Bowl matchup we almost got. At a glance the most interesting game is Philadelphia at New England, since both Chip Kelly and Bill Belichick are maverick types of coaches who might very well send the starters out onto the field for a half and see what they can do. Other interesting games, to me anyway, are Kansas City and Carolina (how will Carolina's offense do with its new receiving corps and largely different offensive line?), Miami and Tampa Bay (a lot of offensive changes on these teams, as well), and Cleveland and Washington (who will be Cleveland's starting quarterback? How will Ben Tate do in his new address? What will Washington's new offense look like?).

Week 3, of course, is when the starters typically play into the third quarter, and it's the most interesting week from a fantasy perspective. So it's good that we've got some fun games: how about Chicago, and Marc Trestman's powerful offense, traveling to Seattle? Saints and Drew Brees versus Colts and Andrew Luck? Panthers-Patriots, Chargers-49ers; both of those games match strong offenses against great defenses. And can we get a preseason fantasy league of Green Bay players, squaring off with Oakland's talent-thin team? Steelers-Eagles also carries some interest.

Week 4 is typically a backup-heavy week, so it's tough to get too excited about Patriots-Giants, Broncos-Cowboys, or Colts-Bengals. But at least you can have those games on in the background during your fantasy draft.

I know, these are preseason games. Not worth getting too excited about. But it's better than nothing. It means we're getting even closer to the start of another fantasy season.