Posted by Ryan Wilson

After a marathon session Thursday that included the owners playing their version of rope-a-dope and switcheroo (neither of which were well received by the players -- shocking, we know), the two sides reconvened this morning to continue to work toward a new collective bargaining agreement.

CBSSports.com's Mike Freeman summed things up in this morning's The Daily Shoutout: "So here we are .. .again. Hanging on every word and piece of news and hopefully that news will get better in the coming days."

The speculation in recent weeks is that owners and players were hoping to have a new CBA, at least in principle, by mid-July. Specifics are hard to come by, primarily because both sides seem more interested in ending the lockout than staging a PR battle through the media. And for the most part, it's been a successful plan.

Citing three people who have been briefed on the negotiations, the New York Times' Judy Battista writes that "The N.F.L. had hoped to have at least an agreement in principle in place around the Fourth of July … [and] although a resolution remained possible within the next 10 days, it was more likely that negotiations would drag on past that time, with a better chance for a settlement coming the week of July 10."

One of Battista's sources added that "…the sides were close enough to complete a deal within 72 hours with intense effort. But dynamics among the parties, the person said, could stall a deal. The league is concerned that some lawyers and agents on the players’ side will prefer to wait, perhaps for a court decision that could sway negotiating leverage, before reaching an agreement."

So what does this mean?

On one hand, it's encouraging that both sides are taking negotiations seriously, even if it took almost four months of finger-pointing and name-calling to get to this point. On the other hand, you have to wonder what the owners were doing Thursday with their "Hey, look over there while we change the terms of the agreement!" strategy.

For the most part, talks seems to be moving in the right direction. The specifics of a new deal, or the precise date when it's struck, are unimportant. What is important is that there is a 2011 NFL season, in its entirety. That's all fans want.

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