It's too early to be pessimistic, the hearing on April 6 might do a lot to get both sides back to the negotiating table, but this bathroom story from Ron Borges at the Boston Herald (via PFT) says the NFL is settling in for "the long battle" and it's making me feel pessimistic.
Borges makes a lot of good points, including one that the NFL might need the union more than the players need it (to avoid violating anti-trust laws). They might need to go through the legal process to find out exactly how much leverage each side has.
The players can look back at the Reggie White vs. the NFL case which gave the players "better terms through litigation then the NFL offered at the bargaining table." With both sides refusing to budge, and I don't see why the players need to take a pay cut either, I feel like I'm going to be writing about a lot of draft prospects for another month, then the draft, and then a lot of court reporting after May 1. I'm not looking forward to it.