NFL in London

National Football League in London

2023 NFL Frankfurt

AFC North Peek

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The season is nearly upon us, as Ryan and Wade throw up a little podcast with an AFC North Peek.
Who will top this tough division?

Wade & Ryan also look at all the top NFL news going on in the league, and in your fantasy circles.

If you want to hear the full podcast, just have a listen here:

Some of the things that the guys hit on in this episode includes:

Preseason Koolaid

The NFL preseason games are finally here, and people are losing their minds!
Folks in the UK are struggling with their Gamepass/ DAZN woes, those in the US are watching stadium blackout, and every other fan is screaming ‘what about my fantasy team?!!?’
Worst of all are those ardent fans who watch one preseason games of 3 stringers, and suddenly proclaim that they’re team is now going to ‘win it all.’
‘Bro, it was Jordan Love against some bums. Most of them will be gone in 3 weeks.’
Doesn’t matter to this who believe, which is why this the best time of the year to snag them into a big season bet.
You think the Cowboys are going to win it all? How much?
After all, the best part about the preseason is being able to circle back months later to remind a friend about their August proclamation.
That’s a good Tik Tok.

Running Drama

Suddenly it sucks to be a running back in the NFL.

Gone are the highlight thrills of being an AP, or the shirt-term forgets about how dominating Dalvin Cook and Derick Henry could be.
The RBs of 2023 are all looking at league minimum contracts on teams that have spent all of their cash, and are just hoping that they can get a committee of bodies to throw on the pile.
Sound more like the Wagner unit?

Hamlin Hits It

Bills defensive player Damar Hamlin was finally back on the field and tossing hits, since his near fatal cardiac arrest in January.
Hamlin was admittedly nervous when he took to the field, with a bodily reminder that a tough hit can even stop your heart.
Fans will be anxiously watching all season as players on the cusp of re-injury put themselves back on the line again.
Let’s hope we never have to see what happened to Damar on the field again.

Pederson Problems

The Jacksonville Jaguars were all smiles when head coach Doug Pederson was able to use nepotism to bring his boy Josh onto the team earlier this year.
Although Josh had spent most of his career playing tight end, he was slotted to the enviable role of long snapper for the Jags preseason game last week.
All did not go well for young Pederson who overshot his mark, and send the ball flying away.
Is this an allegory for Pederson’s NFL career?
Perhaps. Odds are that Josh will be cut by the end of preseason.

AFC North Peek

Ryan and Wade also make their predictions for the standings in the highly touted AFC North.
The Bengals will be looking to go that step further this year, but don’t count out the feisty Ravens with Lamar, and the confident Browns with Deshaun back at the helm.
Ryan has the division going as such:
1. Ravens 2. Steelers 3. Bengals 4. Browns
He’s big on Lamar and Baltimore winning the whole thing, with the Steelers also making a run for a playoff spot.
Wade sees the AFC North looking like:
1. Bengals 2. Ravens 3. Browns 4. Steelers
Joe Burrow can’t be counted out in a year where they really need to get to the show, but the Steelers are not going to be as good as everyone predicts.
Which order do you have them in? Let us know!

London Ballin’

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Normally we would be gushing about all things NFL in London, but after taking a trip to the MLB games at WestHam stadium this past weekend, we thought we would touch on baseball with a little London Ballin’ news.

Baseball was back in London after taking a Covid break following their first games in 2019.
Back then, we were treated to the Yankees and BoSox blasting so many homers, they actually scored more runs than the first NFL game here.

The 2023 series featured two teams at the bottom of their division, as the St Louis Cardinals hosted the Chicago Cubs in an NL Central dumpster fire across the pond.
Sure the teams might be struggling to make the post season, but that should be nothing new to NFLUK fans who have witnessed some truly dire games.

Despite the premonition that this might be a ‘sucky series’, the games delivered, and all of the fans seemed to thoroughly enjoying the novelty of having baseball in London, with the weather helping to make the whole weekend magical.

That being said, we did have a few thoughts on how the games went down.

The Good

MLB Europe

Wow, they really can put on a show! From the games themselves, to the craziness of Trafalgar Square takeover, London really went big baseball for the weekend.

Having the benefit of the NFL hosting games for a few decades is obviously going to help, but the MLB seemed to go above and beyond in putting it all together.

Unlike early NFL games which seemed a bit chaotic when Wembley was still growing,  the MLB seemed to have a finger on all of the action, making everything feel quite seamless.
As a fan, it’s nice to have consistency from North America, and for European fans to get the real deal experience.

The Games

It was quite the dinger fest on Saturday, as the Cubs took advantage of the short wall, to pop a few over the fence.

St. Louis rebounded in true form on the Sunday, given midwest fans a chance to salivate in the fact that they were able to snag a win abroad.

While there might have been more pomp and circumstance poured into the trip than the games itself, they certainly didn’t disappoint.

Celebrities

The NFL usually brings over their usual slug of ex-players and hangers on, but with baseball, everything is a little different.

The Cubs have a legacy of some great celeb fans, so when Bill Murray and Nick Offerman showed up to offer support to battle the heavyweight status of John Goodman and his Cards, it all started to feel quite Hollywoody.

Add to this was Bill Murray’s hilarious and rambling appearance on BT Sport during the game. Not only was Bill too quick-witted for the hosts, when he finally had enough, he just walked away.
Classic Bill.

The Bad

It’s never fun to crap on someone who goes out of their way to host you, but sometimes you need to address the mighty elephants in the room.

Atmosphere

While it certainly looked like a baseball game, in no way did it feel like one inside the stadium.
A lack of home field announcer, walk on music, or any vibe was quite shocking, as it just felt silent and awkward.

Maybe other people could hear, but where we seated up by the Cardinals Wags, it was shockingly quiet.

To that, it did seem that there was a caste system of enjoyment for MLB fans on the night.
Those seated near the first base line were treated to t-shirts, appearances and engagement, while the rest of the stadium looked on in a ‘what’s going on here’?

There was also a ‘house band’ which not only no one could see, but barely hear. The might have been there to pump up the crowd, but no one could hear or care.

Food

For all the talk of bringing the baseball to Britain, maybe they should have left the food at home.

A much touted ‘2 foot hot dog’ with all the toppings seemed a bit much, and they were, as people littered them all over the stadium. You didn’t need to walk far to spot lost weiners all over the place, and needed to address you walk to avoid stepping on them.

All of the food sampled by our group was cringe enough to add plans of ‘stopping at McDonald’s’ on the way home.

Don’t even get us started on the Dorito Nachos…they were everywhere too!

Dirty Dirty

Unlike other stadiums, it seems like the staff at WestHam stadium don’t clean up during the games.

In fact one toilet near our gate was NEVER cleaned the entire game. By the 7th inning they might as well have locked the doors, as the bins were over-filling, plastic cups and food littered the floor, and just so much piss everywhere.

It could be that there were staffing issues, as we encountered some of the rudest stadium employees ever.
Turns out you can’t ask questions of staff manning the doors to the numerous private rooms on the upper decks.
Asking something like ‘are there bars on this floor’ were responded with such venom, one would think we asked if Ted Lasso was here.

All in all, it was a great series of games, and an enjoyable weekend of baseball in the capital.

But like anything, there is still a learning curve here to climb.

 

 

June News

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You hear that May? It was a ‘see ya!’, as we move ever closer to the start of the 2023 NFL season, and we hit you with some June News!

You see once June is gone, then it’s July, and then hoo-wee, it’s preseason, and training camp, and time to start thinking of your fantasy options for the new year.

Here are some of the stories that we have been following:

Brady Owns You

So Tom Brady is finally an NFL owner, and everyone starting thinking the same thing ‘he’s going to play again.’

With a tough set of rules that includes needing a positive vote from every NFL team, not to mention the fact that fat-Brady hasn’t been seen doing anything physical, means that Brady will most definitely not be suiting up for the Raiders.

It would be nice if big-wig owner Mark Davis forced TB12 to have to get a haircut similar to his, and they could match outfits and walk around like twins.

For one of those men, this would be a major league dream. Let you guess who that player might be.

Dee-Hopping

Now that the Cardinals have flushed away the big time payday of star WR Deandre Hopkins, now comes the big question as to who could afford him.

With DH wanting at least $15M guaranteed, that is a big-ass bridge too far for many clubs who are struggling to do the maths on their salary caps.

Given that he asking for that much money, it looks like the Cowboys and Giants are out of the discussion, as there is no way they can find that kind of cash in the couch cushions.

Of course one team that does have that kind of money is the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Be a scary thought to put all that action together, but it seems likely.

Bear the Eff Off

It looked like the Bears were going to be shuffling off to Arlington Heights in a few years, as the tattered Soldier Field seems less and less desirable for the Bears org.

Boasting the smallest stadium in the NFL with one of the oldest franchises, many are wondering where the Bears will go to build on the next hundred years.

It seems that Arlington might be off the table, as a recent look at the tax situation means that the Bears might not only NOT get a good deal, it is now WAY more expensive to move north than they originally thought.

Chicago Bears org has now been crying that they will need some sort of tax help to make the move a reality. Really hard to see through those tears in a cost of living crisis.

Ed Bills

The Buffalo Bill finally stretched their tight pants to pull out the wallet, and pay DT Ed Oliver.

Often inconsistent, Oliver was a top 10 pick that has had moments of shine for Buffalo.

The Bills agreed to a four-year, $68 million deal that guarantees Ed at least $45million, and should have him settle in nicely for the Bills.

Going to be a tough D division with a Patriots squad that just seems to keep getting better.

Pools, Pools, Pools

Just an FYI for all you NFL fans in the UK that we are looking to expand on our Weekly Fantasy Pools once again this year.

After expanding on our offerings last season, we are now looking to add a few new leagues for UK fans to play along in.

With a mix of free and pay to play leagues across the NFL app, ESPN and Sleepr, we are hoping to create a big more excitement this season, and develop a bit of a fantasy hub so that you guys can get involved as well.

Please feel free to reach out to us, and we will get you on the list of potential players for this season.

Thanks for reading our June News, and here’s to having a great summer of 2023!

Top 10 NFL Coaches of All Time

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Let’s shake up the Argument Tree by asking who are the ‘Top NFL Coaches of All Time’!
Sure this kind of click bait type of headline is sure to fire up some of our ardent fans, but don’t worry, we let ChatGPT do it.
Not to miss out on the digital-slavery part of history, we sequestered an AI to craft an article on the ‘Top 10 NFL Coaches of All Time.’

So how does it do? Let’s find out and take a look at the list.

The National Football League (NFL) has witnessed countless coaching greats who have left an indelible mark on the game. These strategic masterminds have steered their teams to glory, sculpting dynasties and inspiring generations of players. In this article, we dive into the fascinating world of NFL coaching to bring you the top 10 coaches of all time. Brace yourself for a blend of informative insights, quirky anecdotes, and a dash of humor as we celebrate these legendary figures.

  1. Vince Lombardi – The Perfectionist Maestro:

Kicking off our list is none other than Vince Lombardi, the epitome of coaching excellence. Known for his relentless pursuit of perfection, Lombardi led the Green Bay Packers to five NFL Championships, including the first two Super Bowl victories. His stern demeanor and iconic quotes like, “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing,” still resonate within the football community. Lombardi was a true legend and set the benchmark for greatness.

  1. Bill Belichick – The Hooded Genius:

No top 10 list would be complete without the modern-day coaching genius, Bill Belichick. The mastermind behind the New England Patriots’ dynasty, Belichick’s meticulous attention to detail and ability to adapt are unparalleled. Whether it’s his poker-faced sideline demeanor or his affinity for hoodies, Belichick’s success and his dry wit make him a force to be reckoned with and a man of few words, unless you mention the Jets!

  1. Don Shula – The Winningest Coach:

Don Shula, the iconic coach of the Miami Dolphins, etched his name in the annals of NFL history. With 347 career victories, he holds the record for the most wins by a head coach. Shula’s wit and leadership helped him lead the Dolphins to two Super Bowl victories and an undefeated season in 1972, earning him the nickname “Donnie Football.” He might not have always smiled, but when he did, it was usually followed by a victory.

  1. Bill Walsh – The Architect of a Dynasty:

Bill Walsh’s innovative offensive strategies revolutionized the game. As the architect of the San Francisco 49ers’ dynasty in the 1980s, he introduced the groundbreaking West Coast offense. Known for his attention to detail, Walsh’s humor often came through in his “Walshisms” – pithy one-liners that kept players on their toes. The combination of his wit and strategic genius earned him a place among the greatest coaches of all time.

  1. Tom Landry – The Stetson-Wearing Legend:

Tom Landry, the iconic coach of the Dallas Cowboys, epitomized class and style on the sidelines. Sporting his trademark fedora, Landry led the Cowboys to two Super Bowl victories and appeared in five. His calm and composed demeanor earned him the nickname “The Man in the Hat.” Under that cool exterior, Landry’s dry sense of humor added an extra dimension to his coaching prowess.

  1. Chuck Noll – The Steeler of Success:

Chuck Noll is synonymous with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ success in the 1970s. Noll’s calm and composed approach helped him build a dynasty, guiding the Steelers to four Super Bowl wins. Known for his witty comebacks and playful banter with players, he balanced authority and camaraderie to create an environment of excellence. Noll’s coaching style reminds us that humor and success can go hand in hand.

  1. Joe Gibbs – The Racing Champion Turned Coach:

Joe Gibbs, a former NASCAR racing team owner, transitioned seamlessly into coaching and found remarkable success with the Washington Redskins. Known for his sharp wit and humor, Gibbs led the Redskins to three Super Bowl victories. His ability to motivate players and his strategic brilliance made him a beloved figure both on and off the field. Whether he was calling plays or cracking jokes, Gibbs knew how to keep the team fired up and laughing their way to victory.

  1. Paul Brown – The Innovative Mastermind:

Paul Brown, the founder and original coach of the Cleveland Browns, was a true innovator. He introduced a host of new strategies and techniques that revolutionized the game. Brown’s dry sense of humor and quick wit added an extra dimension to his coaching prowess. His famous quote, “The key to being a good manager is keeping the people who hate you away from those who are still undecided,” showcases his ability to lighten the mood while staying focused on success.

  1. Bill Parcells – The Big Tuna:

Nicknamed “The Big Tuna,” Bill Parcells left an indelible mark on the NFL with his tough, no-nonsense coaching style. Parcells’ ability to turn struggling teams around and lead them to success is legendary. His dry humor often came through in his press conferences, leaving reporters both amused and perplexed. Parcells had a knack for delivering punchy one-liners, making him as entertaining off the field as he was formidable on it.

  1. George Halas – The Founding Father:

Rounding out our list is the legendary George Halas, the founder of the Chicago Bears and one of the architects of the NFL itself. Halas’ coaching career spanned over four decades, during which he led the Bears to six NFL Championships. Known for his fiery personality and sharp wit, Halas was a true pioneer of the game. He once quipped, “Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it,” a sentiment that perfectly encapsulates his commitment to excellence.

Conclusion:

The top 10 NFL coaches of all time have left an enduring legacy on the sport, achieving remarkable success while injecting humor and wit into the game. From the perfectionist ways of Vince Lombardi to the dry humor of Bill Belichick and the witty banter of Joe Gibbs, these coaching greats have inspired players and fans alike.

Their ability to lead, strategize, and entertain has solidified their places in football history. As we celebrate these legends, let us not only cherish their coaching achievements but also appreciate the smiles, laughter, and occasional comedic relief they brought to the intensity of the game.

Not a bad job for an AI, although we would comment that the list is notably lacking any coaches of colour, as well as Nathaniel Hackett.