Dallas Cowboys

August Headlines

August 2, 2022 by nflinlondon

It’s official, there will be NFL games played this month.
Sure, they will be preseason, but football is back baby!

It wouldn’t be an off-season, without a bit of drama-and boy did the 2022 soft months provide a lot of entertainment!

Let’s take a look at some of the big news in our August Headlines!

Deshaun

The league has finally laid down it’s iron-fist ruling in the NFL vs Deshaun Watson, and the league has ruled…6 games!

Six? Only six Why not more? What not less? What about Calvin Ridley? What if he blew pot smoke in their faces instead? Would be get a season?

The judge ruled that Watson wasn’t violent, but did still must miss 6 games in penance for his groping actions.

It’s been a long road for Watson, the League, fans and of course all of the women who have made the accusations.
Let’s not forget it all started with Watson demanding a trade from the Texans, and the owner and many fans reminding Deshaun not to ‘mess with Texas’.

You wrestle the bull, you get the horns.

No one will be happy with this outcome because it’s been such a stain over the past year.

Hopefully we can all get on with some football, and the Browns can get back doing what they do best…disappoint their fans.

London Tickets

Tickets for the London games went on sale and flew off the digital shelves.

Did you get tickets, or were you beaten to the punch by digital ticket touts?

While we have heard some truly horrific ticketing stories, experience teaches us it all works out in the end.

With a few months to go until the London games, there will likely be more tickets released, as well as circumstances in which fans can’t make it, making their tickets available.

Be patient, watch the Facebook pages and fan groups, and don’t buy from scalpers. You will definitely be sad if you do.

Fantasy 2022

It’s time for another NFL Fantasy season, which means it’s time to start doing your research.

Some fans like to do their NFL Fantasy Draft now, which makes you quite the silly sausage.

Sure, it’s exciting to be able to start making up your line-ups, but preseason hasn’t even begin yet!
There is still plenty of time for injuries, insight and idiocy to see players burn and turn themselves out of the season before it even begins.

Be patient young grasshopper, the season is long.

Buc’ing Knee

Sad news for the TB Bucs, as starting centre for Ryan Jensen blew out his knee in epic preseason form, making Tommy B vulnerable to start the 2022 season.

As mentioned above (preseason injuries) can wreck havoc on a lockeroom, as the guys you thought would be your pillars, are instead relegated to the bench.

Robert Hainsey will try to jump into the role despite only being in his second year.

Will the Bucs be using bondo and duct tape to make a 2023 playoff run?

It’s starting to look that way.

Pay Deebo

Despite being used in a utility role by the 49ers last season, Deebo wasn’t paid for his jack of all trades-ness.

After complaining to San Fran that he wanted to get paid, and not crippled-they 49ers threw a load of cash at Deebo in a 3 year deal with $58 mil guaranteed and up to $73m in specialness.

Injuries forced San Fran to use Deebo in a more ‘help us’ role last season as the team got snaked by injuries, will they be looking to use him in this capacity this year?

Not if they want to keep him alive.

There’s lots of cash being thrown around the league at speedsters teams hope will lead their teams. Is Deebo going to be too much cash to splash?

Boz Man

Chris Boswell put it through the uprights this week, inking a massive 4 year, $20.5m deal that will see him guaranteed $12.5m, and tying him with Justin Tucker as the highest paid kicker in the NFL.

It’s a far cry from 2015, when Boswell had already been cut by the Steelers three times, and was slotted as fourth on Pittsburgh’s kicking roster.

The 31 year old Boswell has ‘no pressure’ on him this year.

Would you rather have Boswell or Tucker on your fantasy team?
Exactly.

Watch this space, as we will have some NFL Fantasy news for you to make your season fun!

London Games 2022

May 19, 2022 by nflinlondon

‘Whomp there it is’, in the words of the immortal ‘Tag Team’ we now know the full dealio for the NFL London games 2022.

Who’s coming? Where are they playing? Is Antonio Brown coming?
All of these questions answered and more in a ‘too early to tell’ about what’s going to actually go down for these games.
We are fuelled by excitement at this point.

Germany

Raise up your steins and scream out a ‘Prosit!’, as the NFL makes its way to southern Germany for a great 2022 game, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Seattle Seahawks in Munich.

Slated for November 13th at 2:30 pm GMT (9:30am EST)-this is the penultimate game in the international series this season.

Everyone in Europe knows that the Germans have a HUGE love for the NFL, and are some of the nicest, coolest fans to pop to London when the games are in the UK.

German fans deserve this game, although they may not deserve a Drew Lock led Seattle team that will probably get blitzed by the Bucs D all day, every day.

Todd Bowles will be at the reigns for the Bucs this season, with Tom Brady being the best dang sports ambassador for the league in decades.

Who knows, maybe TB12 will jump behind the FOX booth to throw down a little broadcasting while he’s at it too?

Wembley

Once the most prestigious stadium in Europe, Wembley is back once again to panhandle a game from the Jags for the series.

Wembley is a far cry from its early 2000s’ NFL games, when there was nothing around the stadium, and fans found their own tailgating options-often gooning back tinnies in the Curry’s parking lot before kickoff.

This October sees the return of Russ, as Russell Wilson and his new look Broncos will be ready to rock the Urban Meyer-less Jacksonville Jaguars.

October 30th sees the Jacksonville Jaguars hosting the Denver Broncos for a 1:30pm (9:30amEST) kickoff in northwest London.

Chances are both teams will already have a losing record heading to London, but that’s the momentum they’ll need to head home and kick some ass.

Tottenham Stadium

Welcome to the jungle, as north London gets two beauties of games at the brand spanking newish stadium in Tottenham.

Sure, there is nothing to do around the stadium-and some of the side streets look pretty dodgy, but what a stadium!

White Hart Lane will be banging for two straight weeks of NFL games, as early October brings us our own harvest of gridiron feasts.

Sunday October 2 sees the New Orleans Saints hosting the Minnesota Vikings in a miracle rematch that will have NFC fans frothing.
With a 2:30pm (GMT) kickoff, this will be the first of our international games, and will harken back to 2017 when these two teams faced off in the playoffs.

It will be the Kirk Cousins led speedsters versus the punishing D of the Saints, in what should be a very exciting NFL game to start our journey.

Sunday October 9th is the day that Cheeseheads in UK will be sniffing their fingers, as Aaron Rodgers and the Pack make their first appearance ever in Europe, when the Green Bay Packers host the New York Giants at Tottenham.

It’s been a long wait for Wiconsinites in the UK, as the heralded Packers are finally playing their first game in Britain.

This game will sell out very quickly, and will be as tight as the Packers cap space for this season.

Going to be a great game!

Mexico

Ola! Welcome to Mexico City-please put your laser pointers in the bin-as the Arizona Cardinals host the San Francisco 49ers Sunday May 21st in Estadio Azteca at 1:30am GMT.

Will Jimmy G be leading the charge, or will they Trey Lance the boil that is the 49ers QB situation?

This game will have major divisional consequences, and it’s too bad it will be too late to watch.

Fun Things

We are already very excited about the games, and are working on some tailgating, after parties, as well as regular season events to entertain our loyal fans.

Watch this space as we drip feed some of the exciting things we will be doing for 2022!

Ontario Best Bets

April 4, 2022 by nflinlondon

Congrats sports betting fans in Ontario, Canada!
Your province has finally welcomed you into the world of legal sports betting!

So what does that mean for our NFL fans in Ontar-e-air-e-air-e-oh?
Some great betting opportunities, which we will break down as we look at some of the companies setting up shop in our Ontario Best Bets.

Ontario Boys

Our own Wade and Ryan hail from the province of Ontario, Canada, so they know the pains and perils of having to use the antiquated ‘Pro Line’ parlay.
They have also lived in England long enough to know what makes a good betting company.

Pro Line was great in the early days, especially when they didn’t realise they didn’t keep on top of their Premier League product, and punters were able to bet on soccer games that already happened.

Canada has been WAY behind the world when it comes to the world of betting, so bettors are in for a quick, and steep learning curve.

What it Is

Ontario’s can now bet online on sports and casino games from April 4, 2022.

This was a pretty grey and dodgy market, as numerous casino providers have found ways to target Canadians with free to play slots and other late night shenanigans.

Sportsbooks must register with the provinces iGaming Market must first register with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission, and since Canada loves ‘rules’, the arduous process has weeded out some of the less enthusiastic providers.

Bettors can be registered anywhere in the world, but they need to be in Ontario to make the bets.

Major sports are fair game to bet on, but amateur sports (CHL) and virtual sports are off limit.
Horseracing is run the federal mafia…government, so those betting companies looking to lock up the ponies will need to tweak their products.

Foreign Influence

As you can well imagine, all of these betting companies are foreign (The Score has Canadian roots), and have very little experience with Canadian betting habits.

What we have seen from the rapid expansion of America, is that many European betting companies run roughshod into the market, without even knowing the nuances of what audiences are looking for.

Odds that are formatted in European standards, failing to comprehend nuances in sport selection, and a general arrogance of ‘we know what you want to bet on’ attitude has actually frightened as many people as it ha enticed.

Canada (and Ontario) are massive territories and markets with incredibly diversity.
Hopefully these companies don’t attempt to shoebox bettors into limited options like they have south of the border.

Best Bets

So which of these betting companies is going to offer you not only the best selection, but also the best learning curve to getting your bet on?

There are two that we would recommend given previous experience, but of course we are UK based now, and haven’t used these Ontario products (yet).

We do have decades of betting experience, and have worked with many of these companies, so we will tap into that.

One thing to note is the variety of new players to the market (or those who renamed themselves).

Just because it has a fancy new name, doesn’t mean that you should trust them with your money.

So the two betting sites that we as Ontarian’s with sports betting experience would suggest?

1. The Score

Ontarians will be familiar with The Score, a mainstay of sports TV in the early 2000s.

After being tucked into the belt of Rogers Media, then Penn National Gaming, The Score has positioned itself as one of the emerging sources of Canadian sports media.

The Score app constantly wins rave reviews for its comprehensive lineup of sports content, and has been a driving force into tapping into emerging platforms.

Canadians LOVE a consistent Canadian brand that provides them with that they need (Tim Horton’s, Swiss Chalet, PornHub) & The Score offers the best betting options that we have seen for the Canadian betting market.

A good betting option, despite their cringe-worthy commercials.

https://www.thescore.bet/

2. DraftKings

After years of spending fast cash on countless commercials, Draftkings has solidified itself in the eyes and minds of Ontario bettors.

Despite starting our as a DFS only option, Draftkings has matured its offerings by pivoting to the demand for traditional sports betting options.

Draftkings has had a presence in Canada for the past 7 years, so they stand to transition to this whole new provincial positioning.

DK was late to the party in Ontario in terms of license application, but it’s safe to say that DraftKings will be able to get in the game in 2022.

Hit up Draftkings here.

https://www.draftkings.com

Notable Mentions

European bookmakers Bet365, 888, & Unibet all make the splash across the pond in April, as they attempt to do what Marks & Spencer failed to do, sustain a British invasion.
All three of these providers are noticeably tone deaf to North American sports, with Bet365 offering a shambolic NFL product that’s so bad, it’s deletable.

Poinstbet, the thunder from down under is another new player to the North American betting scene.
Despite not having much experience in global sports betting, Pointsbet has decided to splash the cash, tossing toonies at the likes of Curling Canada and the Trailer Park Boys.
It’s like they Googled ‘What do Canadians Like?’ without actually talking to Canadians.
Canadians are happy to take free money, but we don’t appreciate being fed the same diet as Americans.
A cautionary tale for other big brands who have tried to roll onto the tundra with deep pockets, only to realise Canadians don’t think this way, in fact-it turns them off.

Yankee Doodle Dandies like BetMGM, and Caesars Sportsbook have been on a mission to conquer the world!
Sadly they should first conquer their products, which pale as cheap imitations compared to some of the more established players.
Just like Vegas, these products are new, cheap, and filled with smoke.

Who the what now? Other new brands like Coolbet, Casimba, Fitzdares and Rivalry are also new to the province, but will mostly be targeting the elderly with their casino products.
Time will tell if they last or go the way of Nando’s.

Smart Bets

If you’re new to sports betting, take it slow.

There’s no need to rush into the sports betting game if you’re not sure what you’re doing.

And never spend more than you can afford! Keep it less than your weekly coffee spend if you just want to have some fun.

Keep watching this space. We will update on the progress of Ontario and Canada betting as we know more.

Any remember, it’s yours to discover.

Spree Agency

March 16, 2022 by nflinlondon

Just when you thought that the NFL off season couldn’t get any more wild, we get the week that was.

Brady is back, Wentz is whimping in Washington, and Baker Mayfield is whining again.

Let’s take a look at some of the top NFL things that happened in Spree Agency this week.

Brady is Back

Hold my beer Aaron, the real GOAT is back in action.

After watching the Packers commit crazy money to Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady looked at it all and said ‘now they’re broke, I think I’m ready to return.’

Tommy must really hate his family, after all, why would he retire, then spend with his clan, only to return a few weeks late like ‘screw this crap.’

Luckily, the UK played a role in TB12’s return, as it was a trip to Old Trafford with the Glazers that solidified Tom’s return to Tampa.

Nothing like Cristiano Ronaldo looking at you and saying ‘are you really done old man?’ to get those juices flowing again.

Getting Randy

Randy Gregory was a beast on the Cowboys, adding to the ferocity that was a D that kept them in games.

Despite ‘Dem Boyz touting the return of Gregory to the fold, he quickly doused that rumour and signed with the Broncos this week.

Jerry Jones is said to be livid that he isn’t able to hold on to all the toys that he can no longer afford.

At the end of the day it was the tone of the contract, rather than the digits that swayed Gregory to switch over to the Broncos.

That Denver team keeps getting better.

Safety Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens added to their inept D by grabbing a steal from the Saints in safety Marcus Williams.

This shut down man finally gets paid, after being previously franchise tagged in New Orleans.

Williams will be happy to get 5 years of $70 million smackers, but he also gets to be the top dawg in a D that showed signs of promise last season.

Deshaun Lottery

It’s panty dropping time for some of the teams, as they show off their goods in hopes of securing the talents of QB Deshaun Watson.

The Browns, Saints and Falcons are all emerging as top landing spots for Watson, despite the fact that the NFL might still decide that he has penance coming his way.

The 26 year old still has 22 outstanding civil lawsuits pending, which are almost 1 for every year of his young life.

Whoever lands Watson will see their Super Bowl odds jump dramatically.

Landing Gage

No sooner did TB12 announce his return to the league, then the Bucs made a run for a division rival WR.

Speedster Russell Gage will provide a nice compliment to Chris Godwin, as the Bucs add key talent to their roster to make another run at the title this year.

Packers fans must be confused, how can a team get a top QB..AND new players.

What? Do they have money or something?

Packing the Wallet

Speaking of the Packers, there are already money problems coming from the land o’cheese, as Devante Adams is becoming Deviante Adams in his responses to the front office.

Adams is not only not happy with the tag, but also the paltry money being offered for his services this season.

While he did commit to being with his boy Aaron, how much is he expected to suck up to make sure that Rodgers is happy?

Jagging It

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been a running joke for the past decade, but will their off season moves finally mean some wins in the season?

The Jags are all-in behind Trevor Lawrence, and have spent some flashy cash in the past week adding some talent to support him.

Jacksonville splashed almost $200m on 6 free agents, apparently forgetting that you can attempt to negotiate with players for better deals.

Will it add up to wins? It hasn’t thus far.

London Games

The London matches should be announced very shortly.

We will keep you all in the loop with the NFL in London news, as well as some of our plans for the 2022 London games.

Memes A Plenty

March 9, 2022 by nflinlondon

Hear that silence?
It’s the NFL season slowly deflating like a ball in the Patriots locker room.

While the frenetic energy of the NFL season is still a scant 5 months away, we have been treated to some great NFL news to tide us over.

Of course, the best way to keep in touch with the NFL season, is just to check out all the wonderful memes that are floating around.

We have collated and curated some of the best, most recent ones, in our Memes A Plenty post.

Among some of the top meme news that gets touched on here includes.

Aaron Rodgers is Back

The Packers finally caved like Putin wished the Ukrainians would, and relented to the onslaught of Aaron’s agent.

The deal will make the 38 year old Packer the highest paid player in the NFL, and guarantee that he will take up 22% of their entire budget.

That’s a lot of dosh for a guy who chokes out of the playoffs ever year, and is totally lacking the supporting crew to make up the rest of the team.

Davante Adams is good, but are both players worth a third of your entire budget? No.

The Packers need to win this year, or they will be hella broke for a long time.

Denver Russ

Russell Wilson is finally cooking again, after a massive trade deal to the Denver Broncos.

Despite head coach Pete Carroll saying that they were not going to get rid of Russ, they quickly shipped him off, taking Drew Lock and some change in the deal.

An ugly deal all around that will see both teams still struggling as a result.

London Games

You ready for some NFL London?

Games are still set for this fall, and we know that the Packers, Saints and Jaguars…and Aaron Rodgers will be finally set to make an appearance across the pond.

We will have more details about NFL parties and all that jazz as the games get closer.