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2021 Season Schedule

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The official NFL 2021 season Schedule is out, and boy did we guess wrong!
The NFL tickled us with surprise for this year, and what a pleasant surprise it is.

Wade & Ryan talk all about it in our 2021 Season Schedule Podcast.

Using the clues and hints dropped by the NFL, NFLUK and other rambling journos-we had anticipated a late October matchup with the Falcons and AFC opponent.
With the addition of the Jags to the mix, we then thought an NFC opponent would be plucked from the schedule to fill the role.
Given that the NFLUK likes to schedule games on consecutive weekends, we thus concluded the Patriots and Cardinals would be the visiting team at the end of October.
Nope and nope.

So, now we know the following NFL games

Sunday October 10, 2021-2:30pm GMT

NY Jets vs Atlanta Falcons

Sunday October 17th, 2021-2:30pm GMT

Miami Dolphins vs Jacksonville Jaguars

Some great games that we are highly looking forward to.

Among some of the other things the guys discuss in this episode includes.

London Games

When do tickets go on sale? How much are they? Do I need a vaccine?
We don’t know anything about this yet, but will let you know when we do.
Things are looking good Covid-wise for the 2021 London games, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
The NFL must be dealing with a logistical nightmare of moving parts, and a myriad of questions.
With a new variant, travel opening up, and vaccination target rates being reached, we are hopeful that everything will go off swimmingly.
Let’s just get through the summer.

Week 1 Games

What are the top games everyone is looking forward to on week 1?
Browns vs Chiefs? Dolphins vs Patriots? Bears vs Rams?
There are loads of tough contests out there to kick off the season, and no one likes to do it with a W.
The ‘odds’ are out for week 1 games, and Ryan wants to make some bets!

Falc-Off

Julio Jones doesn’t seem happy. He’s left off the Atlanta 2021 hype package, and he’s getting less love each year.
Will the Falcons double down on Pitts, or try to make everyone happy?
Falcons need a winning season for any sense of pride.

Sad Pack

Aaron Rodgers wants to break up with Green Bay because they aren’t nice to him. We don’t know what he wants exactly, but he is totally putting the big ‘D’ in the drama here.
After some great NFC dominance the future of the Packers playoff runs could be in jeopardy. (get it?)
Fortunately the Packers brought in the double B in Blake Bortles, who has been spending his free time listening to his name on ‘The Good Place’ reruns.
Green Bay has buckets of talent and primed to actually contend for the title if they are able to make a few deft moves, as well as prime up the locker room motivation.
Thus far, they seem like a family on edge.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Sept. 8, 2008, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash) ORG XMIT: WIMG111

Timma!

Tim Tebow is back, and he’s ready to convert! To tight end.
The NFL free agency world went loopy this week at the announcement that Tim Tebow would be returning to the NFL.
Why not Kaep? Why this washed up white boy?
Have some ‘faith’ in Urban Meyer.
Tebow took the 90th and final roster spot to return to a state where he is held as a football ‘God.’
Tebow might jump on a few surprise snaps, but will find himself riding the pines most of this season.
Considering the jump in lumber prices, he might have the most expensive seat in the house.

Have a laugh and a listen to the podcast.
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Football is coming back! Are you ready?

London Hosts Two-2021 NFL Games

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Wee ha!
The NFL is coming back to London, and it looks like we are getting not ONE, but TWO matches, as it was announced London is to host two, 2021 NFL games.

So who is coming, when, and how can you get tickets?
We’ll have all that information for you shortly!

Atlanta Falcons

It was announced earlier this year that by Falcons own Arthur ‘Blank-itty-Blank’, that the birds would be perching at Tottenham stadium for a 2021 game.
While we don’t know WHO that they are to play, there are certain clues that the NFL has dropped to allow us to figure out which team might be playing here.

We know that their opponent MUST come from the opposing conference, which means that Atlanta would be facing an AFC team.
After looking at the schedules, attendance figures, past London schedule and potential COVID situation, we determined that their opponent would be the New England Patriots.
We still believe that they will be the team that the Falcons play.

The NFL also likes to take advantage of the week long gap during the time changes between Europe and North America.
With only a scant 4 hours between us, it makes game viewing a little easier on the West Coast, so that fans don’t have to get up at 3am to watch the game.
This makes the last weekends of October the most logical choices for London games.

We had originally thought that with one game, the NFLUK would want to balance the game out during the month.
With the news that Jacksonville would also be coming to the UK, we pushed that Sunday back a week, so that one of the games falls over the time change gap which occurs on Sunday October 31st, which will most likely be a game date.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville announced this week that they would also be returning to London in 2021 for ONE NFL regular season game.
With an expanded 17 game season, and a roster buoyed by young and excitement, the Jags could be an interesting game to watch.

Trevor Lawrence will certainly bring the hype train to London, along with his cast of young, plucky stars who probably have never crossed the ocean on a flight.

As previously mentioned, the NFL International games are comprised of two teams from different conferences.
The Jaguars have 8 home games at TIAA Bank Field this season, and the London game is considered one of their home games.
Looking at Jacksonville’s home schedule we can see that they have 6 matches against AFC rivals (Titans, Colts, Texans, Bills, Dolphins, and Broncos), with 2 NFC games against the Cardinals and 49ers.
Given schedule, team priority, travel time, and local newspapers, we believe that the 2021 Jacksonville opponent will be…the Arizona Cardinals.

The NFL has a history of scheduling these international games back to back, so it makes sense that this game will be on continuous weekends.
This allows them to put all the banners across London, keep their staging facilities up, as well as package the games into a marketable, big event.
Given this, the weekends of Sunday the 24th and Sunday the 31st most likely.

Covidity

What’s the deal with Covid? Will visitors need a vaccine? Will there be passports of health? Can Americans visit?
No idea.
All of this will be a wait and see from the UK government.
For those of you from abroad, the UK is due to open to ‘normalcy’ by the end of June 2021.
Should this hold, and we stay clean and healthy, we SHOULD be able to host the games without issues.
Given the nature of the virus, it is unlikely that Tottenham stadium will be at full capacity, but it should be quite full of fans.
Again, this will take a while to figure out.

The whole schedule is released on Wednesday May 12th, at 8pm EST.
Once it’s released we will know a bigger picture, as well as how close we were to picking the right teams and dates.

Are you ready for some NFL in London?

April Showers

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It’s raining NFL free agents this month, as we delve into the state of the league in our April Showers podcast.

Wade McElwain and a hungover Ryan Cull take to the waves to discuss some of the landing spots and potential trades that could shake, rattle and roll some of the teams heading into the start of the 2021 season.

Teams are QB-rabid heading into the draft, but is this clouding the overall judgment for the team going forward?
One of these young men will turn into a bust, but which one will it be?

Among some of the hot topics that Wade & Ryan twerk on in this April Showers episode includes:

Dam Sarnold

Sam is gone from the Jets, so now we can figure out whether it was him, or the putrid Jets.
New York has traded away 6 straight number one picks, which is a troubling sign for a franchise that has trouble shooting straight.
The Jets have spent too long being bad, and if they aren’t able to right the ship after the past few years of opportunities, then they really do suck.

Draft Chat

Colts stud Darius Leonard thinks that the current Draft class ‘talks too much’, which could just be a sign of youth.
Thanks to social media, many of these youngsters are actually engaging and responding to criticism prior to the draft.
It’s one thing that we have learned from Twitter and the ilk, saying something stupid in your youth will NEVER come back to haunt you.

Sorry Buffalo

It took long enough! The Buffalo Bills finally received an apology from the NFL this week after admitting that they got a playoff call ‘wrong.’
A blindsided chop-block called against Cody Ford in a 2019 playoff game against the Houston Texans was deemed a ‘bad call’ in hindsight by the league.
Not only did the chop-block call take the Bills out of potential field goal range, but Ford was also fined $28,075 for the dirty deed.
No word from the NFL if they plan on repaying the huge fine to Ford, or whether they are happy to just to ignore him.
The real anger must stir with Bills fans who are now only getting the apology a few years later, and not a lot of justification.

Drunkest & Most Stoned Fans

Real fans of the NFL are passionate across every facet of the league.
So when it came down to determining which fans not only draw the most, but consumed the most weed…one could see what fans became so darn patriotic.
After all, Buffalo prides itself on throwing it’s drunken fans through tables-surely that must put them on top of the heap?
Surprisingly…no.
In terms of potheads, weed isn’t fully legal across the country, so it would be expected that a ‘green’ state would once again lead the way in cannabis culture.
Again…wrong.
So what team leads the league in both alcohol and marijuana consumption?
It’s the Atlanta Falcons!
Not surprising, since they blown more leads than a pitbull owner.
Maybe it’s the cheap food and drink, or southern hospitality, but ATL is the place to partay.
Can’t wait to have you guys in London this year!

We are still patiently waiting on news about who the Atlanta Falcons coming to London this year, but given recent data-we will be stocking up on booze and weed to make them feel right at home.
Let’s see how that goes!

Here’s the podcast!
Make sure that you share it, listen to it with loved ones, or blare it really loud to get back at neighbours that you might hate.
It’s a pretty pliable podcast.

London Calling Atlanta

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The NFL is returning to London!
Fans will be allowed back in stadiums, a new 17 week season awaits, and Covid has been traded to the Jets for future considerations.
Everything is getting back to normal right?
Uh, sure.
We don’t know a lot, but we do know that London is calling Atlanta for a 2021 game.
So who are they playing? When? Where? What’s the deal-lio, yo?
We’ll try to break it down for you, as London is calling you Atlanta!

International Games

In your face world! The NFL is coming for you!
American football fans around the globe were giddy like kids at Christmas, after the league announced that we can expect more NFL International games over the next few years.
London’s Tottenham stadium will be the first to host a game in 2021, with more venues and teams to be rolled out later this year.
All 32 teams will have to play at least 1 international game once over the next eight years.
According to the league it will look for  “up to four neutral-site games per year in a country outside the United States will focus initially on Canada, Europe, Mexico, South America and the United Kingdom. In addition, interested clubs can continue to volunteer to play home games internationally, as is currently the case.”
When the games will be played and where is anyone’s guess, but we can make some inferences based on previous outings.

Canada

Canada has previously hosted NFL regular season games, and they did not go well.
Given that Toronto is only a 90 minute journey to Buffalo, it was assumed that Canuckleheaded fans would fill up the stadiums with maple pride.
They did not.
Toronto is a fickle city, and one Ernest Hemingway once described as a ‘fistulated asshole.’
If the Blue Jays are doing well, the Maple Leafs show a semblance of pulse, or a waft of warm air hits Ontario in October, Canadians make other plans.
Previous NFL games were beset by fan apathy, low turn out, snarky broadcasters, and truly bad playing conditions.
The Rogers Centre/ Skydome is a decaying downtown edifice whose turf has ruined more professional athletes careers than a Kardashian.
The Rogers family themselves are snarky snake billionaires with a grasp on the throat of Canadian media, and none too pleased with the NFL for turning down previous franchise opportunities.
If Canada does host NFL games, they will need to not be held in Toronto or Vancouver, where fans already have a taste of ‘American sports.’


South America

When the NFL says ‘South America’, we assume that the NFL means ‘Mexico’, given that Mexico has hosted previous NFL games.
Although Mexico is considered to be in North America, you can forgive sports fans for not giving a hoot about geography.
It’s highly unlikely that South America would host anything other than a vaccination drive, as Covid has torn through the region like Derek Henry playing ‘Red Rover.’
One can’t imagine Argentina, Peru or Brazil hosting a regular season NFL game given the security, testing, and kidnapping threats that exist in those regions.
Previous Mexico City NFL games have been well attended, but also fraught with peril.
These games cost the NFL the most in safety and security of ANY NFL game, not to mention the flurry of items tossed on the the field and hundreds of laser pointers aimed at QBs eyes.
Only the Raiders seem to do well in Mexico, which is fitting.

Europe

To Americans, Europe is a big country.
Not only did they save it in WW2, but they also kicked the Germans out of it.
They might be totally insulted to learn that not only IS Germany IN Europe, but that the Germans may actually host an NFL game.
Germany has a massive NFL fanbase, and it truly is their time to host a game.
American football has been a popular sport in the country since American GI’s were stationed there after the war. The game grew in appeal, and Germany boasts one of the best American football development program on the continent.
The only issue that might interfere is time. With a 6 hour gap between the states, a 1pm EST game wouldn’t kickoff until 7pm in Germany, making it a bit of a later prospect.
The games will still be awesome, and it will be great to see what Germany can offer as hosts.

UK

The UK has established itself as the de-facto home of the NFL outside of Europe, so what’s changed?
Covid obviously, but there is also a Wembley issue.
The Jacksonville Jaguars contract with Wembley has expired, and they also lost their pitch for a new downtown stadium. Will Khan take out his wrath, or find a new way?
By all accounts Wembley is keen to reopen the NFL despite Tottenham making the stadium push for future games.
Other stadiums that host Liverpool and Manchester United are also keen to refit their homes to potentially fit the NFL in for future years.
While the NFL may never establish another franchise in the UK, we may start to see games hosted around the country, as well as Scotland and Ireland in the mix.

With the big game announced for 2021, loads of questions have emerged.
When will the Falcons being playing at Tottenham, and who?
We have our thoughts here.

Which Sunday?

October 2021 has 5 potential Sundays to offer as one of the London games.
Previously, the NFL has tried to keep the International Games earlier in the season to balance out the byes, and fit the games within the busy hosting schedule of the city of London.
October 2021 has Sunday October 3, 10, 17, 24 & 31st as options for the London games, with each Sunday having a 20% chance of hosting the game.
With Week 1 of the NFL due to begin on Sun Sept 12th, that would make October 3rd part of the Week 4 schedule. Given Covid, rules, travel and more this might be more unlikely.
One of the biggest factors in choosing the date of the London game is time.
Clocks ‘fall back’ in October, with the US and UK having a gap of about a week when the clocks are only 4 hours apart.
The NFL has capitalised on this in the past, as this hour means a huge difference to the body clocks, and broadcast clocks of international timings.
UK clocks change on Sun Oct 31st, and US clocks on Sun Nov 7th. This means that there would be only a 4 hour gap on the 31st, making it the most likely date to host a game.
Sunday October 31st is Week 8 in the NFL, which is a tad late for a UK game, so we are not keen on it, especially with Diwali (Indian Festival of Lights) set to take over central London less than a week later.
Prediction: Sunday October 17th (Week 6)

Atlanta Opponent

The Atlanta Falcons will be playing a ‘non-divisional’ opponent for their 2021 game, which means that there are only 5 teams that they could potentially play.
These teams are Detroit, New England, NY Jets, Washington or Philly, each with an even 20% chance of being chosen.
Detroit last visited London in 2015, where they took an epic beating at the hands of Alex Smith and the Chiefs. The Lions aren’t really an international fan draw, and with so many changes in the organisation, an unlikely pairing for this match.
Washington is rebuilding not only as a team, but also as a franchise. With owner Dan Snyder under the microscope for being a bit naughty, it’s unlikely that the league would want him to travel internationally, where the foreign press would be keen to address his ‘reputation’.
The Eagles were only here in 2018, with Carson Wentz carving out a win over the hapless Jaguars. Very doubtful that they would be back here again this soon.
New York Jets and New England Patriots are the other teams that could be London bound.
Jets owner (and former UK Ambassador-Woody Johnson) is back home & working in the vaccine factory, so he might be inclined to not let his team back to his former home. The Jets last played in London in 2015, beating the Dolphins in a Wembley stinker.
Bill Belichick and the boys haven’t played in London since 2015, when a guy named Tom Brady was still at QB.
The Patriots have shed a lot of weight, personnel and allure as of late, with the team missing their first playoffs in decades.
Given that they are the only team with ‘England’ in their name, they would be odds on favourites to make the crowds happy, and sell tickets.
Boston is the closest US city to fly to London, so that 5 hours might seem like nothing compared to West coast jaunts.
After all, who wouldn’t want a Super Bowl matchup in England?
Let’s do it!
Prediction: New England Patriots

Full Prediction

We think the 2021 NFL London will be…the Atlanta Falcons hosting the New England Patriots at Wembley on Sunday October 17th, 2021

In closing, we have no idea what is really going to happen.
Covid is still on the field, and despite vaccine efforts, we still don’t know what the NFL could look like for this season.
Commissioner Goodell has promised that we will have ‘100% capacity’ at all stadiums, but that could be about as accurate as our predictions.

Watch this space as we will have full details on who is playing the Atlanta Falcons here as soon as we know it.  London is calling Atlanta!

Shadow Moves

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What lurks in the the shadows of the NFL?
What secret moves are happening in free agency?
Turns out, a lot-as Wade & Ryan look at Shadow Moves in this podcast.

Miami flipped a flop on the 49ers and Eagles, trading then sliding back in with some nifty picks.
All signs point to QB heaven as the teams line up to grab the next bigbit of  quarterback Mccheese.

The boys look at some of the other big news in this podcast including.

Bucs Start Kicking

Tampa Bay brings back a whopping 22 players, pointing to the fact that the Buccaneers are kicking to win another Super Bowl this season.
Tom Brady has all his weapons, and only time will tell if they can kick their late season run into a near perfect season.
Once you win the big show, everyone wants to steal your limelight.

Wilson!

Will Wilson drift away from the Seahawks raft, or will he let them paint his face and be the head on the stick again. When someone wants to leave that bad, it’s hard to see the lockerroom feeling the love if he does return.
The Seahawks have a lot of shoes, issues, and issues in shoes.
Maybe Petey should walk away this season.

Falc Off Matt

What’s the deal in Atlanta? If only they could vote on what to do with the team. Oh, that’s right.
Atlanta is in the fist flock frenzy of QB grappling and Matt Ryan may have more than a protégée.
The Falcons could also play it smart and trade their pick the dozens of teams willing to slit a fans throat after the anthem if they could get a sniff of Zach Wilson.
Ryan said it.

Benglosity

The Bengals have a great slice of picks, and it would be wise to load up that front line in the early going.
TB12 got a Wirf of a boost this season and Joe Burrow deserves a shot at not getting his head torn a sunder.
Cincinnati also benefits from grabbing a few wide receivers to make them a little more solid at points next season.

Aging Ravens

Baltimore went full The Wire, by bringing back a couple of old crows to flock the sidelines.
Sanu and Sammy Watkins signed with the Ravens in a chance to give Lamar Jackson two solid number 3 receivers.
If both of them stay healthy, they might be able to play 8 games this season and average 4 fantasy points.

Watson, Watsoff

Deshaun Watson is in the news again but for some not so good reasons.
It ‘seems’ that several Insta-masseuses claim that Watson did yada yada, and they felt blah blah.
Not to seem insensitive, but it’s all conjecture at this point.
Deshaun Watson is not charged, and he hasn’t said anything.
An interesting convenience in a legal battle to extricate himself from the grasp of a billionaire, only to find himself in the very position of one.
Kraft cooked his tapes, and added some orange cheese to offer a meal of of innocent denial.
In Robert Kraft’s case though, they had tapes and titilating testimony.
Let’s not forget that Deshaun Watson is also a young man under an extraordinary amount of pressure professionally and personally.
Kneeing him in a his mental nuts is not cool.

That’s it for this podcast, make sure that you listen to more in our library.
We’re glad to keep chatting about the NFL, and excited about the future of the league here and making you all laugh.