NFL in London

National Football League in London

london 2020 nfl

Week 7 DraftKings

by

There were some beast Fantasy Football scores in week 6, did you put together an amazing DraftKings line-up? If you didn’t, don’t worry-I have some top tips for you to make the most out of your Fantasy NFL contests.
Week 7 has some amazing games lined up, so you need to check out the value picks that are floating around, while still keeping your budget afloat for some of the key earners on Sunday.
Here are some of my top picks for Week 7.

QBs

Josh Allen $7700

‘Who’s playing the Jets this week?’, should be your go-to question when it comes to devising your NFL fantasy line-up. Luckily it’s the Bills, who are coming down from 2 weeks of beatings.
Allen should be fired up for this game, and the Jets should be worried about the vengeance he will inflict on the hapless Jets on Sunday. A little pricey, but worth it.

Justin Herbert $6400

The other question you need to ask is ‘Who is playing the Jags?’, which this week is the LA Chargers. Herbert has been the best rookie QB so far this season, and he grows in confidence every game. The Jags looked plucky at the start of the season, but now look more like sucky. Having Allen would be great for Justin, but he should be able to spread the ball around to the rest of the receivers for a good day.

RBs

D’andre Swift $5400

Swift is back for the Lions, and the poor back of Adrian Peterson must be happy for the break. Swift adds a new dynamic for Matt Stafford, allowing him to time and moves to be able to spread the ball around. Swift is a good deal at $5400, as the Falcons suck against the run, so he should have a good day as RB1.

Devin Singletary $5800

The Bills are playing the Jets, which means that their top R should figure in some of the beating that the Jets will be taking on Sunday. If John Brown is out, the Bills will focus on Singletary in a slot/ receiving role, meaning he should get at least a TD on Sunday.

Aaron Jones $7200

The priciest RB in DraftKings this week, he will factor in heavily in Aaron Rodgers attack plan against the Texans. Houston has a tough D, but struggles against quality RBs who gash them for continuous yards. Jones is a good flex option if you save your pennies, as he looks to have a monster performance on Sunday.

WRs

Stefon Diggs $7000

Pairing Diggs with Allen will get you some big-ass points this weekend, as the Jets will struggle to contain this duo. Diggs is looking to have his best game of the year, and if John Brown is not 100%, he will see even more action. A little expensive, but you’re worth it, aren’t you?

Tee Higgins $5300

With a name like an English stripper, how can you not love Higgins? Joe Burrow certainly does, hooking up with the speedy rookie consistently every game. The Browns got opened up last week by the Steelers, and the Bengals have the tools to continue the operation.

Keelan Cole $4700

With DJ Chark struggling in the past few games, Cole has emerged as the go to target for Gardner Minshew. The Chargers have a solid D, but Cole will be the guy on the Jags who will be making the biggest plays. He has wheels and good hands, something Minshew is going to need under constant pressure on Sunday.

TEs

Hunter Henry $4500

Henry is the perfect pairing for Herbert, as the two of them will connect frequently on Sunday. With Keenan Allen potentially limited, Henry will be used often in mid range downs, as well as red zone attempts. He is a great value at $4500.

George Kittle $6500

The most expensive TE for week 7, Kittle is an absolute beast after the catch. The Patriots showed their wounds last week, and Kittle is the perfect guy to throw salt in them. The only problem? Bill Belichick will throw everything at Kittle this Sunday, so he might be in for a tough day.

DEF

Chargers $3400

Keeping on with LA, the Chargers are facing the Jags, who haven’t really ripped anyone this season. The Chargers have a fast front which will cause problems, and potentially INTs for Minshew.

Packers $3100

The Packers may have lost last Sunday, but it wasn’t really the fault of their D. Rodgers threw 2 picks back to back, and then couldn’t really find his mojo. Their D was able to hold Brady in check for a while, and should rebound this week to stifle DeShaun Watson.

DraftKings

If you’re looking to play Daily Fantasy NFL, then make sure you sign up to our DraftKings League. We have loads of free and paid contests to keep you entertained. Join in the fun now!
https://dkn.gs/r/kwxDR0JIokKPkA6cPjCtNA

 

TNF Week 6

by

Thursday Night Football is back, after Covid scheduling put it on the back burner last week. Looking at the match-up between the Giants & Eagles, you would hope thatchy would put it back on that burner and let both teams go up in flames.

The NFC East is 2020 personified. We started out with hope in the division, only to watch it continually disappoint as it drags itself towards a fetid gutter. It must be how the rest of the Trumps feel about Tiffany.

TNF tonight features two teams who would be better off speeding this game up so we only see 7 minutes of highlights. The Eagles host the Giants, whose combined record is still worse than the Miami Dolphins.
The Giants were able to get their first win of the season off the lowly Washington team, while the Eagles have shot themselves in the foot so much this season, you wonder if they will run out of bullets or toes first.

The Eagles will be missing their main man Myles Sanders, as well as the only guy that can catch-Zach Ertz. DeSean Jackson should return to help out Fulgham, provided Carson Wentz can actually hit them with a pass. Injuries are the star for the Eagles this season, although it looks doubtful they will be able to trade them this season.

The Giants suck. Their O-line is as about as suspect as getting medical advice off of Facebook, and Daniel Jones looks terrified every time the pass rush is in his face. You wonder if Saquon saw this and started the season with ‘screw this, I’m outta here.’

In this battle of dumpsters, I’m taking the Eagles, as they are little less maggoty than the Giants. Both are trash, but Philly is a little less so.

I will not be staying up to watch this 1:20am game, instead I will give this game the attention it deserves. Watching it on the toilet Friday morning as I scroll between the game and Bumble.

Prediction:

Eagles 24 Giants 18 

Jaguars Leave London?

by

The Jacksonville Jaguars contract with the NFL quietly ended this week, with many UK NFL fans wondering if this is the end of an era for the Jags in London.
The Jags have been playing regular season games in the capital since 2013, solidifying a new fan base, and fostering a reputation as the first potential UK franchise.
But then 2020 came along.

Will the Jaguars sign a new contract, or is this the end of the Florida/ UK NFL experiment? Let’s take a look at some of the factors involved in this.

Jacksonville

When the NFL first started hosting the Jaguars in London, their team was in a very different state of affairs. The stadium was a mess, the city was reeling from economic hardships, and the fan base was one of the lowest in the league.
Shad Khan injected much needed funds and energy into the franchise, and used international expansion as a way to not only drum up press, but also explore the potential of a European operation.
As the Jaguars continued to play London games, dissension was building at home. The new stadium with its shimmering pools was drawing bigger crowds, and the Jags themselves began to reach the NFL playoffs.
When the team announced that they would be playing two home games in London in 2020, local press and ardent fans rebelled, signalling that they wanted their home team home.
While the London games represented 11% of home ticket revenue, Jacksonville locals lobbied state and city government officials to help out.
They listened too, with plans to revitalise the downtown around the stadium, bringing in over $2 billion in salaries and over 10000 new jobs.
Urban Jacksonville would be a new ‘Shi Tpa Town’, so why would locals want to lose that momentum?

Khan

Shad Khan may be the 4th richest NFL owner, 66th richest person in America, but like many over the past few years, he’s taken a hit to his back pocket. He even recently has had to sell his 300 foot yacht the Kismet , which can be yours for a cool $166 million.
With xenophobia rampaging across America, you can see why he might just want to keep his nose down and focus on his franchise during an election year, and Trump-Mania spreading across Florida.
The impending noose of Brexit  is threatening to choke out international business opportunities, which has left many multinational companies to adopt a ‘wait and see’ policy when it comes to moving to the UK.
Wait til the dust has settled and see what kind of deals a desperate UK government is willing to offer.

Covid

Did you know that there was an a virus epidemic going on? No, it’s true. Although not much in the news, apparently some nasty bug has been disrupting our way of life.
Businesses hate surprises, and Covid 19 is one of the biggest viral-reveals we have had in our lifetime.
Like Brexit, no one wants to make long term plans when infections and rolling shut downs continue to affect and infect our way of life.
Until we have a vaccine or this nasty sucker under control, all UK-US sports matches will be put on hold.
Can you imagine if they had gone ahead with the London games, and had to postpone at the last minute?
It would be a logistical nightmare.

Tottenham

With the NFL and Tottenham stadium agreeing to a 10 year NFL deal, it doesn’t really make sense to negotiate separate matches with Wembley. If the league is all in this together, then maybe spreading out the games and structure doesn’t really fly in the face of the new normal.
The Spurs have spent a lot of time and money on the new stadium, and fan reaction has been wholly behind the new digs in favour of crusty old Wembley.
Tottenham have a massive vested interest in developing and hosting the games there, so the Jags could save a lot of time and money on working with the league as bubbles and lockdowns become part of the new NFL dynamic.

In the end Shad Khan might just want to take some time off and reflect on the London experiment. Covid has provided a timely opportunity to gauge the want of international expansion, with the need for keeping the home fans happy.
We (should) have NFL games in London in 2021, but with the way 2020 has been going, we need to learn to expect the worst.
That’s what Jets fans do.

 

TNF-Bucs vs Bears

by

Thursday Night Football (TNF) is back for week 5, with an exciting matchup between Tom Brady and the Bucs versus Nick Foles and the Bears. This game could be very good, if Chicago bothers to deliver their a-game.

Most Thursday night football games have been a massive bore, and the hatred of these games is well documented by the players. These games are even tougher to watch in the UK, where the games start at 1:30am and finish around the time the tube opens. Unless you are a total diehard fan, a cokehead or a shift worker, these can be difficult to watch when you have a ‘life’.
Of course, it’s the age of Covid 19, who has the time to have a life?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tom Brady is 3-1 to start the season, despite an early beating by the Saints. In week 4, TB12 and crew looked human, as Justin Herbert was able to march down the field with ease, hitting numerous receivers & making the Bucs D look pedestrian. This is no easy feat, as the Bucs boast one of the best defensive lines in the league.
Brady was also on fire, throwing for 5 touchdowns to 5 different receivers. Most of this action came in the second half, when the Bucs were able to catch their breath and mount an attack, even without Chris Godwin.
Chicago’s D will pose a new challenge for TB12, but after seeing what Philip Rivers was able to do last week against the Bears, Brady should have no problem picking holes in a secondary that got gashed in mid field passes.
OJ Howard will be out again, which means that pitiful Rob Gronkowski should be able to see more touches in this one. Gronk has been dropped by numerous fantasy teams, so the faith in the big man has waned over the past few weeks.
Both teams have only had 4 days to prepare, but you would have to give the edge to Tom & Bruce for being able to pull it together for this one.

Chicago Bears

The Bears are 3-1, but are they really. Pundits were quick to jump on the Bears as imposters, as the first 3 wins came from Mitch Trubisky rallies in the second half.
Nick Foles has done what Foles does. He is able to muster a comeback, but put him in a starting role, and he is inconsistent and awkward.
Perhaps the Bears should look at starting Mitch, then bringing in Foles in when the game starts to go awry. At least this way opposing defensives would have to prepare for two different quarterbacks, which is some advantage.
The Bucs have the best run D in the league right now, so Montgomery will be facing loads of walls in this one. Hopefully the Bears stop trying to use Cordarelle Patterson in a RB role up the middle. It has not worked once this season, and he ends up getting smashed into a wall of opposition. They have yet to effectively use him in a slant or option role, and should explore that before the dude gets busted.
Foles looked ineffective last week against the Colts, and missed on numerous easy passes.
If he can’t find room in a defence that was ripped apart by Justin Herbert last week, we will quickly find ourselves in a new quarterback controversy.

Prediction

The Bucs will establish themselves quickly, with Mike Evans swamping the hapless Bears with his size and speed. The Bears will continue to go 3 and out in their initial drives until they finally get some scores in the second half. By then, it will be too late.

Bucs 30 Bears 20

 

Marvel NFL Fantasy

by

First they protect us from Thanos, next the Marvel heroes have started their own AGBO NFL Fantasy League. Is there anything they can’t do? Judging by their line-ups, it’s playing fantasy football.

All of your favourite heroes from Iron Man to Any Man, Thor to Mantis and even Captain America have joined a FanDuel fantasy league to raise money for charity.
It’s nice to see millionaires in this crisis actually doing something to help out instead of just sitting in their golden castles, fielding off sexual assault allegations.

Like any fantasy NFL league, this one brings with it a fair amount of trash talking. One would think that Rocket would be the most apt to deal with ‘trash’, but sadly Bradley Cooper isn’t in this league.
The best at the garbage mouth is none other than the perennially youthful Paul Rudd, who doesn’t strike you as the most ardent NFL fan.

Paul Rudd was due to face Robert Downey Jr in week 4 of the NFL, and unleashed an epic mock video to intimidate Iron Man before the contest.
Rudd made an almost shot by shot video of ‘Iron Man’, in which he skewered the metal man killed by a finger snap in a sweet little roast.
Here it is for your amusement.

Fun Fact

Did you know that Jeremy Renner (aka Hawkeye) is a massive San Francisco 49ers fan? He is such a fan that he even narrates many of their hype videos as well as internal videos for the team. He must have been incredibly happy, then sad as a result of last season.

It seems that both Karen Gillan (Nebula) and Elizabeth Olsen (Red Witch) are not doing well in this years’ pool. If you need any NFL Fantasy advice, please reach out. We know that you are big fans of the show.