NFL in London

National Football League in London

London NFL 2019

Week 2 Review

by

Another batch of games is done and dusted (as are quite a few quarterbacks), in what proved to be some exciting matches in an epic week 2.

The Raiders move to 2-0 after a dismantling of the Steelers, Buffalo kicks the fish, Trevor Lawrence continues to lose, the Bears survive, and TB12 looks better than ever.
All this and more in our Week 2 Review.

Wade and Ryan both went an okay’ish 8-9 last week after suffering some picking poisonings in the week 2 games.
In fact, it seems that the teams that were more injured, played better than some of the healthiest teams.
Go figure.

Ryan lost on the Chargers & Chiefs, while Wade made out with his picks on the Panthers, and Titans.

Amongst some of the thoughts on this podcast:

NY Jets

Despite making all the trades, new coaching hires, and adding Zach Wilson, the Jets still look like the same old Jets.
Wilson was welcomed to the NFL with 4 INTs and was hassled at every snap.
Many pundits thought this was the year that the Jets might finally be able to poke their way to the playoffs, but all indications point to no.

Raiders

Las Vegas is on a tear, and they don’t care!
The Raiders are 2-0 thanks to beating down the Ravens and the Steelers, a pretty notable start to the season.
Fans can remember Raiders implosions in recent years, building up a streak of wins, only to slide into a losing autumn, with their make-up smeared from tears.
Carr is desperate to prove the critics wrong, even if he sacrifices his body in the process.
How long will this train ride go on?

Cardinals

Pocket rocket Kyler has been chucking loads of deep balls to start the season.
Arizona looks fun, and the addition of JJ Watt and some D line makes them a heavy contender going forward.
The Cardinals also have suffered from playoff gout, so all eyes will be on them if they can keep up the consistent play, or if they leak as many points as they can score.
Arizona has definitely added a fun factor to their games, which has been missing for a few years.

Eagles

Jalen Hurts and the Eagles came out flying in week 1, only to get stymied by the 49ers in week 2.
Despite outgaining San Fran on the field, and a series of dropped balls, the Eagles couldn’t finish them off.
Hurts is still new, but has the benefit of having played some games last season to give him an advantage over true newbies like Lawrence, Wilson and Jones.
Philly might only be getting started.

DraftKings Contest

How would you like to win tickets to the Miami vs Jacksonville game at Tottenham stadium this weekend by playing DraftKings?

Join in our $5 contest and the winner will take home the top cash prize as well as two tickets to the battle of Florida in North London.

The contest is open to UK residents, so make sure you get your entry in now!

Week 3-Old Street

Join us week 3 at the Sports Bar and Grill Old Street, as we celebrate the season and launch our DraftKings event in style.

We will have the contest blasting up live on one of the TVs so that you can watch as your entry rises up the charts.

Do you have the DFS skills required to win this Sunday contest?

London Games

Just an FYI that we will be throwing pre and after parties for both London games.

The Sports Bar & Grill Old Street will be open LATE so that you can party until the wee hours on Monday. Get in touch if you want to book a table.

The Sports Bar and Grill Clapham is the perfect place to grab a pint and some nosh before heading to Tottenham. The pub will be open until 11pm on Sunday so that you can still catch all the action.

The Princess Alexandra in Crouch End is a mere 15 minutes to the stadium and a direct bus ride to Tottenham (W3). Also open until very late, the Alex is a Crouch End boozer with a storied history.
Get in touch so that we can book you in there.

Here’s the Week 2 Review podcast!

Old Street Sundays

by

If you’re looking for the best place to watch the NFL in London, you need to head to the Sports Bar & Grill for Old Street Sundays!

Located directly across from the fabled Old Street tube station, the pub is centrally located with access to the Northern Line, Network Rail, and oodles of late buses across the capital.
Best of all, it’s open late on Sundays and not as stabby as Leicester Square.
https://www.sportsbarandgrill.co.uk/oldstreet

If you’re trying to find the exact location, it’s:

174-180 Old Street, London – Old Street, EC1V 9BP
020 7336 8310

History

We have a storied history promoting the NFL at the Sports Bar and Grill’s, going back to 2007 at the olde Marylebone location.
Those of you who joined us back then might remember how difficult it was to stream games, not to mention dodgy wifi, leaky toilets, and a tiny room where we jammed Madden tournaments.

Martin the manager is back though, so all feels right in the world again as we look ahead to another great season of the NFL.

Sundays

Sunday funday brings us the NFL, as well as the inconvenience of the 4:30pm Premier League games.
Luckily, the SB&G has dedicated NFL areas for fans not into watching the north London teams taking a beating from a south London rival.

Don’t want to hear a Spurs fan moan? Move to the NFL side where the games are about to kick off.

Football is still the life blood of England, which means the 4:30pm match will still be on when the NFL kicks off.
Not to worry though, the bar still has a great selection of games, and once the match is over, EVERYTHING gets switched over to the NFL.

So if you walk and everything feels very ‘soccer-y’, have no fear, the games will be on shortly after.

The bar will show all of the 9pm games, with a 12am last call.
Make sure you get your booze orders in prior to then so that you can enjoy the end of the matches.

Food and Drink

The Sports Bar & Grill Old Street has a vast menu of fare to keep your stomach happy all night.
Add to that some cold pints on tap, and your Sunday just got a lot more chill.

Order from one of the friendly servers, or simply download the app to make your night convenient.

Reservations

If you are looking to bring a group, we do recommend making a booking ahead of time.

With many tables having their own TVs, fans are quick to book ahead so that they can watch the game they want, where they want it.

If you want to book in with one of the staff, just click on this link here and you are on your way to getting your own piece of Sunday Funday in Old Street.

https://www.sportsbarandgrill.co.uk/oldstreet/party-booking

Games

Got a particular game you and your friends want to watch?
Get in touch ASAP and we will work to get that game across as many screens as possible.

With over 45 TVs, you will ALWAYS be able to see a screen from anywhere in the pub.

The TV schedule is planned ahead of time, so that the bar is set up so that fans get a healthy selection of games and Redzone.

London Games

Looking for place to party before and after the London games?
Join us at the Sports Bar & Grill Old Street!

The bar has a late license for the night, which means that we will be able to host an NFL party all night long!

We are planning on crazy busy nights, so make sure you book ahead to avoid disappointment.

Clapham

Can’t make it to the Sports Bar and Grill Old Street?

No problem! We also throw NFL parties at the Sports Bar and Grill Clapham.

Every Sunday the pub shows games until 11pm, so that you can catch the first series of games.

Get in touch if you would like to book a table at Clapham!

This Sunday at the Sports Bar & Grill, we are giving away a set of tickets to the Jaguars vs Dolphins at Tottenham.
All you have to do is enter our DraftKings contest to win big!

See you Sunday!

 

Week 2 Preview

by

Week 2 is here as we all move on from the uneven shakes of the opening week.

Wade and Ryan had respectable betting weeks despite some crazy games, and this week they off you some of their big game advice to help you make your betting or fantasy picks in this Week 2 Preview podcast.

The guys offer up their break down on every game, as well as offer some betting tips, game insight and some DFS options.
Make sure you listen to the whole thing to absorb all the nuggets of gold.

Among some of the big games the guys discuss in this episode includes:

Saints (1-0) -3.5 vs Panthers (1-0)  +44.5

New Orleans is still shaking after an epic beat down of the Packers last week, so you wonder if they’re going to be fully honed after an epic upset.
Carolina shook of the ghosts of Week 1’s past to rally past the hapless Jets in a much needed W for the return of C Mc.

Ryan likes the Saints to continue their winning ways here, as he likes Jameis and the boys to get it done on the Panthers.

Wade however thinks that Carolina isn’t done upsetting people, and this home game will propel them to 2-0 with a cheeky upset against the Saints.

Prediction:

Ryan- Saints 27-20
Wade- Panthers 31 Saints 26

Bills (0-1) -3.5 vs Dolphins (1-0)  +42.5

Buffalo got stunned last week like the whole city ate a suicide wing at once. Pittsburgh shut down the blue machine from upstate New York, and made their case for leading the AFC.

Miami got the job done against BB and the Patriots, doing what other teams in the AFC East call ‘God’s work’.

Ryan likes his Bills to regain some ‘justice’ here, with a solid win over the Miami Dolphins, and a chance to get back in the division race.

Wade however likes the Dolphins to continue their September winning ways at home. Hurricane season blows in hard, taking out autumn visitors with abandon. He likes the fish at home to challenge the Bills and their lack of running game.
He thinks the Bills will win, just not cover.

Prediction:

Ryan-Bills 31 Dolphins 24
Wade-Bills 24 Dolphins 23

49ers (1-0) -3 vs Eagles (1-0)  +50

Points a plenty in this game, as both teams are coming off victories at the hands of inferior opponents.

San Fran is once again leaking running backs, in a troubling sign early on in the season. Jimmy G is still holding court, but the Lance of Trey is only a heartbeat away from piercing his long term plans.

Jalen is the man in Philly, and is finally showing that this is his team. With the addition of speedy youngsters, and new D, the Eagles look to fly this year, if they can stay healthy.

Wade is big on the Eagles this week, and Ryan has joined the flock in believing that they can flip the cart on San Fran this week.

Loads of fantasy points in this game, so make your picks carefully!

Prediction:

Ryan-Eagles 27 49ers-25
Wade-Eagles 31 49ers-27

Raiders (1-0) vs Steelers (1-0) -6  +47

The Raiders and Steelers both were able to take their underdog titles to victory in Week 1, in a surprise to many pundits of the NFL.

Las Vegas used their home advantage to shock the Ravens core, giving Carr plenty of chances to spread the love. Key injuries might have gone too far in helping this week however.

Pittsburgh beat the darling Bills last week, and showed the world how tough and ready their D is this season. Can they go 11-0 to start the season again this year?

Ryan is backing the Raiders once again, thinking that the Steeler team that dispatched his Bills so easily will finally face their match. He doesn’t think that the Raiders will win, but just cover.

Wade thinks that the Steelers will roll on, taking advantage of the injury to RB Josh Jacobs, and punishing Carr with their relentless D.

Prediction:

Ryan-Steelers 24 Raiders 21
Wade-Steelers 30 Raiders 23

Make sure you listen to the whole podcast to get all the tips!
Listen, laugh, share, repeat.

Join us Week 2 at the Sports Bar & Grill Old Street, where we will be showing plenty of games.

We also have our DraftKings League, where you can win tickets to the battle of Florida at Tottenham next week!

 

Hey Fantasy!

by

With the NFL officially less than a week away, fans will be assembling their fantasy teams for the 2021 football season.

To celebrate this annual last rite of summer, we offer you our ‘Hey Fantasy’ podcast, a look at some of the biggest fantasy news, picks and avoids for this year.

Wade McElwain and Ryan Cull flip through all the fancy NFL magazines from across the pond to compile their basic knowledge to offer you top tips for your draft, what to look at at each position selecting, as well as some basic draft psychology.

Among some of the things the guys talk about in this episode includes:

Strategy

Where you pick in the draft reflects the kinds of choices that you will need to make to be successful in this years’ draft.

Choosing early will get you those tempting top picks, but you’ll have to wait until it swings around again until you get 2 more picks.
Given that you will be picking in chunks, you need to adjust your picks so that you are still able to get top talent, but also to grab enough RBs and WRs to fill out a solid roster.

Middle picking in the draft seems like it would suck, but you actually get to a choice of players at a fast and furious pace.
Being mid-pick in the draft means that you really need to pay attention.
You can get really good value in the middle, as you can make those bold picks while carving away at the desperation of folks on the end who have to make two quick picks in a row.

Draft Dunces

There is always going to be that person who takes WAY too long to draft their team.
You COULD tell them that the draft is on another day, and that they ‘missed’ your draft do to some scheduling snafu (you need the other draftees in on it), but that’s a poor way to start out the season.

When it comes to Draft deadbeats, you need to be clear as to the outcomes.
2 minutes is more than generous these days for a player window thanks to digital drafting.
If it takes a person more than 2 minutes to make their pick, you are more than free to put up penalties and deductions for delating the draft.

Unless this person absolutely slaughters everyone in your draft, they shouldn’t be taking that long to hump down a roster.
Give them the parameters ahead of time, and make it get all nervy with 30 seconds left to pick.

Bad drafters are like bad dogs, you have to get that behaviour out before the draft even starts.

Flee Agents

Cam Newton couldn’t learn a playbook?
Maybe his big ass hat was in the way?

With Cam now looking to ride the season long bench, there are plenty of opportunities for teams to snag some value players moving forward.

AP, Mitchell Schwartz, Geno Atkins, Le’Veon Bell, Todd Gurley and the gales Frank Gore are all now without an NFL home for this season.

Sure, some of these guys are old, but with the way injuries gut-punched the league last year, it’s safe to say that a lot of these guys will be back in a new uniform at some point this season.

Cam? Might be a hard stretch to get behind him as a starter.

Empire Fantasy Football League

Why is it so hard to find good , season long, fantasy football?

Well the team at Empire Fantasy Football League are here, and they have a fun new product to help you play season long NFL.

With no manager limit, Empire Fantasy football will allow thousands of us from around the world to compete against each other every week.

Just like DFS, you choose your team by balancing out an NFL fantasy roster.
Unlike DFS, there’s no daily, so that you can play and compete against other players from around the globe every week.

Make changes and tweaks to your roster each week, and you could be on your way to winning $1000 USD just for playing!

It’s FREE to play and the game is in beta mode, which means there are some features that haven’t been added yet.

Try Empire Fantasy Football League now, and take us on every week!

https://www.empireff.com/main

Clapham

Do you live in Clapham?
Well we’re showing NFL every Sunday in Clapham at the Sports Bar and Grill!

Get in touch with us and we can make sure that you get to watch EVERY NFL game that you want to see.
South London is now rocking the NFL!

Enjoy the latest podcast, we have more to come this week!

2021 Win Picks

by

NFL Training Camp is officially here, which means we finally get a chance to see these teams in action, kitted out with all their new players.
With the season almost upon us, it’s time to take a look at some of the pundits predictions, as we offer up our 2021 Win Picks.

With an extra week of games at play, all the records are either set to shatter, or just get an asterix for all eternity.

Looking at the 2021 NFL regular season win total odds, a few glaring things stick out.
Vegas is hot on some of the returning teams, while sluggish on some of the mediocre teams that showed promise at the end of the season.

Here are some of our picks for win totals in the 2021 season.

Indianapolis Colts (UNDER 9 wins)

In the snap heard round the world, Carson Wentz went down again in a rather predicable scenario for the Colts.
Despite starting strong under Rivers last season, the Colts faded away like ripped jeans, and impressive efforts from the likes of Jonathan Taylor were quickly forgotten.
Indianapolis hasn’t made that many changes to think that they will be that much better this year compared to their division rivals.
Heck, they may even lose to the Texans this year.

Carolina Panthers (OVER 7.5 wins)

The Panthers had a rough season of injuries last season (like most teams), but it was the loss of Christian McCaffrey that really sent the Panthers into tumble mode.
CMac is back, as well as a young studly from the Jets named Sam Darnold.
With fewer ghosts in Carolina, Darnold has the chance to connect with some very speedy receivers, and a comfortable O line to develop under.
Carolina is in a tough division, but they are also the most likely to be ignored by the big boys, given them a fighting chance.
Panthers will win over 8 games.

Las Vegas Raiders (OVER 7)

Can you still feel the NFL Las Vegas?
No? Well thank COVID for that.
The Las Vegas Raiders opened last season to a brand new stadium…with no fans.
Jon Gruden and the boys struggled in almost every capacity, except determination.
There were bright moments in Josh Jacobs, Derek Carr, and anytime that Darren Waller touched the ball, something magical happened.
The bright lights of Las Vegas are back, and so are the fans.
The Raiders are in a tough division, but they have the best home field advantage ever.
Too many visiting teams are going to get sucked into the seedy elements of Las Vegas on a Saturday night that makes them slow poke their Sunday.
Raiders win OVER 7 games.

Seattle Seahawks (UNDER 10 Wins)

Even with an extra week this season, it still is going to be tough for the Seahawks to eek out 10 wins.
The Seahawks haven’t really had a distinct running back in recent years, and Wilson is falling apart as fast as his O line.
Seattle’s D was also a mess last season, as they failed to stop even the worst opponents.
Pete Carroll is the oldest coach in the NFL, and a highly respected leader…but times change.
Seattle seems to have lost its fierceness, turning as damp and cold as the city itself.
Seahawks WON’T win 10 games.

There will be a lot of other factors at play this season.

COVID has the ability to come back harder & faster than a Tom Brady led Patriots.

Lockdown has led to a radical increase in fan violence at games since we have returned.
Every league has seen a shocking amount of fisticuffs, and even Week 1 of preseason NFL had several fights.  Do we really need THESE fans back?

It’s exciting to have the NFL back in any capacity, and extra week of games makes it all the more sweeter.