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Dec the Halls

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Ho Ho Ho y’all, it’s Christmas time in the NFL!

With an expanded NFL season, COVID in the rear view’ish mirror, and AB once again suspended, it’s time to Dec the Halls in this early December podcast.

Wade McElwain and Ryan Cull are here with their Week 13 predictions, picks and general gut feels for what lies ahead this weekend.

Many of you/us are already finding that your NFL Fantasy season is almost over, to those of you are already out-we sympathise and can offer you a few nuggets of information to take into your long walk into summer.

Among some of the games the guys discuss for Week 13 includes:

-7.5 Vikings (5-6) vs Lions (0-10-1)  +46.5

Oh Minnesota, what does the future hold?
The Vikings have been disrupting the chances of some of the league’s top contenders, while keeping themselves on the periphery of qualifying.
Kirk Cousins has been trashable, while losing Dalvin Cook is going to affect their chances the next few weeks.

The poor, poor, Detroit Lions.
Like the vacant city that birthed them, the team is lacking hope moving forward.
Poor Detroit.

Ryan thinks that the Vikes will open a can of whoop-ass on the sad Lions, kicking them to the curb in an epic beatdown.

Wade likes the Vikings to keep the game close-but not too close,  as has been most of their games this season.

Ryan- Vikings 37 Lions 17
Wade- Vikings 28 Lions 20

-10 Colts (6-6) vs Texans (2-9)  +45.5

The Colts smell blood in the water around the struggling Titans, opening up a chance for them to make a playoff run on the back of some great games as of late.
It’s still Carson Wentz at QB though…

The Texans were never in this season, but they have made some games trouble for some of the top teams, as they act as a Christmas gremlin moving towards the post season.

Ryan likes Jonathan Taylor and the Colts to do a runner on the Texans, laying an epic beatdown that will be felt throughout the league.

Wade remembers that the Colts often lose to bad teams, and the Texans are a bad team, which is why he thinks it will be closer than people think.

Ryan- Colts 33 Texans 17
Wade- Colts 28 Texans 24

Giants (4-7) vs -4 Dolphins (5-7) + 41

This could easily be the contender for ‘worst game on Sunday’, as these two teams meet in a Miami stinker.

New York has been a real disappointment this season, with Saquon going down quick, and Daniel Jones struggling to command leadership of the team.
Firing Jason Garrett was just the tip of a very dirty member.

Ryan likes the G-Men to overcome this week, even if it looks like Mike Glennon will be under the hood. He’s tipping big blue to not only upset, but potentially win this one.

Wade likes the way Tua has been playing as of late, and that a nice warm home bath, should help the Dolphins focus on getting win number 6.

Ryan- Giants 23 Dolphins 20
Wade- Dolphins 21 Giants 13

Washington FT (5-6) vs -2.5 Raiders (6-5)  +50

Washington started the season as snitches who need stitches, but have quietly been dismantling some of the league’s top teams.
Even without a premier QB, Washington has relied on short passes and a solid running game.

Las Vegas has had a season to forget, with enough drama to start a new Bravo network.
Derek Carr continues to chew up the yards, despite not having too many tools to toss to.

Ryan is a Raider this weekend, as he likes Las Vegas to double down on the FT, and pull out a big win at home.

Wade thinks that WFT is still not done wrecking the futures of teams, and likes them to run over Vegas in an upset.

Ryan- Raiders 23 WFT 17
Wade- WFT 30 Raiders 24

Pack at Home

Anyone who is a fan of ‘The Office’ knows that Brian Baumgartner is freaking awesome as Kevin.

So it only makes sense for the Green Bay Packers to be the biggest ‘Office’ fans, given that Aaron Rodgers is the only NFL QB to make an appearance on the show.

What would happen if Kevin from ‘The Office’ looked after the stadium during the bye week?

Comedy gold.

Sports Bar December

Make sure you join us every Sunday at the Sports Bar & Grill Old Street and Clapham.

This month is all about sports, so pop in every Sunday for NFL on the 5th, 12th 19th, and 26th of December.

Make a reso to watch the games on your own TV.

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

See you Sunday.

Week 12 Reflections

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With only 6 more weeks left in the NFL regular season (and 3 in your fantasy), it’s starting to look like some teams might emerge from this seasonal sludge to move on to a successful post season.

It also looks like that there are a few teams that have the potential to ruin another teams run just by their very nature of play.
Looking at you Colts and Eagles.

So join us, as we take a look at some Week 12 Reflections.

Steel Curtained

It certainly looks like the season might be over for the Steelers, after taking a heavy beating from the division rivals Bengals on Sunday.

Puffy Big Ben struggled to get it down the field, and the much vaunted defence may have lost TJ Watt for a few more games.

Pittsburgh has struggled to play with any vigor as of late, dropping its second in the series to Cincy, and it looks like they are ready to limp off to the offseason.

Brown Town

Baker Mayfield has been playing like an anus of late, most likely due to injuries that have plagued the QB for weeks.
There’s nothing to be gained from Baker ‘toughening’ it out, as he’s not tough, and not a hockey player.

The more that Cleveland allows Baker to suit up despite his myriad of injuries, the more likely that their experiment with Mayfield looks in doubt.

Let’s see if a Bye week fixes this situation, or if the Browns will continue to slide.

Russ is Cooked

Have you ever microwaved your food to much and seen the result?
This is what this season is feeling like in Seattle.

Russell Wilson looks tired, the O Line seems to have checked out, and Pete Carroll might be just calling it in, as the Seahawks took another lump, this time at the hands of the Washington Football Team.

Either Russ or Pete needs to go in Seattle, but maybe, it could be both of them.

Ramming Speed

The Rams continue to slide, after getting bitch smacked by the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.

Something is wrong with Matt Stafford, as he seems to have lost some of that zip on the ball, even with the addition of OBJ.

The Packers were totally in control in this game, despite lacking some key O line personnel.
If LA can’t beat Green Bay when they’re down a few men, how would they be able to face them in the post season with a fully functional squad?

Sean McVay had some truly horrific play calling on Sunday, if you want to know where to start posting the blame.

Cam Damn

Superman is back! Superman got benched!

The Carolina Panthers were playing ok before they brought in Cam Newton a few weeks ago, now it looks to be going all downhill again.

Cam was horrible on Sunday, throwing awful passes downfield that were rightfully picked off as garbage.

Add to that was that the often injured Christian McCaffery was injured again.

And with that, the only thing that the Panthers have left to play for is that D…which will now probably also fall apart.

Vikes?

Who are the Minnesota Vikings this year?

A team that can beat the Packers one week, and then get stuffed by the 49ers the next.

Whoever the Vikes are this season.  the one thing that they are not are playoff contenders.

Dalvin Cook is now out for the season, leaving the Vikings to try to cobble together some wins with a skeleton crew of Mattison etc.

Minnesota still has the ability to upset a lot of the main contenders heading into the post season, which sometimes, can be just as exciting.

Sunday Funday

Join us every Sunday at the Sports Bar & Grill Clapham and Old Street, as we rock out to NFL all night long.

Sundays will get busier in December, so make sure that you book a table to ensure that you can watch all the games on the comfort of your own TV.

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

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

 

Week 12 Tips

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The wintry winds of December are starting to roll in, as the NFL begins the final push towards the end of the regular season.

The 2021 NFL season has been anything BUT predictable, as some of the top teams continue to falter, while the middle teams still try to find their footing in the season.

Wade and Ryan are back this week, as they offer up their Week 12 tips.

Wade was able to secure a 10-5 record during week 11, while Ryan pulled down a 8-7 record of picks against the spread.

How will the guys do this week?

Ryans Picks

One of the most anticipated games on Sunday will be the heavy hitting Colts (+3) facing the Tampa Bay Bucs.
Jonathan Taylor and company rolled over the Bills last week, and Ryan thinks that TB12 and the guys will be in for a rough day.
Ryan likes the Colts to beat the Bucs by 3.

It was a Giant (+3.5) week in New York, as the g-men got rid of coach Jason Garrett.
Ryan thinks that this will inspire the locker room to play their butts off to cover the 3 point favoured spread of Philly.

It’s an Urban legend that Ryan is a Jags (+2) fan, but this week he likes them to do a number on his former fix the Atlanta Falcons.
He likes the hometown Jacksonville team to keep it tight in a choke out victory for the Jags.

Lastly Ryan is tapping into Big Ben & the Steelers (+4) to find a way to put up some points against a struggling Bengals team.
He likes Pittsburgh to take the W from Cincy in this one, providing a valuable victory to move the Steelers ahead in this division.

If you take Ryan’s picks of the Colts, Giants, Jaguars, and Steelers on a parlay for £10, you could walk away with £154.70.

Wade’s Picks

On a short sunday of games, Wade tries to find some value picks to balance with some straight up easy victories.

Tennessee Titans (+7) took it on the chin, nose and knob last week in a horrible beat down by the Houston Texans.
The Titans face a fierce Patriots squad who rarely make mistakes, and have yet to be really challenged in their latest push.
Wade likes the Titans to cover in a close loss.

The Denver Broncos (+2.5) might not have a lot, but they often seem to win with nothing.
This should be the case on Sunday, as Wade likes them to play tough at home in a game against division rivals the LA Chargers.

Minnesota (+3) might be a rival of the Bears, but that doesn’t mean Wade doesn’t fancy them to do some damage to the 49ers.
The Vikings are a wrecking crew in the league at this point. Unlikely to make the playoffs, but very likely to cause damage to contenders in their push to the playoffs.

The LA Rams (-1) have been assembling all the tools in their shed to build a winning formula for this season, sadly it hasn’t really worked out that way yet.
The Rams will have a chance to take advantage of an injured Aaron Rodgers, and weakened Packers team.
LA has a chance to start out strong, then put their foot down in this one.

Taking Wade’s picks of the Titans, Broncos, Vikings and Rams on a £10 bet will also win you a whopping £154.70.

Sports Bar and Grill

Where are you watching the games this Sunday?

Come and join us at the Sports Bar and Grill Old Street, or Clapham, which will be showing all of the games, plus NFL Redzone across a bevy of TVs.

Make sure you book your table, so that you aren’t left without being able to watch your game, on a TV at your own booth.

Book yours here:

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

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

 

Turkey Hangover

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The gobble gobble is done for 2021, as the Thanksgiving slate of games are now leftovers, as we look ahead to week 12 in the NFL.

Wade McElwain and Ryan Cull are back with another exciting NFL preview podcast, as the boys digest their Turkey Hangover in this Week 12 preview.

Make sure you listen, laugh and love this new podcast episode.

Turkey Bowls

The Bears look aging and toothless as they fought off an equally inept Detroit Lions squad to get the first Thursday W.
This game was ugly on all fronts, as the only big winner of the night were penalties.
Matt Nagy holds onto his seat for another week.

‘Dem Boyz were lassoed by the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday, in a frustrating game for Dak and the home fans.
This OT thriller was not only a big win for the Raiders, but also the highest watched Thanksgiving NFL game in history.

Ryan was thrilled as his Bills made short work of a depleted New Orleans Saints team on Thursday night.
Buffalo were able to show the AFC who still could be boss, in a game where they lost one of their biggest D pieces for the season.

-3 Bucs (7-3) vs Colts (6-5)  +53

Everyone is in love with the Colts again after Jonathan Taylor boot stomped the Bills last week in an easy victory.
Given this massive performance, all the pundits are pushing Indy on Sunday to give Tampa a tough game.

Let’s not forget it’s TB12. He is a fear factor in every game, and moving ahead to the playoffs, the Bucs only look to get stronger.
Tommy and Bruce will look to make statement here, looking to shut down Taylor, and bury the Colts in points, so they’ll be forced to make throws.

Wade likes the Bucs here to make short work of the Colts, and show Indy for what they really are…a team lacking depth.

Ryan on the other hand is sniffing the Wentz, picking them to give Brady and the boys a tough contest en route to victory.

Ryan- Colts 33 Bucs 30
Wade- Bucs 30 Colts 23

-2 Falcons (4-6) vs Jags (2-8)

Matty Ice and the birds are coming off a TNF beat down at the hands of Bill Belichick and the Patriots, and will be looking to add a much needed win over this sad Jags squad.

Will Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville team be able to respond to keep this game close?

Ryan thinks that the Jaguars at home will be too much for this Atlanta team, especially since he has been clean from betting on Falcons teams for 3 weeks now.
He likes the Jags to upset the flow of Matt Ryan, and reward Urban Meyer with a home W.

Wade on the other hand thinks that Atlanta is too much for this putrid Jacksonville team.
While both teams have really bad D’s, the Falcons have a marginally better one.

Ryan- Jags 23 Falcons 20
Wade- Falcons 24 Jags 21

Steelers (5-4-1) vs -4 Bengals (6-4)  +45

Big bloated Ben struggled against the mighty Chargers last week, despite gooning for four fourth quarter touchdowns in a loss.
The Steelers D is finally getting some healthy bodies back this week, as TJ Watt looks to rejoin the Pittsburgh fold.

Cincy has struggled and Joe Burrow looks a former shell of himself from last season.
The Bengals have taken some bad losses, and Burrow showed weak form in some games, but should look to rebound in this divisional contest.

Ryan likes the heroics of Big Ben to lead the charge here, in a big win for Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Wade thinks this is a get right game for Cincinnati, and Mixon and the boys should have an easy victory against Pittsburgh.

Ryan- Steelers 30 Bengals 26
Wade- Bengals 27 Steelers 18 

That’s it for the picks this weeks Turkey Hangover podcast, make sure that you join us every Sunday at the Sports Bar and Grill Old Street and Clapham for our Sunday Funday spectacular.

Book a table so you can watch the games on your own TV.

London Thanksgiving

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Gobble, gobble y’all!
It’s time for another Thanksgiving NFL party in London!
You ready to turkey up for a Thursday night of NFL games?

London Thanksgiving

Having hosted Thanksgiving parties across London and the UK for the past 15 years, we have come to learn a few things.

  1. Most people and places don’t ‘get’ Thanksgiving-If you ask the average Brit what they think about the holiday, they’ll respond that it has something to do with colonial savagery. Not far off, but they miss the pumpkin spice nuance of the atrocity.
  2. Not many places show the games. Putting on American Football on a Thursday night would seem a daft idea, given how busy the bars get on Thursdays. We still find a few places.
  3. No pub or restaurant has made a passable Thanksgiving meal. Every venue we have worked with has butchered the food in some easy way or another.

Thanksgiving 2021

This year is going to be different, as we are working with 3 great venues who will be showing the Thanksgiving NFL games, without worrying about pandering to our palate.

They will be showing the games, offering their standard menu, and that’s all.
Wings and football together again.

Sports Bar Clapham

Right near the Clapham Junction train station is the Sports Bar & Grill Clapham.
A groovy sports bar with loads of TVs, a jam packed menu and a happening scene that will make you say ‘how come we haven’t been here before?’

On Thanksgiving, this location will be showing the Bears vs Lions at 5:30pm, then the Raiders vs Cowboys at 9:30pm.

Closing time will be midnight, so they won’t be showing the 1:30am game, which is ok since we will all be home by then.

To book your table at the Clapham location, just click and book here:

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

Old Street Sports Bar

The Sports Bar & Grill Old Street is one of the biggest locations, with over 50 TVs, pool tables, fruit machines, and plenty of frosty beer taps to fill your thirst.

Located right across from Old Street tube station, this pub is centrally located, and a great meeting spot for all of your mates.

Thanksgiving night, the pub will be offering their regular menu, with loads of chicken wings and towers of beer on offer.

NFL games on during the night include the Bears vs Lions, Raiders vs Cowboys, and the bar will be closing at 12:30am, so no dice for the very late game.

If you want to book a table at Old Street, make sure you click the link here:

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

Crouch End

North London is also popping and locking with Thanksgiving, as the Princess Alexandra in Crouch End will be showing both sets of NFL games until 12:30am.

Close enough to Finsbury Park, Highgate and buses to central London, this pub has all you need for a fireside night of NFL games.

Here’s a link to the website to book yourself in.

https://princessalexandran8.co.uk/