NFL in London

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Week 6 Picks

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Week 6 of the NFL is upon us, and it’s already starting to feel like this season is an episode of the retro cartoon ‘Wacky Races.’
Just when you think someone takes the lead, tragedy befalls them, accidents happen and Dirk Dastardly is no where in site.
What will this week in the NFL hold for us?

Wade McElwain and Ryan Cull are both coming down from Canadian Thanksgiving celebrations, toasting fellow Canuck Chase Claypool who had one heck of a week 5, eh?
Who do they have for week 6? Listen to the podcast and find out.
Some of their top picks for this week include:

Redskins (1-4) vs Giants (0-5)
Giants -3  +43

How the heck are the 0-5 Giants favoured over a plucky Washington football team? The Giants have literally had their legs cut out from them this season, and haven’t really looked that convincing in any game. Their O-line blows, their D is porous, and they’ve blown more leads than a coked out 70s’ detective.
Still, Vegas has some hope for them against the tumultuous Washington team, Wade and Ryan do not however.
Ryan-Washington 30 Giants 24
Wade-Washington 21 Giants 17

Ravens (4-1) vs Eagles (1-3-1)
Ravens -7.5  +46.5

Philly played a tight game against a surprised Steelers team last week, almost walking away with the W. The Ravens laid a smackdown on the helpless Bengals in a relentless game for Joe Burrow.
Philly has been playing all out against every team, but they can only have so much gas left in the tank.
After seeing the Chiefs get humbled by the Raiders last week, Baltimore has to feel like they have a chance to get back into first place in the league.
Ryan thinks the Eagles can withstand all of the pressure Lamar Jackson piles on them, whereas Wade likes the Ravens to toss Philly back to the dumpster.
Ryan-Ravens 28 Eagles 21
Wade-Ravens 35 Eagles 20

Packers (4-0) vs Bucs (3-2)
Packers -1.5  +54

Aaron Rodgers vs Tom Brady in an epic match for the NFL ages, or aged depending on how you look at it. Rodgers has been playing like someone pissed in his Wheaties, while Brady has been playing like someone who ate a bowl of pissy Wheaties.
This game could either be a Pack blow-out, or TB12 orchestrating a takedown of the top team in the NFC North.
Tom Brady is 14-1 after a loss and being the underdog, so you have to appreciate his competitiveness.
Ryan sees the Packers outlasting the Bucs, where Wade likes Tommy Boy to give it to GB in a surprise. They have had 10 days to prepare, so a big loss would really hurt.
Ryan-Packers 30 Bucs 27
Wade-Bucs 28 Packers 26

Cardinals (3-2) vs Cowboys (2-3)
Cardinals -3.5  +54.5

Week 5 brought us the ankle break heard round the world, as we all took a knee for Dak’s safe recovery. We also held our stomachs at the thought of Alex Smith getting his leg mangled at the hands of Aaron Donald in front of his kids.
Dak is gone, and Andy Dalton is here to replace him..so that should be something. Andy lacks the rally ability of Dak, as well as movement, height, youth and vision. He does have a good support crew.
Kyler Murray has been inconsistent, but has a great cache of wide receivers to help him out against a hole ridden Dallas D.
Ryan thinks that the Cowboys will rally for Dak at home, but Wade thinks that the Cards will use this game to grab an easy win.
Ryan- Cowboys 30 Cardinals 27
Wade- Cardinals 30 Cowboys 27

Have a listen to the podcast and make sure that you share it with your friends, enemies, and inject it into any Facebook debate to change the conversation.

DraftKings

Do you like to play Fantasy NFL? Then join our DraftKings League and get into all the action. We have free and paid contests, so that you can play and make money while meeting new friends.
It’s free to join, and we often meet up in the UK for parties and good NFL times.
https://dkn.gs/r/kwxDR0JIokKPkA6cPjCtNA

Sky Sports-Week 6

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We’re almost 1/3 through one of the weirdest NFL seasons on record, so you might as well sit back and enjoy it.  Sky Sports has released their schedule for week 6 in the NFL and if it’s anything like previous weeks schedules, it’s probably going to change.

Thursday

Thursday games have been postponed due to Covid, which is always a blessing for UK NFL fans. With the game usually kicking off at 1:20 in the morning, the only people who usually watch these are ardent fans, shift workers, and those o chemical stimulation.
Thursday games have traditionally been a dog turd, so when they are a good game it can become a source of frustration.
Luckily Covid has stepped in this week to spare us from a late night.

Sunday

6:00pm GMT
The Browns are back in town on Sky for 2 weeks in a row thanks to a 3-1 schedule and a divisional matchup between the undefeated Steelers.
Baker Mayfield and the boys will be back on the field against their rivals, so hopefully Mason Rudolph can avoid getting tuned-up by Myles Garret and his helmet of doom.
If you have Gamepass, this game will be blacked out.

9:20pm GMT
Aaron Rodgers vs Tom Brady in an epic matchup for the ages, since both of them are old. Tom Brady is coming off a loss to the Bears, whereas Rodgers has had 10 days to prepare for TB12 and his Florida wrecking crew.
This game will be awesome, so make sure that you have a good place to watch this one.

1:20am GMT
You going to stay up for this west coast rivalry? Before the season started, this game looked good, but as Jimmy G takes a slide ride down his career path, the Rams are struggling to get momentum.
If you’re ready to stay up til 4:30am, then this game is for you. Otherwise then you can get up early and watch the highlights from the safety of your bed.

Monday

10pm GMT
We almost had a 10pm game last week, but then Covid had to go ahead and stick its meddling nose in everything. The Buffalo Bills are set to host the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night, with both teams coming off of a surprising week 5 loss. This game should be a doozy, and is manageable if you want to stay up til 1am to see it. It’s the age of Covid, what else are you going to do?

1:15am GMT

Poor Dak Prescott. Every fan of the game took a collective ‘ouch’ when we saw that ankle move ways that ankles aren’t supposed to. Hopefully it’s an injury that he can recover from, and if week 5 taught us anything from watching Alex Smith…anything can happen. Even if it makes you squeezy every time he takes a step back. These games SHOULD be available on Channel 5 as well, although they did have week 5 issues.

Again, these games could be cancelled or moved at any minute, so make sure you follow us on Twitter and Instagram for the latest news. We will keep you up to date on all things NFL in London.

 

Jaguars Leave London?

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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.

 

Breaking! NFC East Sold

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This just in, the NFC East has been sold to the XFL for a McRib sandwich and a picture of Archie Manning in a speedo inside sources confirm.
The sale represents part of the XFL’s rebuilding plans to recycle some of the garbage from the NFL and repurpose it into something more useful.

According to XFL’s new owner Dwayne ‘The Rock’ ‘Mr Instagram’ ‘All Killer-No Filler’ Johnson, the purchase is part of a new global plan to take the worst things on the planet, and turn them into the best.
He plans on dissembling the NFC East and breaking into smaller, more digestible parts, for easier consumption.
Whatever is left of this will me made into a birthday gift for Kevin Hart.

As for the gap left by the sale of the NFC East, the NFL has announced it already has plans for the empty space as a result of the transaction.
NFL head honcho Roger Goodell confirmed that the league is already in discussion with the Harlem Globetrotters to be retrained as NFL players, despite them having an average age of 46 years old.
‘Retraining is the new training’ Goodell said in a press conference held from his guest bathroom on Saturday, ‘these guys are athletes and sports are for sport people who sport’ he added while delivering his statements while still on the toilet.
He apologised later for the setting of the press conference saying ‘Arby’s is still a no go for me, and when you add an edible you find in your glove compartment…well, you know what happens…am I right fellas’?

All NFC players left in the lurch by the sale have been offered Target gift cards, and dates with whatever Kardashian is single.

 

Week 5 Preview

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It’s Week 5 in the NFL, so Wade and Ryan are here with another rousing podcast looking at all the games ahead.
It was a bit of a brutal week 4 for both guys, as Wade second guessed himself changing his picks last minute and dooming himself to a 6-9 record for the week. Ryan was a bit better at 7-9 for the week, consistent with his picks thus far this season.
Heading into week 5, Wade has a 35-26-1 record, and Ryan is battling a 24-37-1 record.
What does week 5 hold? Let’s take a look at some of their top picks.

Week 5 Picks

Panthers (2-2) Falcons (0-4)
Falcons -1.5  +54.5

The Falcons are favoured by 1.5 points, despite boasting no wins for the season thus far. The plucky Carolina team has been getting some nice wins and close games despite being without the best running back in the league. The Panthers defence has been playing solid every week and Teddy Bridgewater is starting to groove nicely into his role as starting QB.
Atlanta has been poor and porous, letting in more than a drunken doorman. They have tonnes of tools at their disposal, but despite Matt Ryans best efforts, their D continues to allow huge gains to wide receivers.
Ryan likes the Falcons to take their first win of the season, while Wade is calling for a Carolina upset.
Even more upsetting, if they win, they must sing ‘Sweet Caroline’ with their masks on.
Tragic.
Ryan-Falcons 24 Panthers 20
Wade-Panthers 31 Falcons 26

Eagles (1-2-1) vs Steelers (3-0)
Steelers -7  +44

Pittsburgh has benefitted from a Covid week off, while the Eagles are currently sitting in first place in the trash-tastical NFC East division.
Three games isn’t really enough to get a full grip on the Steelers, but they have looked pretty solid across the board. James Conner is ready to bust out for the rest of the season and establish himself as one of the premier running backs for the rest of the season.
The Eagles beat a depleted 49ers team last week under the helm of Nick Mullens, which isn’t saying much.
They have no real receivers, Carson Wentz is inconsistent, and they have relied on Myles Sanders to do all the dirty work. They have a fast front 4, but that will only get you so far.
Ryan likes the Eagles to cover a Steelers team that might not be fully focused, whereas Wade thinks that the battle of Pennsylvania will go to the hosts.
Ryan-Steelers 24 Eagles 20
Wade-Steelers 30 Eagles 18

Dolphins (1-3) 49ers (2-2)
49ers -8.5  +47

Jimmy G is back, and so is Raheem Mostert, but the team still doesn’t seem like it has all the pieces together to look like a contender.
Their defence is still full of holes, which was evident last week when the Eagles were able to move the ball down the field with ease.
No one expected much out of the Dolphins this year, but for some reason they have been close in most of their games. Miami has started with one of the toughest schedules in the league, and the games ahead should bode well for them. Most importantly, they’re having fun which is nice to see.
Ryan think that the 49ers are ready to romp over the Dolphins at home, but Wade has another plan…a Miami upset.
Ryan-49ers 23 Dolphins 20
Wade-Dolphins 23 49ers 20

DraftKings

One of the best ways to enjoy the NFL is to play along with Draftkings fantasy NFL. We have our own league called ‘NFL in London’ where we host loads of Sunday contests. Join the league and you can play every week for free or for paid contests. Our paid contests are modest, so you won’t be spending more than $5 to have some fun with new friends.
Enter here:
https://dkn.gs/r/kwxDR0JIokKPkA6cPjCtNA

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our Canadian friends, hopefully you can get together with your friends and family.
If you’re in London, pop down to the Maple Leaf in Covent Garden which will be showing the NFL until 10pm.

Stay safe, and have a great week in the NFL.