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Divisional Weekend

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Well that certainly put the ‘Wild’ in ‘Wildcard weekend, as it’s now time to move on to the NFL  Divisional Weekend.
Eight teams are left, as they all vie for the final two spots to the Superbowl. Who will have what it takes to be able to hoist the Lombardi Trophy and claim top spot in a truly wild and wacky NFL season.

Superbowl Odds

Now that the Steelers are riding the bus home, many of the odds have now changed. It was only a few weeks ago that Pittsburgh fans were proudly proclaiming how that they ‘could go all the way’ in an undefeated season. They are going all the way…home.
The odds to win the next Super Bowl are as follows:

  • Chiefs +200
  • Packers +375
  • Bills +600
  • Saints +600
  • Ravens +800
  • Bucs +900
  • LA Rams +1600
  • Browns +2500

Obviously the Chiefs are the big faves heading into this weekend, but given how many fewer points they have been posting compared to last season, there will be lingering questions about how effective they are this season.
What a snub for the Bucs! Las Vegas obviously isn’t a TB12 devotee, but it will be a great rematch between the Saints and Bucs.

Divisional Games

Saturday

LA Rams vs Green Bay Packers
Packers -7.5  +46.5
21:35 GMT

The Rams proved you don’t need a QB so long as you have Aaron Donald to pound the crap out of the other team. The Seahawks are done, so now it’s up to the Rams to travel to Lambeau and thwart the tough as nails Packers. Good luck.
For us in the UK, this will be the first game on Saturday night.

Baltimore Ravens vs Buffalo Bills
Bills -2.5  +49.5
1:15am GMT

These late games can be really tough on us Brits, as these games don’t finish until close to 5am. Luckily there is a lockdown on, and it’s a Saturday night-so go wild. You might want to make sure that you get your afternoon nap prior to this one, as it’s going to get a bit wild.
The Ravens dropped a deuce on the Titans on Sunday, and should matchup well with Josh Allen and the Bills.

Sunday

Cleveland Browns vs Kansas City Chiefs
Chiefs -9.5  +55
20:05 GMT

Holy Cleveland! They came out firing and laid a filthy smack on the face of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not even Juju’s dancing could save the Steelers season, as they limp out to the offseason.
The Chiefs are heavy favourites in this one, but that might just spur on the Browns players even more.
This is the first game of the Sunday sessions, and reckons to be a high scoring affair in the cold.

Tampa Bay Bucs vs New Orleans Saints
Saints -3.5  +51.5
23:40 GMT

The Bucs survived the Washington team, while the Bears held the Saints close for 3 quarters and had a chance to win. Sure, the Saints have pissed off TB12 all year, but will they be able to do it when it counts. As you can see by the odds, Vegas doesn’t believe that the Bucs will make it past this game, despite Tom Brady saying that he was waiting for this rematch.
A late start for a Sunday night, again you’re probably not working so why not start Monday late?

We will have more info on these games as the week progresses, as well as updated odds and injuries. Make sure you also play along in our weekly DraftKings contests, where we host loads of weekly FREE and PAID contests so that you can win money with your NFL brain every week.

Sadly it doesn’t look like that we will have a SuperBowl event this year, but we will try to offer something interactive to you guys prior to the big game.
Hopefully the billionaire owners of the NFL can put their resources together and do something no one else can do…get fans in the stadiums next season!

We also have an NFL in London Facebook Group, so that you can stay up to date on all of the latest news and info regarding NFL activity in London.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/NFLinLondon

 

 

Ekeler’s Millions

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Oh to be an NFL player! You’re a physically fit, young man, earning millions….and 2 years after you retire there is a high chance you will be BROKE! Not unless you make the right decisions.
LA Chargers running back Austin Ekeler details what he spent his first million dollars on in this Ekeler’s Millions segment.

One of the first things that comes across when you watch Austin Ekeler is how humble and grounded the guy is. This probably has something to do with growing up in rural Colorado, and not really focusing on the NFL as a career.  Often the biggest financial busts in the NFL are the players who focus on status and prestige, as opposed to building the structure for financial stability in the future.  There is nothing more frustrating as a fan watching a talented young athlete blow their wad on ‘bling’, when their career could essentially be over within 5 years.
Sure Drew Brees can spend millions on trinkets and baubles, but look where that got him.

Among some of the purchases that Ekeler bought with his first million includes:

Chrysler 300

The essential vehicle for soccer moms, single dads with weekend duties, and of course NFL rookies. Austin smartly mentions that he bought a used car, as he wanted something reliable and affordable to get him to work, while many of his other teammates were focused on the flashy, European models.
It’s better to be frugal than a fool in a league where a sudden injury can change the trajectory of your future immediately.
Cost $30,000

Gaming System

Boys love their toys, and a single man in his 20s is going to spend a lot of money on gaming. Gaming is surprisingly popular and competitive amongst NFL players themselves, so many of the rookies are going to want to update their speed and graphics in order to compete with some of their elders on the team and league. Gaming is a massively popular industry, and many NFL players are eyeing it up as not only an investment post career, but also as a potential job. Hey, it works in ‘Ballers.’
Cost $10,000

Mommy Car

Every good boy wants to thank their mom for driving their ass to and from practice and games for almost 2 decades. Ekeler thanked his mama by replacing here ugly old van, with something more fitting of a matriarch. Austin’s mom is also a Colorado real estate agent, so she has actually been working for him to upgrade his portfolio. Investing in mom is always a good investment.
Cost $40,000

Corvette

The Corvette is a classic staple of Americana muscle car, this fibre glass beast is one of the biggest killers of drivers in accidents. But…Austin Ekeler loves the ‘Vette, so he bought a shiny one. It’s got to be hard to compete with teammates (and celebrities) in LA, so players do need a car that displays the fact that they ‘made it.’ When you’re a kid you dream of owning your ‘dream car’, and luckily Ekeler was able to do just that.
Cost $80,000

Wardrobe

Some NFL players go full peacock in their post game wardrobe (talking to you Cam Newton), so it’s always refreshing to hear from a normal guy that doesn’t spend his weekly budget on hats. Again, the competitive nature of other NFL players must set the bar high, but given what Ekeler spent updating his wardrobe, many women spend that easily making way less.
Cost $5000

Home

Home is where the honey’s are, and if you want lots of honies, you need a sweet home. Read that on a washroom stall once. Everyone in their 20s’ wants to get out of the rent-trap, and Austin wisely invested a large chunk of his cash into his first house. Listening to him speak about it, you get the impression this will be the first of many home he will turn over for a profit.
Cost $240,000

Australia

Austin Ekeler bought Australia for only $15k! Kidding, but the young man invested the sum into visiting his buddy there that was setting up a gym. Sure that this good looking, rich young American man had a great time down under for that amount.
Cost $15,000

Investment Property

OK, this is when you know that Ekeler is one of the smarty ones. Ekeler’s aforementioned mom helped him pick out 17 properties in Colorado to add to his investment portfolio. 17 properties? Wowza, even local boy John Elway must be impressed enough to give him a Papa John’s franchise.
Newby athletes need to learn from Austin Ekeler so that they don’t make silly mistakes with their money. After all, who wants to go from the NFL in your 20s’, to working at Sonic in your 30s’?
Cost $800,000

What would you do if someone handed you that kind of contract? Would you invest that same way as Ekeler’s Millions, or blow it all in a blaze of glory?

Things to think about. Happy New Year!

 

 

 

Week 15 Draftkings

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Has somebody thought of throwing a challenge flag for the 2020 NFL season? As the world descends into further madness, we thought we would add a little joy to your Sunday with our Week 15 Draftkings picks.
If you haven’t been playing along with us this season, there is still time to play along for FREE or in PAID contests.
For many NFL fans, your fantasy season is over, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t play along with our Draftkings daily contests.
We have loads of fun trash-talking each other, and once all this virus nonsense is behind us-we look forward to meeting up with all of you in person again.

Until then, here are some of the top tips you might want to look at for Week 15 in the NFL.

QBs

Jared Goff $6300

Remember the fantasy adage for 2020…’Who are the Jets playing’? Well, this week it is the LA Rams, who have started to push the pedal down for the playoffs. It looks like the Jets are going to throw up a donut in the win column this year, and it’s kind of fun to watch Adam Gase implode. The Rams need to continue to win BIG in the rest of the regular season games, so it’s possible that LA beats the hell out of the Jets before halftime. Regardless, Goff will be a good value for the amount of points he will put up today.

Mitchell Trubisky $5300

Mitch was riding the pines for a good chunk of the season, until Nick Foles became ‘Nick Fails’ and put the nail in his own Bears coffin. Trubisky is auditioning for next season, so it’s no wonder that he is pulling out all the stops to stay in the NFL and avoid being a Walmart greeter.
In the past 2 games Mitch has looked great, moving the ball down the field easily with a balanced running and passing game. The Vikings have a weak secondary that Allen Robinson will find plenty of holes in.

RBs

Derek Henry $9500

Bling, bling baby! If you want to blow your wad this Sunday look no further than Derek Henry. The priciest of the bunch, it’s always hard to justify spending so much on one guy, when savvy bettors know that you can find value in the mid-tier players. With Henry playing a weakened Lions squad, you can easily see the Titans just letting Henry cook.

Cam Akers $6600

He’s back, he’s healthy, he’s scoring, and he’s playing the Jets. Akers has been a light in a running darkness for the Rams, so this game should be a good one to get his confidence up. If the Rams ramp up a big lead, they will rely on Akers to get the first downs.

WRs

DJ Chark $5000

Clark is healthy and ready to disrupt this week, as the Jags take on the Ravens in a big match. A few months ago the Ravens D brought with it fear and uncertainty, but seeing what the Browns did against them last week has dispelled that notion. Baltimore can be beat, and a stealthy WR will cause problems for them when he gets behind the lines. He’s averaging 11.9 fppg, which is a good deal for $5000.

Cooper Kupp $7000

Kupp is also playing the Jets, and has been finding big holes and gains all season. Kupp plays by his own tune, which is why he is found open so often as defences just don’t factor in t contain him. Kupp looks to have another big game against a horrendous Jets team.

Russell Gage $4700

With Julio Jones out, Gage is a great value play for Matt Ryan to hit on Sunday. Averaging 10.4 fppg, Gage has the wheels and hands to find some gaps in the Bucs D. It’s always good to see what value players you can get for under 5k, and Gage certainly dings that.

TE

Tyler Higbee $3800

Another Ram? Yep. Highbee has had an impressive year so far, and it should get even better on Sunday when he rips apart the Jets in the redzone. He’s too big and strong for the Jets to handle when they’re busy trying to cover Keenan Allen.

DEF

Bears $3200

The Bears play the Vikings on Sunday, but this game will be different than the one that was played a few weeks ago. The Bears are more invigorated from the desperate play of Mitch, and the D has responded by playing lights out football. They rattled Deshaun Watson relentlessly in week 14, and they should be ripped to take the head off of Cousins in this divisional match.

NFL in London League

If you want to play along with us every Sunday, make sure you join our Draftkings League here.
It’s called ‘NFL in London’, and we play every week.
https://dkn.gs/r/kwxDR0JIokKPkA6cPjCtNA

Good luck to everyone for Week 15, and have a Merry Christmas to all of you!

 

Callum’s Week 13

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Welcome back to another edition of The Picks Six, where we look ahead to see if I can accurately predict the outcomes, and then the Dallas Cowboys let me down and ruin everything. Sorry for the lack of a column last Sunday – life got in the way. Probably a good thing overall, I would definitely have been backing . Don’t even get me started on the TRAVESTY that was the Cowboys on thanksgiving. Talk about ruining a great day. What a joke. I still hate Washington. Spoiler: Steelers by a million on Monday against the Football Team. Anyway, moving forward – we’re really into crunch time of the 2020 season with every win meaning so much from here on in. There’s a lot of games with large lines this week… I don’t really like many of the underdogs but you do wonder if some will be able to keep the games close. Let’s dive in and improve our 56-23 record on the Full English for the season. 

1st and Goal from the 1yd Line

This is my nailed on – has to happen – pick of the week. What do you want when you’ve had a horrible loss the previous week? To face the New York Jets this week. That’s the right answer. So we have to ride with Las Vegas this week. The Raiders are the only team to have beaten the defending Super Bowl Champs so far this year, and yet got absolutely destroyed by the inconsistent Falcons last week. Hard to read. However, facing the most consistent team in the league – the Jets – will help. They’ve been consistently atrocious. Yes, there’s no Josh Jacobs, but Devontae Booker will fill in fine. Derek Carr needs to stay calm, but that shouldn’t be tough against Adam Gase’s tanking trainwreck. Raiders to win.

45yd Field Goal

This one is not a straightforward pick, a bit more of a 50/50 shot. 

Seahawks -10.5 vs the Giants.

Seattle’s defensive woes are well documented but, now they have their star running back reinserted into their line up, they should be able to control the pace vs New York. Russ should be able to cook, even against a Giants defense that has sneakily been getting better as the season has gone on. Believe in Seattle, as they fight their way to the NFC West crown. Seattle -10.5.

TD Treble

This week, we like a couple of Tight Ends and the most underrated running back in the league:

TJ Hockenson – Still no Kenny Golladay for the Lions, and with D’Andre Swift potentially out too I like Hockenson as one of their go to guys.

Mike Gesicki – it’s still Fitzmagic in Miami, and Fitz loves Big Mike. Gesicki caught a touchdown last week, and I’ll back him to do it again against a poor Bengals defense.

Chris Carson – Please show this man the respect he deserves. He destroyed the Eagles on his way to the end zone last week. With Hyde out, you’ll see a lot of Carson. He should score.

£10 on this treble pays about £130 depending on your bookmaker.

If you don’t like the above options, I think Austin Ekeler & Justin Jefferson are equally good options, with slightly shorter odds.

The Overs

Over 51.0 – Jaguars @ Vikings – The Jaguars LOVE giving up points. Their defense is not that of the famed “Sacksonville” name. The Vikings were quite porous to the Cowboys a few weeks back themselves, so I can see this one going over, with Justin Jefferson having a big day and the Jags focus in on the returning Adam Thielen.

Over 45.5 – Saints @ Falcons – You could argue that the Saints D has been so good lately that taking the over here is foolish, but the Falcons have enough weapons to intrigue here, and Taysom and the Saints weapons have been rolling of late. Even Latavius Murray had a big game last weekend. Take the over here too.

The Parlay

Raiders -7.5 – Yes, I wish the line was a flat 7, or maybe even 6.5… but you’ve gotta believe Vegas has enough to shut down the Jets

Saints -3.0 – Taysom has filled in fantastically for Drew Brees, keeping the Saints’ winning run going. Hard to believe the Falcons will have grown so much from beating the Raiders to defeat the current #1 seed in the NFC. 

Texans +3.0 – Can’t trust the Colts (more on this later), so we’ll take the Field Goal as Deshaun Watson seeks to continue his nice little run of performances. 

Lions +3.0 – I actually think Detroit might win this game outright… but let’s take the +3 here against a Bears team that is lacking both confidence and quality on offense. 

Chargers -1.5 – I’ve been burned too many times by New England this year. This is probably the least secure pick here, but I’m just not trusting Cam Newton to be MVP Cam again right now.

£10 on this five-fold returns about £250 depending on your bookmaker.

The Full English (Season Record: 56-23)

Bengals @ Dolphins – Dolphins (who will now be 8-4…!!!)

Browns @ Titans – Titans (I’m leaning Titans largely because of how unstoppable Derrick Henry has been of late)

Lions @ Bears – Lions (the new coach bounce for Detroit? I find it hard to believe in anything Matt Nagy is selling right now)

Colts @ Texans – Texans (This is maybe the hardest game to call this week for me. I’m not convinced AT ALL by the Colts offensively, but they’re very stout defensively, and it’s hard to know how Houston will react to losing Will Fuller, but getting David Johnson back from injury… I’m taking a risk and leaning Texans).

Jaguars @ Vikings – Vikings

Raiders @ Jets – Raiders

Saints @ Falcons – Saints

Rams @ Cardinals – Cardinals (I like Kyler to get back to winning ways here. They really need it)

Giants @ Seahawks – Seahawks

Patriots @ Chargers – Chargers (this is also a toss up, but I’m thinking this could be a chance for Herbert to make a real statement against a sub par Patriots team. Having Ekeler back made a big impact last week. I’ll ride with LA)

Eagles @ Packers – Packers

Broncos @ Chiefs – Chiefs

Washington @ Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh (by the aforementioned MILLION)

Bills @ 49ers – Bills

Cowboys @ Ravens – Ravens (with how downright weird the Cowboys are, I won’t be surprised if they find a way to shock the world and win this game)

Week 14

So we’re finally done with Bye weeks and can look forward to a full slate as we turn the corner into the home straight, and the final quarter of the NFL regular season. Highlights include the AFC North Silver Medal game between Cleveland and Baltimore, and one of the tougher tests left for the Steelers as they face the Bills. Should be good. Enjoy your week 13! As always, I’m @callumjdsquires on Twitter and Instagram – should you wish to discuss any of this – or how good Bruno Fernandes is – hit me up! Stay safe and healthy. Have a good one.

Callum Squires is a London based NFL writer, and good friend of NFL in London.

Week 13 Preview

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It’s another slug of a week in the NFL, as we take a look at our Week 13 Preview podcast. The previous week of games brought some tough losses, amazing wins, and another batch of injuries to change the playoff outlook even further. The top teams keep rolling, and the Steelers are still undefeated, but are they that good?
Wade McElwain & Ryan Cull are your NFL in London pundits, looking back at the scores from week 12, as well as previewing all of the games ahead in Week 13, as well as their love of seasonal canapés.
Lockdown might be done in the UK, but that doesn’t mean NFL fans are keen to flock to the pubs just yet. It doesn’t help that Premier League games are now directly in contest with the NFL, meaning our fans often get relegated to the side tvs with no sound.
Hopefully we will all be able to watch the Super Bowl together next year. Fingers crossed.

Some of the games the boys hit this week includes:

Colts (7-4) vs Texans (4-7)
Colts -3.5  +53

Indianapolis is still stunned after that viscous beating they took at the hands of the Titans last week. Derek Henry left his boot marks on their D, and they will need to shake off that fuzz if they want to take advantage of a listless Houston team.
The Colts still have a great running game, and short pass options, which will find big gaps in a soft secondary.
Houston are drug cheats. They did it baseball, and now they got caught again in the NFL. Will Fuller is gone, but more importantly this team just received another nail in the coffin that was their 2020 season. JJ Watt must be looking to GTFO of Houston now, so why play hard and hurt your 2021 contract?
Both Ryan & Wade like the Colts to bounceback.
Ryan- Colts 30 Texans 20
Wade-Colts 28 Texans 23

Browns (8-3) vs Titans (8-3)
Titans -6  +53.5

It’s the battle of the 8-3 juggernauts, as we see if the Browns really have what it takes to advance to the post season. All signs point to no.
Cleveland has looked like they have been calling it in all season. Baker Mayfield plays as he does in his commercials, clueless and locked out of the game. The can’t blame it on OBJ because he was hardly even used during the early part of the season.
Tennessee just laid a bit back beating on the Colts and are riding high. They have 8 wins, but those haven’t always been that convincing, barely eeking out victories over some craptastic opponents.
Both teams might play strong, but they could both be easily beat in a first wild card game.
Ryan & Wade are both big on the Titans here at home, although Ryan likes this one to be close.
Ryan- Titans 27 Browns 24
Wade- Titans 34 Browns 24

LA Rams (7-4) vs Cardinals (6-5)
Rams -3.5  +48.5

LA and Arizona were both the victim of an assault last week, except they only have themselves to blame. The Rams were choked out by a superior San Francisco defence, while the Cardinals fell into a Bill Belichick trap. Both of them didn’t see it coming.
Aaron Donald might be carrying the Rams on his shoulders this season, as Jared Goff is inconsistent at best. They failed to get any attacks in motion against a depleted 49ers squad last week, so you wonder how they will be able to keep up punch for punch with Kyler Murray.
Arizona is not as good as many thought. Their 6 wins have been over inept teams, and their 5 losses have at times been very ugly. Kyler looks tiny out there, and is making rookie mistakes in his QB vision. He should be able to wheel out of the way of AD & co., making points with his feet.
Ryan & Wade are both big on the Cardinals for an upset at home. LA hasn’t been definitive enough, and this division contest will mean more to the host.
Ryan- Cardinals 30 Rams 27
Wade- Cardinals 30 Rams 26

Some of the other teams that the boys like to cover this week includes:

Ryan- Chargers Win, Jets Cover, Lions Win, 49ers Win.
Wade-Dolphins Cover, Jets Cover, Falcons Cover, Patriots Win.

Listen to the full podcast for all of our scores and predictions.