NFL in London

National Football League in London

Philadelphia Eagles

Barrel Scraping

by

July is the last month of ‘NO NFL’ until March 2024! All this and more silly news in our latest Barrel Scraping podcast from Wade and Ryan.

Slow News

It’s July, so we’re all hoping for any little nugget of NFL news, from trades, moves to arrests, and even more off-season arrests. More on that later.

We’re always trying to put together a little feast of a podcast for you every episode, and since this is episode 250 of our NFL in London podcast, we tried not to disappoint here.

Here’s a link to the podcast so that you can listen in yourselves.

Among some of the other news that the guys talk about in this podcast includes:

USFL Finale

Did anyone watch the thrilling finale of the USFL this year? Us neither.
But it did turn into a big thrill for the Birmingham Stallions, who notched up back-to-back championships in their trophy hoist.
Given the amount of teams in the USFL (8), it’s not that hard to repeat as you would think.
Congrats to QB Alex McGough, who will once again find himself in the gauntlet of NFL tryouts before returning to the USFL next season.

The Match

‘The Match’ is a US tv series in which pro athletes  & celebs battle each other in a novelty golf-off.
Usually it features some big veterans or top talkers, but this year we got Kelce, Mahomes, and a couple of NBA jerks.
Not as thrilling in this 12 hole round, but at least it featured some modicum of NFL, so always worth watching if not just for Patrick’s Kermit like peeping throughout.

Swimming with Chiefs

Brittney Mahomes was also in hot water this week, after she posted pictures of herself on Insta swimming with dolphins in the tropics.
Animal lovers know that captive dolphins are a touchy issue, especially for someone who needs to display a bit of social foresight.
Worst of all were the rumours that Jackson Mahomes sexually assaulted the dolphin later.

Super Soaker

The Super Bowl still has some lingering blame as to the field conditions, and the NFL is finally ready to pass judgment.
It was the Eagles fault, they should have changed shoes.
While we can all remember how wet and wild the conditions were, with the Philly D struggling to gain traction on the soggy turf. But should they have changed shoes?
It’s all he said, they said at this point.
You lost.

ESPN on Fire

Sorry, they have been firing. Loads of top talent at the House of Mouse are gone, which won’t mean much for UK NFL fans who rarely see these pundits. For US viewers it’s signs of the times that they are moving on from pricey veterans, and throwing cash at new talent, as well as Pat McAfee.
Maybe he can finally afford to buy a shirt.

Jonesy

Jerry Jones is also dipping his story into the media, after reportedly seeking upwards of $50 million for the rights to his video life story.
Word on the media streets is that Netflix has snapped it up, and will look to rebound from all the horrible woke shows they invested in, and get back to the most watched program on the planet.
Even if it is Jerry Jones.
Think how much the Tom Brady story would get.

Kap’r

Colin Kaepernick wants to let us all know that he is still ready to get that NFL call, at the ripe young age of 35. Despite not playing in a decade, and living more off the meme’s of life, Colin is ready to give it another shot.
How about we team him up with Antonio Brown and make a new reality series? ‘AB & KP on the Road’. We’d all watch it.
Good news for Colin ahead is that he will be the ‘face’ of a new 7 on 7  NFL game coming to most devices this fall. He can finally play again, if only in a Meta way.

London Games

We will have more news on our London game party tickets as well soon.
Watch this space.
We will also be looking for people to join a Fantasy League this year with us! Get in touch if you want to play.

London Ballin’

by

Normally we would be gushing about all things NFL in London, but after taking a trip to the MLB games at WestHam stadium this past weekend, we thought we would touch on baseball with a little London Ballin’ news.

Baseball was back in London after taking a Covid break following their first games in 2019.
Back then, we were treated to the Yankees and BoSox blasting so many homers, they actually scored more runs than the first NFL game here.

The 2023 series featured two teams at the bottom of their division, as the St Louis Cardinals hosted the Chicago Cubs in an NL Central dumpster fire across the pond.
Sure the teams might be struggling to make the post season, but that should be nothing new to NFLUK fans who have witnessed some truly dire games.

Despite the premonition that this might be a ‘sucky series’, the games delivered, and all of the fans seemed to thoroughly enjoying the novelty of having baseball in London, with the weather helping to make the whole weekend magical.

That being said, we did have a few thoughts on how the games went down.

The Good

MLB Europe

Wow, they really can put on a show! From the games themselves, to the craziness of Trafalgar Square takeover, London really went big baseball for the weekend.

Having the benefit of the NFL hosting games for a few decades is obviously going to help, but the MLB seemed to go above and beyond in putting it all together.

Unlike early NFL games which seemed a bit chaotic when Wembley was still growing,  the MLB seemed to have a finger on all of the action, making everything feel quite seamless.
As a fan, it’s nice to have consistency from North America, and for European fans to get the real deal experience.

The Games

It was quite the dinger fest on Saturday, as the Cubs took advantage of the short wall, to pop a few over the fence.

St. Louis rebounded in true form on the Sunday, given midwest fans a chance to salivate in the fact that they were able to snag a win abroad.

While there might have been more pomp and circumstance poured into the trip than the games itself, they certainly didn’t disappoint.

Celebrities

The NFL usually brings over their usual slug of ex-players and hangers on, but with baseball, everything is a little different.

The Cubs have a legacy of some great celeb fans, so when Bill Murray and Nick Offerman showed up to offer support to battle the heavyweight status of John Goodman and his Cards, it all started to feel quite Hollywoody.

Add to this was Bill Murray’s hilarious and rambling appearance on BT Sport during the game. Not only was Bill too quick-witted for the hosts, when he finally had enough, he just walked away.
Classic Bill.

The Bad

It’s never fun to crap on someone who goes out of their way to host you, but sometimes you need to address the mighty elephants in the room.

Atmosphere

While it certainly looked like a baseball game, in no way did it feel like one inside the stadium.
A lack of home field announcer, walk on music, or any vibe was quite shocking, as it just felt silent and awkward.

Maybe other people could hear, but where we seated up by the Cardinals Wags, it was shockingly quiet.

To that, it did seem that there was a caste system of enjoyment for MLB fans on the night.
Those seated near the first base line were treated to t-shirts, appearances and engagement, while the rest of the stadium looked on in a ‘what’s going on here’?

There was also a ‘house band’ which not only no one could see, but barely hear. The might have been there to pump up the crowd, but no one could hear or care.

Food

For all the talk of bringing the baseball to Britain, maybe they should have left the food at home.

A much touted ‘2 foot hot dog’ with all the toppings seemed a bit much, and they were, as people littered them all over the stadium. You didn’t need to walk far to spot lost weiners all over the place, and needed to address you walk to avoid stepping on them.

All of the food sampled by our group was cringe enough to add plans of ‘stopping at McDonald’s’ on the way home.

Don’t even get us started on the Dorito Nachos…they were everywhere too!

Dirty Dirty

Unlike other stadiums, it seems like the staff at WestHam stadium don’t clean up during the games.

In fact one toilet near our gate was NEVER cleaned the entire game. By the 7th inning they might as well have locked the doors, as the bins were over-filling, plastic cups and food littered the floor, and just so much piss everywhere.

It could be that there were staffing issues, as we encountered some of the rudest stadium employees ever.
Turns out you can’t ask questions of staff manning the doors to the numerous private rooms on the upper decks.
Asking something like ‘are there bars on this floor’ were responded with such venom, one would think we asked if Ted Lasso was here.

All in all, it was a great series of games, and an enjoyable weekend of baseball in the capital.

But like anything, there is still a learning curve here to climb.

 

 

Sloppy Seconds

by

Most of the top tier talented has been shuffled off to other teams, as we look who is left to go where in our Sloppy Seconds podcast.

If you get offended with the title, take it up with Ryan.

In this episode, the boys look at some of the ‘other’ NFL moves across the league, as we all await the news of where Rodgers, Lamar and TB12 could end up. Wait, him again?

To listen to the whole thing, make sure you click here.

Among some of the other things that the guys discuss in this edition.

Own Up

The owners are having their annual billionaires meeting, and with Epstein island a little too ‘hot’ these days for attention, the lads have opted for a Butlin’s in Wales this year.

Among some of the major things that the owners will be discussing this year are new rules, how to make more money, how not to lose money, and what to do with Dan Snyder.
Dan the man has indicated that he will be selling the team soon, just not to Bezos, Beyonce, or Bono.
He’s got a real ‘B’ obsession that man.

One rule that looks like it will survive is the ‘push rule’, which allows players to leverage a rugby-style effort to move the ball ahead.
Given how strikingly similar it is to the process of trying to get Raiders owner Mark Davis into an elevator after a late night, no one seems to have a problem with it.

Hopkins

DeAndre Hopkins is a hot commodity this off season for the right team that can afford him.
Often injured, sometimes fined, and coming in at a price tag of $30-34 million, teams are going to have dig deep into their pockets to be able to afford the ageing receiver.

Is he the guy that is going to get you to the SuperBowl, or is his salary just so dang high that he could cripple the rest of the team in mediocrity?

Buffalo Bills are top faves to pip Hopkins this season, giving Josh Allen another option to try to force balls to in 3rd and long situations.

Who’s got the cash to splash on this big player?

Panther Sale

After liquidating their franchise of players over the past 18 months, the Panthers are starting to build up some options for whatever rookie QB they decide to pursue in the draft.

Former Vikings WR Adam ‘Stealin’ Thielen was a handy slot option for Minnesota, so it will be interesting to see how they use the ageing receiver.
Also added to the mix is former Jag/ Lion DJ Chark, who will add some lowly fantasy points to whomever snags him in a 14 player fantasy league.

Carolina played last season like they had ‘nothing to lose’, let’s see how that transcends to 2023.

Oh Rodgers

For a guy who said he was going to make this quick, Aaron Rodgers sure seems to be in limbo.

Word is that the Jets and Packers are just down to the numbers now, as Green Bay will be looking to fleece New York for whatever they can, while the Jets also have to contend with a massive chunk of cash to pay him.

Maybe he can get his buddy Jake Paul to buy an NFL team call it the Ayahuasca’s and they can trip across the states together beating teams way weaker than them?

Everyone in the league is just waiting for this to get down and dusted so we can see how bad the Jets will actually be after making so many sacrifices.
Still got to make it out of that tough division.

London Games

We are getting closer to the announcement of who will be playing in London in 2023 to face the Bills, Titans, and Jaguars.
We have our own thoughts, and will be sharing it with you guys over the next few weeks.

 

Scoff Season Podcast

by

Bleh, the off-season blues have hit us all as Wade & Ryan try to make news from clues in this Scoff Season Podcast.

As the intoxication from the 2022 season wears off, we’re left with a hangover supplemented by some XFL, Six nations, and what the USFL might do.

Real NFL fans know that this time of year is when the drama happens. Some sort of juicy retirement, trade, or signing will get ours hearts racing again, hoping for a new season of what’s to be.

The boys yakkity-yak about this stuff in the podcast, so make sure that you wet your ears with the juice right here.

Other stuff the guys chat about in the podcast includes:

AX-FL

The Rock may have not cooked his league enough, as the XFL is raw-dogging the ratings and having fans more opt to choose pickle ball repeats than primetime football.

Maybe the league hasn’t titty-twisted fans interest yet, or maybe the focus is on the wrong side of lens.

Orlando Guardians could be a Real Housewives locker-room drama, as the shizzle has hit bizzle for another time this week.
Previously coach Terrell Buckley went viral for tossing his team under the bus for not wanting to play and give it all. It was a pretty damning way to start the season.
Then QB Quenten Dormandy, (who replaced Paxton Lynch), was dropped by the team after it was found out he send the playbook to an opposing team.

You can’t make this kind of drama up! The real show should be on the behind the scenes of the shiesse show that is being a ‘not NFL’ player.
Something has to spice up the league.

Who they, Where they?

There are so many expensive pieces in the NFL to move as egos and salaries bloat the franchises. It’s going to be only so many good bodies a lockeroom will hold when one guy costs a quarter of the team’s season salary.

Just like Epstein island, you can only bury the young kids for so long before you got to pay them. Burrow, Mahomes, Watson, Jones, Lamar and more are going to want their 50 mill a year, and that factory can only make so many touchdowns on its own.

This off season should see a slew of jocks shuffle off to new teams and totally make their budgets, rosters and momentum take a massive steer.

Going ‘all in’ Rams and Cardinals style looks as appetising as buying a Hummer, as franchises are looking to lean and mean for years, not wither on the vine.

Bear What

So what are the Bears going to do with their number one pick?

Are the going to boot Justin Fields in the butt, and find a new beginning with their new coaching team? Will they look at the massive running numbers he put up despite a horrible O line and everything else around him? Will they trade the pick and try to milk it for everything they can get?

Teams are QB slutting right now, as they know that there are a few gems in the 2023 draft that might be able to change their destiny.

Word on the street a the mo is that the Bears are looking for 3 number ones over the next 3 years. Are they trying to cash in a lottery ticket that’s too big?

What if the one that gets away this year is the next Mahomes, or that Fields turns out to be a bust?

Some many bear-abilities.

Make sure that you check out all of our socials, and that you follow and subscribe. We’re going to have a whack more content out soon, so check this space for all of the latest news.

We will also be doing some profiles on the upcoming NFL Draft, and the 2023 London Games.

Make sure that you listen to our Scoff Season Podcast here.

Super Bowl 57 Review

by

Holy smokes, what a game that was on Sunday, as we look at what went down in our Super Bowl 57 Review.

The Kansas City Chiefs are the Super Bowl champions once again, after a 38-35 victory in Arizona.
It was a back and forth battle all game, but it was the heroics of Patrick Mahomes once again that did the work necessary to get the W and hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The Eagles played valiantly, and Jalen Hurts would have been the game MVP with his touchdown performance had the game gone the other way.

Let’s take a look at some of the key takeaways from the big game in our Super Bowl 57 Review.

Kansas City Chiefs

All hail the Chiefs, who had to listen to the odes to Buffalo and Cincy all season, before getting the respect they demanded with a Super Duper performance.

Kansas City seemed to struggle a bit to get the right momentum in the first half.
The defence played fast and fierce on the line, shutting down anything that moved past it, but behind the Eagles O line, they struggled to contain Philly as the second half wore on.
Mahomes ill-fated ankle once again looked to be injured, sending the hopes of ChiefsKingdom everywhere into serious doubt.

Whatever happened in that locker room at half-time set the tone for the game, as the Chiefs changed the game in the second, making the Eagles play catch-up.
Andy Reid wisely switched to heavy run game that was able to find outside lanes for key yards, and Patty M was able to dissect the Eagles secondary for big gains.
Toney’s punt return also helped put the nail in a Philadelphia team that just couldn’t rally when it was time.

Philadelphia Eagles

You have to give to Philly for the road they took to get to Super Bowl 57, and there solid performance throughout the season and post. The Eagles may have lost, but they will be post season candidates for a while.

Jalen Hurts Wass truly a beast on Sunday, and if wasn’t for that sloppy drop that led to a pick 6, the game might have been very different.
While it took a while for Philly to find their stride in the first half, they seemed to be able to be on the right path to victory with a 10 point lead heading into the half.

The second half was another story for the Eagles, who much vaunted D left some pretty huge gaps for Mahomes and Kelce to fill. How they let so many zone holes with no one around was very perplexing. You know you’re playing against the best QB in the league right?

Heads held high Philly, if you would have won, you would still be cleaning up your broken city right now.

The Call

Penalties called in the final two minutes of the Super Bowl better be pretty damn important, or they are not worth calling.
It’s tough to say if this one was.

When now-hated ref Carl Cheffers flagged Eagles cornerback James Bradberry for holding on Juju Smith-Schuster, it allowed the Chiefs to not only get the first down, but shut down the game and clock.

Bradberry would later admit that the refs got it right, but that still doesn’t address the real issue, or an even bigger problem with refs this season.

The last two minutes of the Super Bowl should only be penalties that are so damn obvious and egregious that you HAVE to call them. Otherwise, play on.

Rihanna

Let’s not forget about the half time show of Super Bowl 57, which many Super Bowl party attendees know, is only watched by about 30% of your crowd. Everyone else is either pissing, getting pissed, pissed off about the game, or doesn’t give a shit about the artist.
True NFL fans remember the class and dignity of ‘Up With People’ and like it gosh-nammit.

It was Rihanna’s halftime y’all, as she paid the NFL over $1million to karaoke shuffle some of her greatest hits, rub her crotch, sniff her fingers, and announced she was pregnant again.
Sorry was this a halftime show, or was there going to be a gender reveal, didn’t see that in the prop bets?

The performance was anchored by some very Squid Game looking backing dancers, which gave some the impression that perhaps they might be sacrificed in some ritualistic contest to fed Rihanna’s unborn.
‘When bitch better have my money comes on, jump off the elevated platform!’

The real star of Super Bowl 57 was ASL interpreter Justina Miles, whose performance certainly shone like a diamond, and whose lip-synching was far better than Rihanna’s.

Gronk’s Kick

The much touted field goal attempt by Rob Gronkowski turned out to be a turd, as Gronk shanked it left.

Gronk blamed a ‘sudden change in wind’ as the cause of his mistake, which sounds like a line he and his brothers bring out a lot when it’s chilli night.

Although it was billed as ‘live’, it looked like the thing was pre-recorded in an Arby’s parking lot.

The real winner was no one, especially Gronk.

End in the end, it was an amazing Super Bowl 57, and the third highest watched ever with over 113 million people in America tuning in.

The season is done, and us NFL fans have no entertainment for the next 8 months, and that is it for our Super Bowl 57 Review.
Or until the XFL..or USFL..or CFL…give us football!!!