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2021 Win Picks

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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.

 

OTA Days

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The NFL is back!…Sort of…the OTA’s are back, and we chat about all the NFL news we can find in our OTA Days podcast.

Wade McElwain and Ryan Cull dig the depths of their brains to find anything football to talk about in this episode, highlighting their desperation for the return of football.

Summer is almost here, and once we get these pesky days of sunshine, family and ice cream out of the way…football is finally back!

While there hasn’t been any massive NFL breaking news stories, arrests, Kardashian marriages, or reality show appearances, that doesn’t mean stuff isn’t simmering below the surface.

In this episode, Wade and Ryan talk about some of the most pressing NFL issues heading into the summer of 2021.

Julio Jones

Bye, bye Atlanta, Julio is gone. But where will Julio go? While he does’ have the explosive speed of a few years back, Julio is still a valuable target for any team heading into 2021.
With many teams pleading empty pockets, it’s hard to see how a team will entice Julio with the right concoction. He’s not going to roll up to a half-baked team without playoff chances, he’s going to want a shot at finally getting a ring.
The potential suitors in this one?
Patriots, Raiders, Titans, and maybe the Packers?

Aaron Gone

Aaron Rodgers sure knows how to bring the drama with him, perhaps a casualty of dating so many Hollywood starlets?
Many Packers fans thought this was all part of the package when Rodgers started getting hissy at the start of the season.
He obviously hates the GM, and won’t budge until he’s gone.
Rodgers didn’t report to the OTAs, instead traveling with actor Miles Teller, to watch him get punched in the face across the islands of Hawaii.
Maybe he’ll just retire?

NBA Myles

A video emerged this week of Browns beast Myles Garrett slamming down a dunk and knocking the poor lad into a cushy wall.
The NFL and Browns were not amused, and have politely asked Myles to not play basketball like this during the offseason, just in case he destroys a knee or two.
Luckily for the dunkee, Myles didn’t have a helmet at the ready.

Ertz Don’t It?

The Buffalo Bills need a TE, and the Eagles are ready to serve up a scoop of Ertz.
The Bills are in need of more depth for Josh Allen, so snagging the ageing Ertz might be a good hands option to take the heat off the deep threats down field.
Zach and the Bills make a good fit, and they even moved some numbers on Diggs contract to be able to make it work.
Now, they just need the Eagles to play ball.

Jay Cutler-Businesswoman

Jay Cutler wants to get paid! After whoring out the family dignity on a reality show, the Cutler’s are now breaking up the houses for the final throw down.
In true Cutler form, he hasn’t prepared much-but is willing to ‘ball down’ when it comes to the nitty gritty.
Jay apparently wants half of his wife’s trinkets and bobbles boutique, so he can throw that shit down too.
With little NFL drama in the world, other players are jumping on social to throw their support behind Jay and his coup.
‘NFL Divorces’ the TV series we didn’t know we needed.

London Games

Are you vaccinated? Are you from a green country? Can you read minds?
Then you’re all set of the London games!
It’s still too early to tell what will happen for the London games, but all signs point to ‘business as usual.’
We will keep you updated on news about the games, as well as any other tidbits and trinkets of knowledge that we find out.
Please DO NOT buy tickets from unlicensed sellers, we hear horror stories from fans every year, and it truly is crappy what people do to one another.

Stay safe, stay sane, and keep listening to our podcast!

London Hosts Two-2021 NFL Games

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Wee ha!
The NFL is coming back to London, and it looks like we are getting not ONE, but TWO matches, as it was announced London is to host two, 2021 NFL games.

So who is coming, when, and how can you get tickets?
We’ll have all that information for you shortly!

Atlanta Falcons

It was announced earlier this year that by Falcons own Arthur ‘Blank-itty-Blank’, that the birds would be perching at Tottenham stadium for a 2021 game.
While we don’t know WHO that they are to play, there are certain clues that the NFL has dropped to allow us to figure out which team might be playing here.

We know that their opponent MUST come from the opposing conference, which means that Atlanta would be facing an AFC team.
After looking at the schedules, attendance figures, past London schedule and potential COVID situation, we determined that their opponent would be the New England Patriots.
We still believe that they will be the team that the Falcons play.

The NFL also likes to take advantage of the week long gap during the time changes between Europe and North America.
With only a scant 4 hours between us, it makes game viewing a little easier on the West Coast, so that fans don’t have to get up at 3am to watch the game.
This makes the last weekends of October the most logical choices for London games.

We had originally thought that with one game, the NFLUK would want to balance the game out during the month.
With the news that Jacksonville would also be coming to the UK, we pushed that Sunday back a week, so that one of the games falls over the time change gap which occurs on Sunday October 31st, which will most likely be a game date.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville announced this week that they would also be returning to London in 2021 for ONE NFL regular season game.
With an expanded 17 game season, and a roster buoyed by young and excitement, the Jags could be an interesting game to watch.

Trevor Lawrence will certainly bring the hype train to London, along with his cast of young, plucky stars who probably have never crossed the ocean on a flight.

As previously mentioned, the NFL International games are comprised of two teams from different conferences.
The Jaguars have 8 home games at TIAA Bank Field this season, and the London game is considered one of their home games.
Looking at Jacksonville’s home schedule we can see that they have 6 matches against AFC rivals (Titans, Colts, Texans, Bills, Dolphins, and Broncos), with 2 NFC games against the Cardinals and 49ers.
Given schedule, team priority, travel time, and local newspapers, we believe that the 2021 Jacksonville opponent will be…the Arizona Cardinals.

The NFL has a history of scheduling these international games back to back, so it makes sense that this game will be on continuous weekends.
This allows them to put all the banners across London, keep their staging facilities up, as well as package the games into a marketable, big event.
Given this, the weekends of Sunday the 24th and Sunday the 31st most likely.

Covidity

What’s the deal with Covid? Will visitors need a vaccine? Will there be passports of health? Can Americans visit?
No idea.
All of this will be a wait and see from the UK government.
For those of you from abroad, the UK is due to open to ‘normalcy’ by the end of June 2021.
Should this hold, and we stay clean and healthy, we SHOULD be able to host the games without issues.
Given the nature of the virus, it is unlikely that Tottenham stadium will be at full capacity, but it should be quite full of fans.
Again, this will take a while to figure out.

The whole schedule is released on Wednesday May 12th, at 8pm EST.
Once it’s released we will know a bigger picture, as well as how close we were to picking the right teams and dates.

Are you ready for some NFL in London?

2021 Wins

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Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
A phrase you might hear ripping through the cavernous casinos of Las Vegas of olde, but not so much these days.
But now we’ll take a look at the 2021 wins.

British betting giant William Hill has already taken a look at the 2021 NFL teams, and released a set of projected win totals for teams this season.
If you’re a betting fan, you can look at these odds and think ‘malarky, I’ll have a bet on that!’
Or you might get pumped up with anger that the betting world thinks so lowly of your team.
Or…you might be a Jets fan.

It comes as no surprise that the ‘super league’ teams of the NFL have the most predicted wins for the 2021 season.
The Kansas City Chiefs once again emerge as the big favourites, with the pundits picking them to win 12 games in 2021.
Of course, it doesn’t matter how many wins you get if you’re going to eventually lose to the Buffalo Bills.

Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers are heralded to win 11.5 games this season (yes, .5 of a game), in a testament to the champs tuning up their late season surge in 2020 to open a bigger can oh whoop-ass.
The champ always has a target on their head, and the Bucs will be ‘the team’ other teams will use to set as their playoff bar.
This number might even go up higher if Julian Edelman decides to jump out of the broadcasting booth.

Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Ravens are both predicted to win 11 games by William Hill, despite lingering questions on both sides.
Aaron Rodgers has been asking questions all off-season like ‘Why am I filling in for Alex Trebek?’, ‘Why do people care about my personal life’, ‘Can I host Jeopardy full time’ & ‘They’re never going to get me a #1 receiver, are they?’
Lambeau is turning into an NFC north drama, and if the Packers don’t make it far enough to choke in the NFC final again, maybe they will show Jordan some Love?

Baltimore is an interesting pick for 11 wins given their up and down past 2 years.
The Ravens are missing several key players to make a threatening push for the playoffs, and unless Lamar Jackson is given a porta-potty-tent on the sidelines, his heroic ‘number two’ performances may become less frequent.
Baltimore feels like they’re still discovering the pronoun that they want to describe them.
Are they a ‘running team’, a ‘passing threat’, ‘Lamar’s Lament’ or a ‘Harbaugh-apocalypse’?

Pumping out with a projected 10.5 wins are the LA Rams and Buffalo Bills, both of whom will be massive threats to the two previous teams.

The Rams finally have their QB to go with that staunch defence and solid coaching by McVay. Unlike the previous Rams appearance in the Super Bowl, this feels like a whole new team with more options and attack than ever seen before.
LA will be looking to showcase their ‘post-off’ body, and the NFC is going to see a whole different Rams team.
Look out Green Bay.

Buffalo Bills predicted to win less games than the Baltimore Ravens? Pishaw! Josh Allen was the sweetheart of the league last year, racking up loads of touchdowns, highlights and ‘aww shucks’ moments.
Buffalo has always been that underdog team that America forgets about, and Canada wishes was theirs.
Although their stadium sucks, it starts snowing in September, and Rachel Bush posts more Insta than the city itself…they have wings.
Both chicken and spiritual wings that guide them through collapsable tables.
And this season, the Bills should be flying high.

Among some of the other win projections that seem off:

Cleveland Browns-10 Wins

The Browns won 10 games in 2020, so why are they predicted to win the same amount this year? Cleveland is a way better team than last year and were a victim of circumstance as much as they were tools of their own ineptitude.
Browns will win more than 10.

Indianapolis Colts-10 Wins

It’s the Carson Wentz led Colts, with a projected win total of 10. Really? The Colts limped into the last half of the 2020 season like they ran half the Grand National before dumping the rider and trotting along to the finish.
They had one of the best O-lines and used Jonathan Taylor well to gash for yards…then they lost tough games.
With other teams spending huge and others looking for fresh blood, it’s hard to believe that they can win 10 in 2021.

Are you ready for the NFL Draft?
We will be making our predictions shortly, as well as on our next podcast.

Make sure you like our Facebook page as well!

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

 

London Balling Podcast

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The NFL is officially returning to London!
That’s right, in 2021, the Atlanta Falcons will pop over the pond to Tottenham for a non-divisional contest in October.
So what does that mean for NFL fans around the world?
Wade McElwain and Ryan Cull break it down in this London Balling Podcast.

Covid 19 was definitely the player of the season in 2020, gashing the league for over 85% of their profits from the previous year.
Virus be damned, the games are back on and Mr. Goodell is promising 100% capacity at the stadiums this season.
It all seems very positive…

Among the hot topics in this edition of the podcast include:

London Games

We have one game in the can for 2021, with a whole host of potential games over the next eight years. Sure, we have to split them with Germany, Mexico and even Canada…but at least the games will be spread across the globe.
Wembley looks to be out of the mix for now, but you would have to expect the stadium to make a push a Khan to help heal the wounds of his downtown Jacksonville implosion.
Tottenham already has a head start on the rest of the world by building a purpose built stadium for the NFL, it’s a matter if other countries are willing to build up to keep up.

Falcons at Tottenham

We know that Atlanta is playing in London in October 2021. Further breadcrumbs reveal that the opponent will be non-divisional, which only leaves 5 teams to choose from.
The Eagles last played in London in 2018, so they would be the least likely to return.
The Lions, Jets and Washington are all fan ‘duds’ when it comes to drawing a crowd, so it would be tough for the NFL to promote such a lack lustre game.
New England Patriots are no longer the massive draw that they once were under the TB12 dynasty, but they are still a much bigger ticket than any of the other bum teams available.
If you only have one game this season, go out swinging.
Bring back a 28-3 iconic Super Bowl game for UK fans to enjoy.
It’s doubtful that any foreign fans will be attending the game, so let’s make Britain ‘New England’ again.
That’s our two cents anyway.

Green Bay for $200

Aaron Rodgers tests out a new career path this week, as he hosts Jeopardy for 2 whole weeks. A huge Jeopardy ‘nerd’, Rodgers will be looking to open up his lexicon and fan base by hosting the nighttime quiz for a fortnight.
Don’t worry Packers fans, he won’t be leaving you…this season.

AB Gone

Antonio Brown is ready to get paid! Again.
After finally winning a ring (thanks to the generosity of TB12), Brown is ready to hit the free market and see what he’s worth.
This ageing and outspoken player might find that the turf is a bit frosty in the league, especially given that he still has some pending lawsuits lined up every month.
While Brown doesn’t exude the same drama that he did in his younger Steelers years, his petulance is far too advanced for a man of his age.
It’s nice to get paid, but if the team can only muster 4 wins in a season, was it worth it?

Sam Darnold

Darnold was traded to the Panthers just after this podcast was recorded.
This will have some big implications for the Jets, and their 2021 Draft.
By all accounts, it looks like that the Panthers got a great deal off the Jets for Sammy D.
New York has a lot to change, so it’s good to get the bad memories out of the way.

London Stuff

London is going to host a game! Will you need a vaccine passport?  Can you visit from the US? What does that mean for you and I?
We will be exploring all of this in the weeks ahead, and letting you know as soon as we do. We are still hopeful that we will be hosting NFL events this season, just watch this space for more info.

Here’s the podcast: