National Football League in London
Our own Wade McElwain brings us into his back garden for a sunny day of NFL picks.
Wade shows off his smoked brisket and gives you a peek at his meat.
He also blasts off some week 1 upset picks to help you find an advantage in your fantasy pool.
He likes the Falcons, Bengals, & Bucs to pull of some week 1 upsets. Who you got?
Snap! The NFL is back and just in time, as this whole year has felt like Thanos has snapped us halfway back to reality.
Will the heroes of the gridiron save us from the banality of every day Covid life?
Hell yeah!
One NFL fan went the distance, using his editing skills to create superb hybrid of an NFL hype film, with an Avengers style trailer. (we don’t own any rights, just fans).
Always nice to see someone who is both an NFL Fan, and one heck of an editor.
If this doesn’t get you ripped for the season, maybe Thanos should have killed us all?
The NFL is back, and so is your chance to win some money playing in our DraftKings Fantasy NFL contests. We have loads of great offers with DraftKings, including our deposit $10 get $10 back offer.
Adding Fantasy Football to your NFL week just makes things more fun, especially if you want to trash talk your friends.
To celebrate the start of the season, I have made some tips and picks to help you get some value with your DFS this weekend. Make sure you join our NFL in London League on DraftKings, where you can win cash and prizes. Hopefully we will also have a live event or two this season depending on how this whole nasty virus affects us all.
Here are some of my top picks to look at for Week 1.
There are a lot of key match-ups to kick off week 1, so you want to make sure that you are getting value with every pick you make. In terms of QBs you want to see which guys are playing the worst D’s, then you can find out which guy is going to get you some solid points.
Joe Burrow-$5800
Welcome to the NFL Joe, first up is the speedy Chargers D-line. You ready? Surprisingly I think that he will be. Joe has loads of (old) tools at his disposal which should give the Chargers backfield some problems. If Joe Mixon can mix it up, it will take pressure off of Burrow who should have some time to hit some of his WRs downfield. He’s pretty good value for what he should produce.
Phillip Rivers-$6000
This is also Phillip Rivers first game, just not his first ever. Bolstered by one of the top O-lines in the league, Rivers should have lots of time to connect with TY Hilton down the field, burning the Jags D relentlessly. I see this as a high scoring game, so Rivers should factor in at least 3 TDs.
Running backs have declined in the past few years in terms of points scored and definitiveness, so it’s hard to try to find the true value backs instead of splashing out on the big boys who can be inconsistent.
Sony Michel-$4600
Cam Newton will be looking to use his legs against the Fins, so who knows who he will be dishing off to. At $4600 Michel is a steal, as Cam will probably use him in short yard situations which could mean a few TDs.
Miles Sanders-$6300
A bit pricier for a guy who is still dealing with a lower body issue. Sanders is one of my faves for an outrageous season of fantasy points, and I like him to gash the frontline of the Washington D. Look for him to gain some big ground and even bigger points
DeSean Jackson-$4900
The Eagles speedster may have declined slightly over the years, but he still stands up as the go to guy for Wentz. He has the potential to snag the deep ball and run ragged over the Washington team, causing mayhem throughout the game. Good value at $4900.
TY Hilton-$5800
As mentioned earlier, TY Hilton is now matched with the arm of Phillip Rivers. Given that these guys will have been practising all summer, I see them being in a good rhythm for a solid victory over the hapless Jags. At $5800 he should be good for a score of two.
Jack Doyle-$3600
With Burton injured for the Colts, Rivers has another fine target in Jack Doyle. He’s quick, strong and will give the Jags midfield plenty of headaches. A steal at $3600.
Hayden Hurst-$4300
With Austin Hooper banged up, Hurst will be looking to fill some pretty big boots. Hurst has the wheels and hands to satisfy Matt Ryan and should feature heavily as they cross the Seahawks midfield.
Vikings-$2500
But they’re facing Aaron Rodgers! Yes, but they also have an incredible secondary that looks to feast on tip balls and ill-timed passes. For $2500 they will be able to put pressure on AR, and probably pick off a ball or two as well.
Bears-$3300
Sticking with the NFC North, the Bears are facing the broken back of Matt Stafford. They will apply plenty of pressure on MS, and Mack will be looking to toss the often injured QB around all day.
If you want to join some of our contests, feel free to click the links and play along.
Free Contest 1
https://www.draftkings.co.uk/contest/draftteam/91321103
Free Contest 2
https://www.draftkings.co.uk/contest/draftteam/91486054
And make sure you enter the $2 DraftKings Europe pool for a chance to win $500 in their contest
https://www.draftkings.co.uk/contest/draftteam/90978605
Good luck, and happy drafting in Week 1.
Praise to the NFL Gods! We’re back with the 2020 season, and Wade & Ryan couldn’t be happier.
This whole year has felt like a Cowboys vs Patriots Super Bowl, with screaming idiocy everywhere, but at least we can find comfort in the start of another year of football.
The guys might not be able to predict what the bloody hell is going to happen in the next 6 months, but at least they will steer you right in their NFL picks.
The first week of the NFL is always tricky to handicap, as there are so many unknown factors and new dynamics rolling off of training camp. 2020 is an even tougher year to predict, as the lack of preseason and physical preparation are all going to factor into some wild and crazy scores. Injuries will also be a major issue, as the lack of a preseason means some of these guys might be soft and brittle the first time someone plows into them.
Wade McElwain and Ryan Cull have done the research, looked at the tape, read a few fantasy magazines and are ready to prognosticate. Wade had a whopping 64% correct against the spread last season, while Ryan came in with 57% correct. Will Wade be able to repeat his wizardry this year? Let’s find out with some of their top picks.
The reigning Super Bowl champs kick off the season at home against a foe they face early on in the playoffs last year. Despite trailing 24-0 to Deshaun and the Texans, Mahomes was able to rally his team to go all the way. So how much is changed the season?
Hopkins is gone, Cooks is in and the running game now rests in the hands of Duke Johnson.
The Chiefs have much of their magic back, although some of the blocking on the O line is weaker due to some trades and opt outs.
Both Wade & Ryan like the Chiefs to win here, although Ryan sees the Texans keeping this game closer, while Wade predicts a blowout in from of a smaller Chiefs crowd.
Wade-Chiefs 31 Texans 20
Ryan-Chiefs 31 Texans 28
This is the first time we see Bill Belichick without his Tommy Boy, so how will he react to his new NFL normal? He’ll be fine, as BB is known for his meticulous planning for any opponent. Cam will add a nice healthy dose of dip and dash to the offence, and old man Edelman will prove his worth in some quick cuts and short routes. Fitzmagic will need to find his magic wand, as many of his tools have either been traded or regressed in the offseason. Fitz will have some success, but the Patriots D is still one to be feared in the league. Ryan likes the Dolphins to cover, whereas Wade sees this as another beatdown.
Wade-Patriots 30 Dolphins 17
Ryan-Patriots 24 Dolphins 20
The Seahawks are out for a title this year, and many believe that this could be ‘their year’, but first they have to get through some tough competition. The Falcons have struggled with great talent and bad injuries in the past few years, and one wonders if Matt Ryan will ever make a trip back to the Super Bowl in his career. The dome might be lacking in fans, but there will be a lot of eyes on new acquisition Todd Gurley and whether he can stay healthy.
Ryan likes the Seahawks to rough up the Falcons, with Russell Wilson having an impressive day hitting Tyler Lockett.
Wade on the other hand is quick to point out the traditional slow start of the Seahawks, and Pete Carroll not covering the spread on Week 1 since 2014. He has Atlanta in an upset.
Wade-Falcons 30 Seahawks 28
Ryan-Seahawks 31 Falcons 21
For the rest of the predictions, have a listen to our podcast for all the games and scores.
How will the boys do this week?
Make sure you join us one weekend for an NFL event once all of this malarky is behind us.
Stay safe, stay sane, let’s go NFL!
Like many at the start of September, we held our annual Fantasy Draft to commemorate the start of the season. Fantasy Draft’s are great ways to bond with fellow NFL fans to challenge each other in your game and playability knowledge of this great game. It’s also a good chance to emotionally bitch slap last year’s losers, bow to the finite rantings of last year’s winner, and plan for the future.
Our NFL in London Fantasy Pool is going on over a decade of play, with a melange of international fans who we have met in our hosting of NFL events across the city.
There are two leagues, the ‘Eh League’ which is comprised of the best of the best, and the ‘B League’, the relegation league where hopefuls can exchange a league win with that of the Eh loser. To be the best you have to beat the best.
We held this years draft at the Princess Alexandra Pub in Crouch End. It’s our lovely local run by our mate Nick Ford and his wife and 2 Alaskan Malmutes. With the crush of Covid, we opted for a nearby place that we could safely distance, as well as support an independent establishment. They have great burgers, Sunday roasts and stay open until 1am on Sundays so you can catch the second game, and be back in Kings Cross in 20 minutes.
https://princessalexandran8.co.uk/
We used the FanDraft software again this year, and cannot recommend this product enough. It is an easy and fun way to host your draft, and you can immediately export the results to input into your fantasy app. You can also make it fun with walk-on music, custom images and funny comments that I as the commissioner can input. We teamed it up with Facebook’s Messenger to create a private group that we could run for over 3 hours. Since we had folks in Dubai, New Zealand, Romania and Scotland, this was really a fun little addition.
https://fandraft.com/
It was nice to have a sense of ‘normal’ again, and hope that all of you also had a great one as well. It’s a messed up old world we live in, & a fantasy group is like a fraternity of sanity. No matter what shit people have to say about what on social media, NFL fantasy chat is all about the BS.
Let’s see what you have to say about it Monday morning.
Good luck everyone.
