NFL in London

National Football League in London

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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.

 

TNF-Bucs vs Bears

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Thursday Night Football (TNF) is back for week 5, with an exciting matchup between Tom Brady and the Bucs versus Nick Foles and the Bears. This game could be very good, if Chicago bothers to deliver their a-game.

Most Thursday night football games have been a massive bore, and the hatred of these games is well documented by the players. These games are even tougher to watch in the UK, where the games start at 1:30am and finish around the time the tube opens. Unless you are a total diehard fan, a cokehead or a shift worker, these can be difficult to watch when you have a ‘life’.
Of course, it’s the age of Covid 19, who has the time to have a life?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tom Brady is 3-1 to start the season, despite an early beating by the Saints. In week 4, TB12 and crew looked human, as Justin Herbert was able to march down the field with ease, hitting numerous receivers & making the Bucs D look pedestrian. This is no easy feat, as the Bucs boast one of the best defensive lines in the league.
Brady was also on fire, throwing for 5 touchdowns to 5 different receivers. Most of this action came in the second half, when the Bucs were able to catch their breath and mount an attack, even without Chris Godwin.
Chicago’s D will pose a new challenge for TB12, but after seeing what Philip Rivers was able to do last week against the Bears, Brady should have no problem picking holes in a secondary that got gashed in mid field passes.
OJ Howard will be out again, which means that pitiful Rob Gronkowski should be able to see more touches in this one. Gronk has been dropped by numerous fantasy teams, so the faith in the big man has waned over the past few weeks.
Both teams have only had 4 days to prepare, but you would have to give the edge to Tom & Bruce for being able to pull it together for this one.

Chicago Bears

The Bears are 3-1, but are they really. Pundits were quick to jump on the Bears as imposters, as the first 3 wins came from Mitch Trubisky rallies in the second half.
Nick Foles has done what Foles does. He is able to muster a comeback, but put him in a starting role, and he is inconsistent and awkward.
Perhaps the Bears should look at starting Mitch, then bringing in Foles in when the game starts to go awry. At least this way opposing defensives would have to prepare for two different quarterbacks, which is some advantage.
The Bucs have the best run D in the league right now, so Montgomery will be facing loads of walls in this one. Hopefully the Bears stop trying to use Cordarelle Patterson in a RB role up the middle. It has not worked once this season, and he ends up getting smashed into a wall of opposition. They have yet to effectively use him in a slant or option role, and should explore that before the dude gets busted.
Foles looked ineffective last week against the Colts, and missed on numerous easy passes.
If he can’t find room in a defence that was ripped apart by Justin Herbert last week, we will quickly find ourselves in a new quarterback controversy.

Prediction

The Bucs will establish themselves quickly, with Mike Evans swamping the hapless Bears with his size and speed. The Bears will continue to go 3 and out in their initial drives until they finally get some scores in the second half. By then, it will be too late.

Bucs 30 Bears 20

 

Marvel NFL Fantasy

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First they protect us from Thanos, next the Marvel heroes have started their own AGBO NFL Fantasy League. Is there anything they can’t do? Judging by their line-ups, it’s playing fantasy football.

All of your favourite heroes from Iron Man to Any Man, Thor to Mantis and even Captain America have joined a FanDuel fantasy league to raise money for charity.
It’s nice to see millionaires in this crisis actually doing something to help out instead of just sitting in their golden castles, fielding off sexual assault allegations.

Like any fantasy NFL league, this one brings with it a fair amount of trash talking. One would think that Rocket would be the most apt to deal with ‘trash’, but sadly Bradley Cooper isn’t in this league.
The best at the garbage mouth is none other than the perennially youthful Paul Rudd, who doesn’t strike you as the most ardent NFL fan.

Paul Rudd was due to face Robert Downey Jr in week 4 of the NFL, and unleashed an epic mock video to intimidate Iron Man before the contest.
Rudd made an almost shot by shot video of ‘Iron Man’, in which he skewered the metal man killed by a finger snap in a sweet little roast.
Here it is for your amusement.

Fun Fact

Did you know that Jeremy Renner (aka Hawkeye) is a massive San Francisco 49ers fan? He is such a fan that he even narrates many of their hype videos as well as internal videos for the team. He must have been incredibly happy, then sad as a result of last season.

It seems that both Karen Gillan (Nebula) and Elizabeth Olsen (Red Witch) are not doing well in this years’ pool. If you need any NFL Fantasy advice, please reach out. We know that you are big fans of the show.

 

Canadian Thanksgiving

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It’s Canadian Thanksgiving on Sunday eh? If you’re looking for a traditional Canadian pub to watch American football on Sunday in Britain, then we have good news for you.

The Maple Leaf Tavern in Covent Garden will be hosting their own Canadian Thanksgiving feat this Sunday October 11th and you’re all invited! You will of course have to book ahead and abide by all Covid rules, but you’re invited.

Space is limited for this event, and you don’t have to be Canadian to attend. If you would like to practise apologising to everyone about everything, that should suffice enough to ‘feel Canadian’.
You can book your table by contacting us, or emailing the manager at the Maple Leaf, Zach.
7156@greeneking.co.uk

Menu

Did you know that a traditional Canadian Thanksgiving involves wearing raccoon pelts, eating braised moose meat, and beaver tails for dessert?
If you did know that, you’re an idiot, because we made it up.
The Maple Leaf will be serving traditional ThanksG fare, including turkey and fixins.
The regular menu will also be available for anyone who would rather just have wings and beer.

There is room for about 50 people on Sunday, so make sure that you book now to avoid disappointment. This will sell out quickly.

Like all pubs in the UK, last call will be around 9:15, and you must all be out the door by 10pm.

Stay safe, and happy gobble gobble day.