London is ready for an NFL team
A new stadium is in the works, a fan base has been molded, and a market is waiting. London is calling for the NFL, and the NFL should be ready to answer.
A new stadium is in the works, a fan base has been molded, and a market is waiting. London is calling for the NFL, and the NFL should be ready to answer.
This Sunday marks the season's third and final NFL game in London. It will be another sellout in a massive, 84,000 seat stadium. The sport that has taken over America seems to have a hold on fans across the pond. Give London a team - farewell, Jacksonville - and watch the sport explode.
A home is already being readied if the NFL decides to expand into London. Tottenham Hotspur - a soccer club on the north side of the city - broke ground in 2014 on a stadium that is being constructed to host both the English Premier League and the NFL. It is set to open in 2018 and is scheduled to host two NFL games per season under the current format of the NFL's International Series.
The stadium will have a retractable playing surface that pulls a grass soccer field over synthetic football turf. It could host a soccer game and football game on the same day. It will have locker rooms, medical facilities, and media areas built for the NFL. The sight lines will be just as good for an NFL game as they are for soccer. One entrance of the stadium will be dedicated to soccer and another for the NFL.
All of this seems a bit much for just two NFL games a year.
"If it ever got to a stage where the NFL decided it wanted to have a permanent team in London, this stadium could literally be, whatever the team was, it would be their stadium as opposed to an NFL team feeling they're renting Tottenham's stadium," Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy told ESPN in September.
Tottenham's stadium will hold 61,000 fans for an NFL game, which puts it on par with Chicago's Soldier Field and is slightly fewer seats than Detroit's Ford Field and Pittsburgh's Heinz Field have. But who will fill it? Each of the 16 games in London has been a sellout. They have averaged more than 80,000 fans per game.
The Guardian - one of London's leading newspapers - wondered last year how many sports beside soccer could sell out Wembley Stadium twice within a week like the NFL did.
British interest in the NFL is legitimate. Sunday games in America kick off in London at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., making them watchable, unlike NBA games, which begin at 1 a.m. Five NFL games are aired live each week in London by the same network that airs the Premier League. And back in America, a London team would allow the NFL to sell yet another broadcast window. The NFL started last season to kick off the London games at 9:30 a.m.
One problem - and it is a tangible one - is the travel. What type of strain would it be on an NFL team to travel London to America eight times a year to play away games? And what type of advantage would they have against a jetlagged opponent traveling to England?
This week the Bengals and the Redskins - the two teams that play Sunday - flew to London on Thursday night and arrived Friday morning. An NFL team normally leaves for an away game on Saturday. The Bengals and Redskins both practiced Friday just as they would had the game been played in Cincinnati. Traveling to London is certainly a disruption but does not seem to be a major one.
And which team would it be? All signs point to the Jaguars, who have played one home game a season at Wembley Stadium since 2013 and are contracted to do so until at least 2020. That's one way to build a fan base. The Jaguars are owned by Shahid Khan, who also owns the London soccer club Fulham. It would be pretty convenient for Khan to have both of his sports franchises sharing a city, especially a world-class city in a major market.
The Jaguars have cut the capacity of their stadium by more than 10,000 seats in the last 10 years to avoid not selling out and having to black out the games on regional television. They are on pace this season to rank 24th or worse in attendance for the fourth straight year. It would be hard for a London team to draw fewer fans. But there's only one way to find out.
Thumbs Up
Good job by Rams head coach Jeff Fisher to stick to his guns and not give up just yet on Case Keenum, who threw four interceptions Sunday and has a quarterback rating this season of 41.9. Backing up Keenum is Jared Goff, the No. 1 pick in the draft. Goff is the quarterback the Rams selected instead of Carson Wentz. Imagine this happening in Philadelphia: Wentz riding the bench as Sam Bradford or Chase Daniel littered the field with interceptions. Fisher, who has not had a winning season since 2008, said that Keenum is still his quarterback. You have to love a coach with some conviction.
Thumbs Down
Bills head coach Rex Ryan allowed LeSean McCoy to play last Sunday after the electric running back injured his hamstring in practice. Then the obvious happened as McCoy left Sunday's loss to the Dolphins in the third quarter with a hamstring injury. It made no sense for Ryan to play him and risk McCoy's healthy for the rest of the season. A one-game rest could have made all of the difference for his hamstring. He's doubtful to play Sunday and the Bills have a bye in two weeks, which hopefully gives McCoy a chance to heal.
Top early afternoon game:
Patriots at Bills
This is the game Bill Belichick has been waiting for since his Patriots were dismantled at home in Week 4 by the Bills. The Ryan Bros. pounced on third-string quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who a week earlier had fooled the Texans. Belichick was so frustrated that he slammed his Microsoft tabled after a Bills touchdown. He'll seek revenge this week behind Tom Brady. Buffalo won't like Belichick when he's angry.
Top late afternoon game:
Packers at Falcons
The late afternoon slate is slim thanks to six teams' having a bye week. The Georgia Dome should be home to a shootout. Atlanta owns the NFL's second-best passing attack behind Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. Aaron Rodgers looks to be rounding into form, as he threw for three TDs last week against the hapless Bears. Atlanta's pass defense (294.3 yards per game) has been suspect and it will be tested by the Packers.
Sunday night:
Eagles at Cowboys
It will be Carson Wentz vs. Dak Prescott in what many hope is the start of a long-term rivalry. The Cowboys have won five straight and they'll likely rely on rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott against the Eagles, who have allowed just one player this season to rush for 100 yards. The Eagles have won their last three games in Dallas.
Monday night:
Minnesota at Chicago
This sounds like a Thursday Night Football slopfest. Who decided to put the Bears in prime time for three of their first eight games? No wonder the ratings are down. Bears quarterback Jay Cutler will return amid reports that coach John Fox told friends that he's "done" with Cutler after the season. Fox denied the report but Cutler did say that the coach "doesn't have a choice, I guess" to play him now that Brian Hoyer is injured. At least Chicago has the Cubs.
@matt_breen