Each week through the 2017 season I will give you my leading candidates for the NFL Most Valuable Player prize. After one round of games, my top five gives a nod to the value of the quarterback position and the fact that a passer always seems to pick up this annual award! 1. Alex Smith, quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs Smith …
The NFL campaign is finally under way – which means the clock is ticking down towards our own mini-season in London. To celebrate that fact, Gridiron is delighted to reveal that we’ll be hosting our London Games Afterparty for the second successive year! Taking place once again at our home away from home, Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes on Euston Square, this year’s …
With an apology to those four teams still yet to play in Week 1, here are my award winners from the action that has taken place so far. Offensive Player of the Week Alex Smith, Quarterback – Kansas City Chiefs You’ll have to cast your mind back to Thursday night for my offensive player of Week 1 and it could …
Neil, like the majority of our Picks Challenge players, is already 0-1 for picks after New England’s unexpected opening-night defeat to Kansas City. Can he turn it around? You decide…
Want to impress your mates with your NFL knowledge down the pub this weekend? Help is at hand with one fact or statistic relating to every Week 1 game. Enjoy the opening week of the new season! Kansas City @ New England Since 2014, Tom Brady has a QB rating of 106.9 when Julian Edelman is on the field. In nine …
The college football campaign kicks off in style this weekend as two genuine powerhouses go head-to-head in a fixture that already has College Football Playoff implications… It’s rare the No. 1 team in the country meets No. 3 at any point in the season, never mind on opening weekend. Potentially the biggest game of the campaign outside of the National …
By Neil Reynolds For a team that won just a single game in 2016, the Cleveland Browns have high hopes heading into the new regular season. Hot on the heels of positive comments from head coach Hue Jackson and guard Joel Bitonio, future Hall of Fame offensive tackle Joe Thomas is the latest Brown to offer up the prediction of …
By Neil Reynolds Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley insists the Los Angeles Rams have to bounce back in 2017. The Rams marked their long-awaited return to Los Angeles with just four wins and Gurley couldn’t get on track, rushing for just 885 yards (3.2 average) and six touchdowns one season after racking up 1,106 yards (4.8 average) on the …
By Neil Reynolds Pro Bowl tight end Kyle Rudolph insists we will see a confident Minnesota Vikings team on the field in 2017 as opposed to the squad that struggled down the stretch last year. The Vikings were the NFL’s last undefeated team in 2016 after opening the season with five straight wins, only for the wheels fell off their season as they …
By Neil Reynolds New Orleans wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. is looking forward to taking on one of his former teams when his the Saints clash with the Miami Dolphins in London. Ginn was a first-round draft pick of the Dolphins in 2007 but only lasted three seasons in South Florida. His clash with Miami is circled on his calendar …
By Neil Reynolds Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Brees has reiterated his belief that the New Orleans Saints can be a Super Bowl team in 2017. Three straight 7-9 seasons have been a disappointment in the Big Easy, with the Saints going from perennial contenders to also-rans. But those poor efforts have done little to dent Brees’ confidence, as he told The …
By Neil Reynolds Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer has no planned timetable to step away from the game. The 37-year-old is entering his 15th season in the NFL, having opted to play on amid swirling rumours of retirement. But Palmer insisted to the The Reynolds Report that he has no idea when he’ll hang up his cleats. He said: “I don’t know. …
By Neil Reynolds Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson is expecting his 2017 team to be much better than the squad that won just a single game a year ago. The Browns have continued their patient rebuild over the offseason, culminating in some rare optimism that there could soon be a rare ray of light in the Dawg Pound. Jackson …
By Neil Reynolds Even though the New England Patriots have long controlled the AFC East, Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh insists he and his teammates have no fear when it comes to the current owners of the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Suh told The Reynolds Report: “The Patriots are the team we have to get past because they won our …
By Neil Reynolds Jacksonville head coach Doug Marrone has put the Jaguars on notice that they must start winning more games in 2017. For the past couple of years, the Jags have been adding significant talent to their roster, but positive results have not been forthcoming. Last season, Jacksonville went a miserable 3-13 and saw head coach Gus Bradley get …
By Neil Reynolds As he prepares for his first season with the New Orleans Saints, future Hall of Fame rusher Adrian Peterson admits he has a point to prove. The 11th-year running back, who rushed for just 72 yards in 2016 in his final campaign as a Viking, told The Reynolds Report: “I always carry a chip on my shoulder. It …
By Neil Reynolds Quarterback Joe Flacco is eyeing a quicker-than-expected return from his preseason back injury, giving the Baltimore Ravens hope that he will be available on the opening weekend of the 2017 campaign, if not even sooner. Flacco suffered a disc injury in his back and the original media speculation suggested he could miss up to six weeks, putting …
By Neil Reynolds Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman would like to be in a position where a difficult decision needs to be made at quarterback by the end of the 2017 season. Spielman would like to have options with regards to current starter Sam Bradford and former number one Teddy Bridgewater, who is battling back from a career-threatening knee …
By Neil Reynolds New Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay has yet to work with quarterback Jared Goff in a game situation but likes the make-up of his second-year passer. Goff kicked his heels on the bench for the first nine games in 2016 after being the first overall choice in the NFL Draft and, w he did get …
By Neil Reynolds Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians does not expect two of his star offensive performers to call time on their careers at the end of the 2017 campaign. There has been talk of increased urgency in Phoenix this offseason due to the advanced years of quarterback Carson Palmer, entering his 15th season, and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, …
By Neil Reynolds I’m off to the United States this week and will be attempting to visit the eight London-bound teams in eight straight days, weather and travel schedules permitting! My visit on behalf of Sky Sports and NFL UK will see me rack up an approximate 16,780 air miles on 11 flights. Just hook me up with a coffee-filled …
By Neil Reynolds The Miami Dolphins are full of confidence heading into the 2017 season and wide receiver Kenny Stills believes the offense will be “pretty special” in a second campaign under the leadership of head coach Adam Gase. Buoyed by their playoff campaign of a year ago, the Dolphins boast an impressive array of offensive difference-makers in British running …
By Neil Reynolds NFL players tend to adopt a ‘one game at a time’ mantra when it comes to their business, but Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs admits one contest in particular is setting his pulse racing as the 2017 season approaches. And that showdown will see the Vikings take on their former teammate and locker-room leader in running back …
By Neil Reynolds Offensive lineman Joel Bitonio is anticipating a fierce camp quarterback battle in Cleveland as the Browns aim to finally find a long-term answer under centre. The franchise has been through an NFL-high 26 starting quarterbacks since they returned to the league in 1999 and played six signal-callers in a testing 1-15 campaign in 2016. The fight for the starting job will …
