State of the Franchise

 "If you build it, he will come." Field of Dreams

Once the dust settled on the fifth instalment of the NFL International Series, I find myself dreaming of a time where I’m sat at Wembley cheering on the “London [insert appropriately ferocious animal here]” with fellow fans resplendent in the jerseys and colours of our players, our team, our franchise. A stark contrast to the sea of Viking Purple, Jet Green and Indy Blue at last Sunday’s game.

We all know that the NFL has committed its teams to the International Series until 2016, with talk of the UK hosting two regular season games. Clearly more football being played in the UK is a good thing, the NFL committing to more football being played in the UK is a good thing, but at this stage I think there is a mighty leap from International Series to UK franchise. The NFL’s most recent commitment is more akin to a testing of the waters, a dipping of the toe, rather than a whole hearted endorsement for a UK franchise.

As things currently stand this would appear to be the most prudent approach; whilst the crowd of over 75,000 at Wembley will represent one of the best attended NFL games this season, either side of the pond, there were still empty seats. I’m not overly convinced that the line being spun (shortened timetable as a result of the NFL lockout) is the root cause of tickets still being available right up to the game, and I would be wary of relying on this 'excuse' too heavily. An over-emphasis on the shortened timetable can back-fire; the message being that the UK needs a good few months in order to convince people to come to the game – not a great confidence boost. Add to this the fact that the Tampa Bay Cheerleaders and a squirrel occupy the most column inches in the UK press and NFL owners can be forgiven for wondering whether the International Series is merely a spectacle whose shine and gloss will fade over time.

Let us not forget that fans in the US are understandably miffed that they are already losing a home game to the International Series and are non-too thrilled about the prospect, as they see it, of the NFL being packaged up and exported. There are those who are also of the opinion that UK NFL fans would have no room in their hearts for a UK franchise, having already pledged their undying fealty to one of the 32 US teams.

In spite of the potential pitfalls, and the incredible amount of work that is needed to secure a UK franchise, I firmly believe that the next five years presents itself as a rare opportunity to the considerable NFL fan base in the UK. I love the NFL, love the Eagles, but if I was faced with a choice of sitting through and Eagles game, half-dead at 3a.m., or the opportunity to go and watch the “London Mosquitos” (top of the deadliest animal charts) live, beer in hand, I’m heading to Wembley. Were the NFL owners to find in the UK a real support base, real earning potential and the longevity of both, they would have all the incentive they needed to push through any of the innumerably daunting logistical tasks that accompany the creation of a UK franchise. Most importantly, if they build it I will come.  

The Race to Luck

“Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser.” Vince Lombardi

As I have previously mentioned this season is not playing out the way it was ‘supposed to’; as such it would be premature, to say the least, for teams to be designing their superbowl rings or gathering in their war rooms to formulate a plan of attack in free agency and the draft.

However, once the clock ran out on the final game of week 6 we can say for certain that, based purely on the number of games won, the Packers are the NFL’s best team and the Colts, Dolphins and Rams share the accolade of being its worst.  

Bizarrely, and perhaps in response to the shock of the unknown, a “Suck for Luck” campaign has emerged  which has prompted commentators and fans alike to seriously moot the prospect of NFL teams purposefully losing in order to lay claim to the number 1 draft pick; or in other words secure the services of Andrew Luck. When last checked “Suck for Luck” had 86,500,000 results on Google and @SuckForLuck had over 1600 followers on Twitter.

I refuse to believe that any professional athlete would set out, commit or in any way hope to lose, and similarly do not accept that any real fan would will their team to defeat. Let us not forget that in order to be included amongst the 53 men on an NFL team’s roster, you are likely to have the sort of desire, will and competitive temperament to mean you care about coming first in an egg and spoon race, let alone hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. It is also highly improbable that the worst team of 2011 magically transforms into the best team in 2012 merely by the addition of a rookie QB. A team is in the position to draft no 1 because a great many things have gone wrong, and that would not be remedied by virtue of the fact that Andrew Luck is under centre on opening day.

In spite of the above it would be foolhardy to ignore the fact that at the end of this season one team is going to be awarded the first pick in the draft, and the consensus number one pick is Andrew Luck. The interesting question is not so much who is going to get the first pick, but who would actually use it to get Luck?

At this stage in the season the most likely candidates for  the number one pick are the Colts, Dolphins or Rams, and this is unlikely to change any time soon. Looking ahead to week 7 it will be surprising if any of these under-performing teams go on to mark a notch in the win column.  The Colts play away to the Saints, whose high powered offence will look to make amends for the loss to the Bucs.  The Dolphins host a rested Broncos team, who have had time to prepare and adjust with Tebow at the helm; Tebow in turn will be motivated to cement his place as the starting QB. The Rams play away to the Cowboys and I can think of no better way for Tony Romo to keep his mounting critics at bay (for at least one week) than to beat up on the poor, defenceless Rams.    

Would any of these win-less wonders actually take Luck? The Dolphins, who have been in the market for a legitimate franchise QB since Marino, would almost certainly pull the trigger. The Colts cannot be ruled out of the equation entirely; securing the services of a viable replacement to the ageing, injured Manning would not be unwise. Failing that the Colts would most likely follow the Rams, who would trade the number 1 pick for gargantuan compensation - what a stroke of luck that would be.  

The Story So Far....

“The more I see the less I know for sure” John Lennon

Once the malaise of the NFL lockout had passed, journalists, commentators, ‘experts’ and  fans alike turned their attention to the upcoming season and took comfort in all that was ‘known’ to be true. Approaching week 5 of the 2011 NFL season it seems like we knew nothing; the dismissed Redskins sit atop the NFC East, Cam Newton is on record setting pace, and ‘Hotlanta’ looks to be cooled.

As we all reach for a slice of humble pie Brit Coast Offense will be keeping an eye on some of the more interesting developments:

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Detroit Lions - Contenders?

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Having amassed 10 straight losing seasons and the only 0-16 record in the history of the NFL, the Lions, along with the Superbowl winning Packers, are undefeated heading into their division matchup with the Bears.

Aside from the week 2 destruction of the Chiefs (who frankly can be beaten by any half-decent team) the Lions greatest margin of victory is just 7 points. So are they a powerhouse on their way to a perfect season or just a mentally rejuvenated team, grinding out wins against relatively soft opponents? I don’t think there has been a consistent enough performance on either side of the ball to come to a conclusion; at this stage I wouldn’t be shocked if the Lions either secure or fall short of one of the NFC’s eight playoff spots.

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Game over for the Colts?

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Some small but important comparisons of the 2010 and 2011 Colts, going in to week 5:

                                

In short, a Manning-less Colts are just not that good a team. Barring a miracle recovery from the four-time league MVP it would appear the 2011 campaign is a write-off (Brit Coast Offense prediction - look for the Colts to aggressively address the Quarterback position in April’s draft).

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Minnesota Vikings - ?????????

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In the past four weeks The Vikes have put on a solid display for 30 mins of every game they have played, their only problem is that a game of football lasts 60 mins. In the first three weeks the Vikes were ahead by 10, 17 and 20 points respectively at halftime and this past week trailed Kansas City by a mere 2 points; they went on to lose all four games.

People are very helpfully suggesting that they need but put the ball in AP's hands and rely on the defensive front and all will be well. But if you look at this a little more closely, these areas don't seem to be the problem:

“give the ball to AP” -  he currently leads the NFL with 81 attempts and is the third best rusher in the league.

“Put more pressure on the quarterback” – the team are joint third with 12 Sacks, Jared Allen has the second most in the league (6.5).

So what is the problem?


There are many who would rightly argue that such posturing is irrelevant; given the fact that NFC North is home to the Superbowl Champions, undefeated Lions and a talented Bear team, the team’s concern should not be coming to an understanding of how they are 0-4 but how they are going to avoid being 0-8; the time to right the ship is now. There are grumblings of a shake up at Quarterback and at this point there is nothing to lose. In the past few seasons the Vikings have been more than willing to gamble with the QB position; after the failed Favre experiment they have turned to a declining McNabb, who does not look to have improved much after a torrid season in Washington. It is surely a matter of time before Ponder gets the nod, despite what Leslie Frazier may say to the contrary.