Unconfirmed NFL schedule leak pits Les Snead vs James Gladstone in England

The Los Angeles Rams, as do all 32 NFL teams, await the next big news. The big news is their 2025 NFL Schedule. And to be fair, when it comes to flying to other countries, the Rams have not drawn the short straw just yet. But that pattern is about to be broken, it seems. Unconfirmed NFL schedule leaks reveal that the Los Angeles Rams will travel to Wembley, England, as the road team to face the home team Jacksonville Jaguars.

That game is rumored to be scheduled for Week 7.

It's defintely a game befitting an international stage. It pits the teacher - Rams GM Les Snead - against the student - Jaguars GM James Gladstone - in a bettle of who has constructed the better team. And it is James Gladstone who has borrowed much of the strategies and front office personnel from his former team.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are trying to rebound from a struggling 4-13 season in 2024. That disappointing season opened the door for the Jaguars to consider Gladstone for their General Manager role. Since that time, Gladstone has placed his fingerprints all over the front office. He hired Jake Temme from the Rams as Senior Vice President of Football Analytics. Temme previously held the title of Director, Data and Analytics with the Rams.

The strategy used by Gladstone is that if he can replicate the processes used by the Los Angeles Rams, he can replicate the Rams' success. If the current NFL rumors are true, he will get a huge opportunity to do so in Week 7 of the 2025 NFL season.

Of course, the Rams will have something to say about that.

The Rams are coming off a second consecutive 10-7 record, but the team appears to be rising rapidly. After stumbling out of the game to a 1-4 start, the Rams stepped on the gas pedal to win nine of their next 11 games before coasting to a loss in Week 18. That loss was a very competitive game, pitting Rams backup players against Seattle Seahawks starters.

While the Rams have not competed in the international circuit recently, the team does face travel challenges each season as a team that plays on the West Coast. Playing in Los Angeles, California, almost ensures that the Rams will be among the top five traveling teams in the league each season. Travelling to face either the AFC or NFC East Division teams piles up the miles. Even team in the NFC or AFC North or South Division requires thousands of miles of travel.

So the Rams are quite familiar with long plane rides.

So, how do international games impact the Rams' schedule? Since England is earlier than the East Coast, the game will likely be played early in the morning in the Pacific Time zone. That will give the Jaguars a huge advantage.

But don't expect the BYE week to fall before or after the game. The Jacksonville Jaguars played two consecutive games in England in 2024, and did not get a BYE week to help out with the time difference. They lost to the Chicago Bears in Week 6, but defeated the New England Patriots the following week.

The Rams will need to deal with an eight-hour time difference between Wembley, England, and Los Angeles, California. Wembley is eight hours ahead of Los Angeles. That is on top of competing against the new and improved Jacksonville Jaguars in Wembley, England. It will be a difficult test for the Rams, who hope to get off to a much better start in 2025 than either of the past two seasons.

As always, thanks for reading.

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