Speaker 1: Uh, check it down, man, now down. Then it's Debating
Speaker 1: the Book podcast Gil Alexander once again, while the pandemic continues.
Speaker 1: Just music for your ears in terms of the National
Speaker 1: Football League this weekend from Michael Lombardi, who was kind
Speaker 1: enough to spend an hour with me this past week
Speaker 1: to talk all things NFL. Michael, the host of the
Speaker 1: Lombardi Line at Visa and got his own book, Gridiron Genius,
Speaker 1: is on podcast the GM Shuffle that he does with
Speaker 1: ad Nan Verke. We talk about everything draft implications, what
Speaker 1: gives in the NFC? What about that DeAndre Hopkins trade?
Speaker 1: What's this notion of tanking that people are talking about
Speaker 1: with the New England Patriots? That and much more all NFL,
Speaker 1: All show long. Michael Lombardi on the Beating the Book podcast.
Speaker 1: Enjoy It's a numbers game with your host Gil Alexander Wando,
Speaker 1: Believe in Anambics, Escape my Visa Vegas, Stats and Information
Speaker 1: Network Kill Alexander. Glad you could join us this morning. Uh,
Speaker 1: it probably doesn't get much better than this. On the
Speaker 1: show today, Michael Lombardi to talk all things NFL with me.
Speaker 1: I have stored a whole bunch of NFL questions for Michael.
Speaker 1: I haven't been able to chat with him, uh for
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks now all throughout free agencies. We'll
Speaker 1: talk to Michael first this hour, but let us begin
Speaker 1: with a visa staple. He is the host of the
Speaker 1: Lombardi Line, along with Patrick maher each and every Saturday
Speaker 1: Sunday morning here on the network at Serious except channel
Speaker 1: two oh four. Let's bring a minutes our good friend,
Speaker 1: Michael Lombardi, host of the Lombardi Line. Good morning to you, Michael,
Speaker 1: Good morning Gil. Hope you're doing well. I am doing well.
Speaker 1: How are you? How are you? How's Milly? How's the family?
Speaker 1: How are your dogs? I hear barking in the background. Yeah, unfortunately,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna shut my office store now. She can't help herself.
Speaker 1: Everybody is good. We're uh. We are quarantined and healthy
Speaker 1: and just totally staying strong and getting through this. And
Speaker 1: we will. We will be resolved in that in terms
Speaker 1: of being able to get through this. Yeah, that goes
Speaker 1: for everybody, both that visa and of course everybody listening.
Speaker 1: Everybody uh in the country, everybody in the world, listen.
Speaker 1: I got it. You know. We we texted about getting
Speaker 1: you on the show, But you and I haven't had
Speaker 1: a chance to talk at all during free agency, during
Speaker 1: the first wave of this, so I just want to start.
Speaker 1: I have so many questions, Michael, So if you could
Speaker 1: just hang out, I'd love it. I'd appreciate it. The
Speaker 1: first question would be just a broad one, which is,
Speaker 1: of all the things that have happened so far, what's
Speaker 1: And I heard you ask this if I believe Brian Baldinger,
Speaker 1: and that's the same question I would post to you.
Speaker 1: What's the single best thing you've seen happen? What's the
Speaker 1: most perplexing thing? Oh? Boy, you know the best thing
Speaker 1: I've seen happen? Uh? For me, I think obviously would
Speaker 1: be the Eagles probably signed Tony Hargrave, giving them a
Speaker 1: one technique. I'm a big believer in strength on strength,
Speaker 1: and the strength of the Eagles is the defensive line.
Speaker 1: I think that that that signing there that young man
Speaker 1: is he had six and a half sacks, he had
Speaker 1: twenty eight quarterback pressures over his career. He's not gonna
Speaker 1: be a guy who's going to rush the pastor to
Speaker 1: that degree, but I do think he's going to make
Speaker 1: an impact on Fletcher Cox and I think it's a
Speaker 1: team sport. That certainly is something that I think really
Speaker 1: makes a difference. So, you know, I like that along
Speaker 1: with the slave signing. I do like those two signings.
Speaker 1: I think Buffalo's trade of of of for Stefon Diggs
Speaker 1: was really rich. However, that being said, Josh Allen's got
Speaker 1: to be able to throw the ball down the field.
Speaker 1: If he can throw it down the field more accurately.
Speaker 1: Last year he was seven in his career, excuse me, Gill,
Speaker 1: he was seven for fifty on throws over thirty yards
Speaker 1: and he's one for seventy six on throws between twenty
Speaker 1: and thirty. So to me that and then I think
Speaker 1: what the Saints have done this offseason. I think it's
Speaker 1: really strengthen their football team. Getting Malcolm Jenkins, getting getting
Speaker 1: uh Emmanuel Sanders. Those are two big time players that
Speaker 1: play sixteen games in sixteen minutes. So I like that.
Speaker 1: The most perplexing thing, uh, I mean, there's so many
Speaker 1: bye tie getting signed by the Allions for ten million
Speaker 1: a year. I'm not quite sure where that comes from. Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, the the the you can go through the
Speaker 1: Giants franchising Leonard Williams remarkable. The guy can't get pressure
Speaker 1: on the quarterback. He's a rundown player, you know. And
Speaker 1: I just think to me that that just adds up to, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, not very good. I mean, people could criticize
Speaker 1: the Texans for the trade of of the Hopkins, but
Speaker 1: they've been trying to trade Hopkins since last summer, so
Speaker 1: that didn't surprise me. Uh And then I think the
Speaker 1: other thing that's probably resonates more. And this isn't good
Speaker 1: or bad. It's just that Jacksonville is clearly all in on,
Speaker 1: all in on Trevor Lawrence for sure. Okay, you mentioned
Speaker 1: the DeAndre Hopkins Arizona Houston trade. I want to bring
Speaker 1: this up because I want you to sort of educate me.
Speaker 1: And I know you have bet you you know Bill
Speaker 1: O'Brien and you have you know, you mentioned that about
Speaker 1: the salary they don't want to pay him. Bill Barnwell,
Speaker 1: I'm sure you read this, did a great piece on
Speaker 1: ESPN dot com about this trade. He grades every move
Speaker 1: that's made and on this one in particular. Um, and
Speaker 1: I'll even quote some of what he said. You know,
Speaker 1: he said, instead of sending a third round pick to
Speaker 1: ship off Johnson, which he really believes, is what a team,
Speaker 1: if they weren't dealing with Bill O'Brien, Bill Barnwell's opinion,
Speaker 1: would have to do. They'd have to include a third
Speaker 1: round pick to ship off Johnson. The Cardinals somehow managed,
Speaker 1: in Barnwell's words, to to ship him off by swapping
Speaker 1: fourth round picks, and in fact, the Cardinals probably got
Speaker 1: the better end of that fourth round swap. In fact,
Speaker 1: the comparison he made, if I recall, was basic. If
Speaker 1: someone offered you a thousand dollars, Michael for your VH copy,
Speaker 1: a VHS copy of Mr Deed's, and you have the
Speaker 1: nerve to ask that person for more before saying yes, Uh,
Speaker 1: that's how bad he thought. Just that part of the
Speaker 1: deal was not even the Hopkins part, just the unloading
Speaker 1: of David Johnson bart And then he goes on to say,
Speaker 1: and then Hopkins for pick in the draft. He thought
Speaker 1: it was the worst thing he's ever seen. Why in
Speaker 1: your opinion, and just to clarify it for me and
Speaker 1: for others, is it not that in your opinion? Well,
Speaker 1: because look, you know I don't I don't read Bill.
Speaker 1: You know, I don't think Bill has ever made a
Speaker 1: trade I mean, I could be wrong. Maybe he has
Speaker 1: made trades in the NFL. I'm pretty sure not. Uh.
Speaker 1: You know, he could sit in his basement and critique
Speaker 1: everybody's trades. But when you're trying to trade somebody for
Speaker 1: a long time and somebody has been available, but obviously
Speaker 1: I think that you are going to take what you
Speaker 1: feel like is the best deal. I don't want to.
Speaker 1: You know what, last year everybody was ripping Bill for
Speaker 1: trading clowning, and now look, he can't get a deal.
Speaker 1: You know, all he can't get a deal. Everybody rips Bill.
Speaker 1: And all Bill does is win the South. You know,
Speaker 1: he mean he won a playoff game, won the South.
Speaker 1: You know, is it perfect? No? Of course not. Is
Speaker 1: he making great moves? No? But I think here in
Speaker 1: line of they want to sign Council, they want to
Speaker 1: sign the sell Watson. Plus, I really don't think anybody
Speaker 1: knows what's going on in that locker room. I don't
Speaker 1: think anybody really understands where the dynamics are in the
Speaker 1: locker room. I think that David Johnson deal is is
Speaker 1: certainly a risk considering his injury history, but he is
Speaker 1: a good player. They take on that contract, they got
Speaker 1: plenty of cap room to take on the contract. I mean,
Speaker 1: if you're gonna critique cap room and contracts, the Browns,
Speaker 1: who everybody loves because they're analytical, I mean they have
Speaker 1: some of the highest I mean I thought analytics. I
Speaker 1: thought analytics was going to allow you to buy players
Speaker 1: that have reduced number, not pay the top number for all.
Speaker 1: I mean, seriously, hop Hooper for the for the UH
Speaker 1: to make a the highest paid tight end. I mean,
Speaker 1: if you got to give you five tight ends and
Speaker 1: that would you have him as the highest paid in
Speaker 1: the league. Of course she wouldn't, you know. And so
Speaker 1: you know, Bill is just easy to pick on, you know,
Speaker 1: and no one you know in Cleveland because they're analytics,
Speaker 1: which is in favor of some of these people that write.
Speaker 1: You know, then you know it's okay. You know that deal.
Speaker 1: I mean that deal to me is really a rich deal.
Speaker 1: And when you look at it, the Jack Conklin deal,
Speaker 1: Jack Conflin can't pass them. I mean, that's that's just
Speaker 1: a fact. He's not a very good pass protector. And
Speaker 1: they run a play action pass off as the Tennessee
Speaker 1: to build around it. And then you make him on
Speaker 1: the highest paid tackles in football, and he's not a
Speaker 1: great pass protector. But see, we don't that that's not
Speaker 1: that narrative isn't popular. That narrative isn't popular because it
Speaker 1: doesn't attack Bill O'Brien. I'm not saying Bill O'Brien's uh
Speaker 1: perfect and certainly, and I don't talk to Bill O'Brien
Speaker 1: very often, and if I do, I don't have we
Speaker 1: talk about family and his son and things like that.
Speaker 1: I just think, to me, when you're critiquing trades and
Speaker 1: you've never made one, or you don't understand the dynamics
Speaker 1: of how to make one or what's going on, I
Speaker 1: think it leaves you some room for air. Michael Lombardi
Speaker 1: our guest kind enough to join us this hour right
Speaker 1: here on a numbers game at Visa in the Sports
Speaker 1: Betting Network, all brought you by the bit MGM app.
Speaker 1: By the way, if you want to follow Michael on Twitter,
Speaker 1: it's at m Lombardi NFL. Author of Gridiron Genius, has
Speaker 1: his own podcast, GM Shuffle that he does with ad Nanverk,
Speaker 1: which is just by the way, Michael, if I haven't
Speaker 1: told you recently, a spectacular listen. I enjoy cursing. That's
Speaker 1: a big plus. I like that. Um So, I don't
Speaker 1: know if you just you get your motions take over them.
Speaker 1: And then when you see guys like you know, like
Speaker 1: if you want to pick on somebody, like let's go
Speaker 1: to David Caldwell down in Jacksonville. I mean, here's a
Speaker 1: guy who's been working since two thousand and thirty. He said,
Speaker 1: one winning season. They've never had a compensitory pick. They
Speaker 1: have no quarterback that they have more five picks that
Speaker 1: are ever reached a second contract. I mean, there's plenty
Speaker 1: to pick off. But when you pick on a guy
Speaker 1: who's one just one the north, you know, and you
Speaker 1: don't understand really what's going on in the locker room,
Speaker 1: you do you you know, do you think anybody really
Speaker 1: knows who is Hopkins? Who he is? Do you think
Speaker 1: anybody really knows him? You know, it's a little bit
Speaker 1: like what I wrote about Brady. You know, everybody has
Speaker 1: theories on Brady. Everybody wants to pinpoint why Brady left.
Speaker 1: And really, unless you've been in that locker room in
Speaker 1: New England, unless you understand the dynamics of the building
Speaker 1: in New England, anything you write or say it's purely speculation.
Speaker 1: It's purely speculation because really the reason Brady left was
Speaker 1: what I wrote about yesterday for The Athletic. It's about longevity.
Speaker 1: It's about the constant going back to two thousand and
Speaker 1: one and starting all over again, and that tires people out.
Speaker 1: And it's not because you're tired of doing it. It's
Speaker 1: just it wears on. And I think that that's what
Speaker 1: the part of the missing element is. And I'm not
Speaker 1: trying to pretend i'm mr know it all because I
Speaker 1: was in the league. I'm just trying to let people
Speaker 1: understand there's way more to every story than what you're
Speaker 1: reading on a paper. Yeah, well, you you've been in
Speaker 1: the room where it happens, as as the Great Musical
Speaker 1: Hamilton's famously Uh says. And I think you know I've
Speaker 1: said it about on field stuff. It's one thing to
Speaker 1: speculate on off field stuff, which again we can prattle
Speaker 1: on about, and those of us who have never played
Speaker 1: the game or been in the room UH making decisions
Speaker 1: can do that. I always say what you just said
Speaker 1: about xs and ohs, unless we we don't even have
Speaker 1: all twenty two footage, so you know, I give the
Speaker 1: famous Chris Coolie story. To your point, which I wish
Speaker 1: I've said many times, Chris Cooley, who had just played
Speaker 1: with the Redskins, had one offseason away from them, then
Speaker 1: had a radio gig in DC and immediately told his
Speaker 1: co host guys, I was in there. I was in
Speaker 1: there for for seven seasons. I have no idea what
Speaker 1: they're doing now. So to your point, I mean, I
Speaker 1: get it, um, and it's and I'll go with what
Speaker 1: you say. That's why we have you on here. You
Speaker 1: bring up Tom Brady Michael Um. Apparently when I was away,
Speaker 1: Tom Brady switched team signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Um,
Speaker 1: I wanna, I want to I want to just bring
Speaker 1: this up with you, and I want to just sort
Speaker 1: of listen. Maybe it's this simple, and I just sort
Speaker 1: of want to bounce it off you. It seems like
Speaker 1: at the end for Brady, it came down to the
Speaker 1: Buccaneers and the Chargers. Those were the only two teams
Speaker 1: that seemed willing to pay him market value. Is it
Speaker 1: reasonable reasonable to speculate that have the Chargers had follow
Speaker 1: me here, a head coach that Brady I don't know,
Speaker 1: would respect in the way he respects a Josh McDaniels,
Speaker 1: I'm speculating um and not one who you and I
Speaker 1: and all of us have sort of criticized a lot
Speaker 1: week to week in the NFL. And Anthony Lynn he
Speaker 1: was a great guy, but maybe not the coach that say,
Speaker 1: Josh McDaniels. Is is it reasonable to speculate that it
Speaker 1: came down to just that um and that in the end,
Speaker 1: you know, is when you look at the Chargers, man,
Speaker 1: it seems like as soon as they got rid of
Speaker 1: as soon as Philip Rivers went away, they picked up
Speaker 1: Chris Harris Jr. They got too great offensive linemen. It's
Speaker 1: just been a boon for them. Is it could have
Speaker 1: have been just that simple? I guess it's a question.
Speaker 1: You know, No, I don't. I think the reason Tampa
Speaker 1: one is because Tampa is a two hour flight for
Speaker 1: Brady to get to New York to see his son.
Speaker 1: I think that was one of the boxes Brady really
Speaker 1: wanted to check off. I think that was important. I
Speaker 1: think he would have if he went to the West Coast,
Speaker 1: he would have liked it to be in San Francisco.
Speaker 1: They decided they weren't interested. But I think anything outside
Speaker 1: of San Francisco, his hometown. I think the West Coast
Speaker 1: was really not employed, and I think he wanted to
Speaker 1: be close to home. He wanted to be able to
Speaker 1: get in an airplane Sunday after a game, fly out
Speaker 1: of New York, spend some time with his son, fly
Speaker 1: back to work on Wednesday morning, on Thursday or Tuesday morning,
Speaker 1: whenever he had to be back at work, and go
Speaker 1: from there. Yesterday, my Washington Redskins, Michael grew up born
Speaker 1: and raised in Washington. D c uh. They pick up
Speaker 1: Kyle Allen from the Carolina Panthers, a reuniting UH with
Speaker 1: Ron Rivera. Obviously in your opinion, now it's Dwayne Haskins,
Speaker 1: Kyle Allen. That's those are the quarterbacks on the Redskins roster.
Speaker 1: Does that put the to a chatter UH to bed
Speaker 1: for the Redskins at number two? Or does that not
Speaker 1: mean that? I don't know. I think this is what
Speaker 1: it means. I think it means that Scott Turner, the
Speaker 1: offensive coordinator in Carol in Washington, really likes Kyle Allen
Speaker 1: and he has always liked Kyle. I think he was
Speaker 1: against trying to play Will Greer last year. I think
Speaker 1: he sees Kyle Allen as more upside. I think the
Speaker 1: reality is, and I don't want to say this for
Speaker 1: Scott Turner, but there is parts that with Cam Newton's
Speaker 1: not healthy, with the ankle and all the things to
Speaker 1: run and all I think he felt better with Kyle
Speaker 1: Allen running the offense than Camp. I'm not saying he
Speaker 1: thinks Kyle Allen is a better player than Camp, just
Speaker 1: saying in terms of all the things that add up.
Speaker 1: So therefore, you know, I could see Kyle Allen and
Speaker 1: I think Kyle Allen will be the sneaky guy to
Speaker 1: sneak up on uh On, on Dwayne Haskins. I think
Speaker 1: that's the perfect guy to sign a little bit like
Speaker 1: Kirk Cousins. We bring him in. Nobody really knows we
Speaker 1: drafted in the fourth round, even though we drafted r
Speaker 1: G three. Here we go, and I think that they
Speaker 1: would be done at quarterback. I mean, why would they
Speaker 1: you know, why would they take an injured player? And
Speaker 1: I'm not sure anyone, including the medical staff can can
Speaker 1: validate to his injury or predict how long he's going
Speaker 1: to stay uninjured for the rest of his career. I
Speaker 1: think if I'm the Redskins. I am taking the short
Speaker 1: fire thing, whether it's Sha Hung, whether it's Isaiah Simmons.
Speaker 1: I'm taking a player that I know i'm gonna get
Speaker 1: ten years out. Yeah. You you're saying so many things
Speaker 1: that I'm sort of mentally jotting down notes because I'm
Speaker 1: gonna get back to them, um before we get back
Speaker 1: to it, because there's a lot I want to ask
Speaker 1: about that, especially in this very strange year where no
Speaker 1: O t A s will happen, training camp might be truncated.
Speaker 1: I'll get back to that. I'll bookmark that. Let's go
Speaker 1: back to the Chargers for a second, if you will,
Speaker 1: and forgive the sort of bouncing around just mentioned Philip
Speaker 1: Rivers going out, Chargers failing to land Tom Brady. They're
Speaker 1: opening a new stadium, as we've talked about so many
Speaker 1: times with much fanfare. They're really going to open the
Speaker 1: season with Tyrod Taylor behind center. You think, Yeah, I do,
Speaker 1: I really do. I think they feel like he'll protect
Speaker 1: the football. I think they're gonna try to protect the
Speaker 1: football run it. I think that they're going to use
Speaker 1: their their their skill players, which they have a lot
Speaker 1: of two, um, to create a situation and rely on
Speaker 1: their defense. Now, will they hold up? Yeah? I think
Speaker 1: they can, and will he played well? You know, I
Speaker 1: think it's to come down to some key games. Can
Speaker 1: you go with the Kansas City of beat Patrick Mahomes?
Speaker 1: You know that that worries me. You know, I'm with
Speaker 1: you on on that. I don't know. To me if
Speaker 1: I were, then I would sign Jameis Winston. And I'm
Speaker 1: and I'm a huge, huge, uh critic of Jamis Winston.
Speaker 1: I've been very critical of his inability to protect the football,
Speaker 1: but he's thrown for five thousand yards now it makes
Speaker 1: no sense to side Damis Winston if all you care
Speaker 1: about is protected football And that's what Anthony Lynn's talking about.
Speaker 1: And Tyrod Taylor actually pretty historical and his ability and
Speaker 1: his ability to protect the ball over his uh short
Speaker 1: sample size relatively speaking career. And by the way, I'm
Speaker 1: not anti Tyrod Taylor, actually like Tyrod Taylor. I'm just saying,
Speaker 1: with the new stadium, if they're looking to make that
Speaker 1: proverbial splash that we've talked about so often, is that
Speaker 1: really the guy they're gonna go with it? And you
Speaker 1: seem to think, yeah, that is their guy. I think
Speaker 1: they have no choice. I think that Look, let's face it,
Speaker 1: I mean the Randoms, I mean, what's who's going to
Speaker 1: the you know, what's the splash for the ramp? People
Speaker 1: are just can't wait to go in that stadium to
Speaker 1: watch Derek Goff. Yes, yeah, I mean, you know so,
Speaker 1: I think winning is going to bring people out. That's
Speaker 1: the only way you could think of. You brought up
Speaker 1: Emmanuel Sanders going to the Saints, which I think everyone
Speaker 1: agrees consensus, huge move goes. You know, he's gonna be
Speaker 1: a number two behind Michael Thomas in New Orleans. But
Speaker 1: imagine that the number two, a player who meant so
Speaker 1: much to the Niners in the second half of the
Speaker 1: season last year. Were you surprised that the Niners didn't
Speaker 1: put up more of a fight in keeping him. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I was. But I think the Niners, you know, when
Speaker 1: you look at it, Gil, they're worried about their cap situation.
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, they've got some issues that they've
Speaker 1: got to handle, and I think ultimately they've got they
Speaker 1: had to come up with a way to where they're
Speaker 1: going to have to rely a little bit on the draft.
Speaker 1: You can't pay for everything, you know, and you can't
Speaker 1: buy everything. And last year, you know, right now when
Speaker 1: you look at it, you know they're they're looking here
Speaker 1: at one second year. So they've got fifty million of
Speaker 1: cap room. Plus they have two first round picks. So
Speaker 1: I think that gets them in shape to where they
Speaker 1: can keep going with their cat, maybe extend some players.
Speaker 1: But you know, you you go ahead and sign you
Speaker 1: go ahead and sign Emmanuel Sanders, and you still have
Speaker 1: two first round picks. Now, all of a sudden, it
Speaker 1: gets a little Harry. Look, let's let's just say this
Speaker 1: is the Raiders. What did they start out with? About
Speaker 1: seventy million dollars worth the cap room? You know, now
Speaker 1: they're down to six million dollars six point four million
Speaker 1: dollars worth a cap room and six point four million
Speaker 1: worth of cap room. They only have three point two
Speaker 1: million of dead money. So they've done a good job
Speaker 1: of managing their cat. My question to you, Gill, is
Speaker 1: are the Raiders any better after spending all that money? Oh?
Speaker 1: I got questions about them to Michael seriously, like I
Speaker 1: have to do a show within a show when I
Speaker 1: talked to you, because it's immediate stream of consciousness real
Speaker 1: quick here before we squeezing a break. Uh. Patriots released
Speaker 1: Stephen Gostkowski yesterday, who once upon a time they had
Speaker 1: spent franchise tags on. What do you make of that?
Speaker 1: Any any broader meeting to that? Does he follow Vinitary
Speaker 1: to Indian? What happens there? They're in serious capture. We'll look.
Speaker 1: They took a huge cafe. It cost some three point
Speaker 1: two million a cup. The Patriots now had twenty five
Speaker 1: billion dollars twenty six million dollars of dead money on
Speaker 1: their cap. Twenty six million. That's unlike them, you know,
Speaker 1: that's really unlike them. And most of it is from
Speaker 1: some of us from Antonio Brown, some of it's from
Speaker 1: some of it from uh, most of us from Tom Brady.
Speaker 1: But Gostkowski and Antonio Brown make up another part. They're
Speaker 1: the third most dead money in the league, behind the
Speaker 1: Panthers and the Jaguars. The Jaguars, aren't they beautiful? They
Speaker 1: got Michael, let me step it. Hold hold that thought
Speaker 1: about the Jaguars. Got a whole bunch more to ask
Speaker 1: you about the draft and what this offseason is gonna mean.
Speaker 1: Who favors coming back the Sports Betting Network Welcome back
Speaker 1: to a numbers game with Jill Alexander back to the
Speaker 1: numbers game right here with sports betting analytics, live actionable
Speaker 1: sports betting information, though it is a strange, surreal sci
Speaker 1: fi time in our existence, so not a whole bunch
Speaker 1: of actionable, actionable stuff, I should say, but always fascinated
Speaker 1: to talk about the NFL with Michael Lombardi, hosts of
Speaker 1: the Lambardi Line here at Visa week end morning, Saturday
Speaker 1: and Sunday six to nine Pacific, nine to noon Eastern UM.
Speaker 1: And so many things to discuss when thinking about and
Speaker 1: hoping that the NFL season will start on time whenever
Speaker 1: it does start. First things, the most important thing I
Speaker 1: could possibly ask you about here, Michael, can we flash
Speaker 1: up that new Los Angeles Chargers logo that they unveiled yesterday?
Speaker 1: Jacob if we could, um Michael your thoughts. You know,
Speaker 1: I'm an old school guy. I'm a big believer in
Speaker 1: the uniform of great yers should always stay. I mean,
Speaker 1: Deacon Jones, Jack young Blood, you know those players in
Speaker 1: that blue and white, uh, with the all white, the
Speaker 1: all blue. I just am always I'm always gonna be
Speaker 1: craving those uniforms. I think that those are I don't
Speaker 1: people say, well, do you got to change uniform it helps? Well,
Speaker 1: it doesn't seem a matter to the to the Celtics,
Speaker 1: doesn't matter to the Yankees. You know, it doesn't matter
Speaker 1: to the Raiders. You know, the Raiders change the name
Speaker 1: of their team and all change the color of the uniforms.
Speaker 1: So for me, I'm I'm I'm old school that way.
Speaker 1: I love it. I love the the the old school uniforms.
Speaker 1: So the new ones to me are just at least
Speaker 1: they're not what I would call World League like, which
Speaker 1: is those just ridiculous, like like the SFL uniforms. Yeah,
Speaker 1: by the way, I said obviously I said Chargers. I
Speaker 1: meant the Rams new logo, which looks to me a
Speaker 1: little too close to the Chargers logo and kind of
Speaker 1: looks like uh an Action three news logo from like
Speaker 1: the movie Anchor Man more than anything. To me, I'm
Speaker 1: not really fond of it. But we'll see if I
Speaker 1: wore I'm with you, I'm old school. I thought the
Speaker 1: Rams had one of the most iconic logos in all
Speaker 1: the NFL, So I guess they wanted to change with
Speaker 1: the new stadium. Um, here's probably the the number one
Speaker 1: question I wanted to ask you today, maybe I've got
Speaker 1: a lot, but number one I think might be this
Speaker 1: um a lot of sort of conventional wisdom. Again buzz
Speaker 1: in the media world now that New England Patriots, and
Speaker 1: they invoke the word tank that Bill Belichick's go into
Speaker 1: this one year tank mode to get Trevor Lawrence or
Speaker 1: whatever the big prizes, and Trevor Lawrence is usually the
Speaker 1: guy that they're focused on. There's some talks about some
Speaker 1: other quarterbacks that are in league currently, but it's usually
Speaker 1: a tank for Trevor kind of theme. Can you please
Speaker 1: put this to bed, knowing Bill Belichick as you do.
Speaker 1: Oh my god, I mean, this is ridiculous, and I've
Speaker 1: heard so many ridiculous things. The other day, somebody was
Speaker 1: Trade the Eagle, saying the Eagles from trading for Julio Jones.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's just some of the bad rumors that
Speaker 1: are happening. I mean, Brady to the Cowboys, that was
Speaker 1: one of the leaders of the clubhouse. But I can
Speaker 1: promise you unequivocally that the Patriots will do nothing but
Speaker 1: try to win every single game on their schedule next
Speaker 1: year with every single ounce of energy they have. Yeah,
Speaker 1: there's just there's just no way. There's no way. I mean,
Speaker 1: and it's it's it's fascinating to see people throw that around.
Speaker 1: It's like, what in the history of Bill Belichick makes
Speaker 1: you think in any way that guy would be capable
Speaker 1: of even getting in that mindset. That's one of the
Speaker 1: most ridiculous ones. I figured you would have a similar
Speaker 1: opinion on that. You mentioned the Raiders obviously in the
Speaker 1: last segment. Um, let me just throw these in before
Speaker 1: another break. Um, Marcus Mariotta, you really think that's sort
Speaker 1: of the splash that Las Vegas Raiders fans were hoping for.
Speaker 1: I mean, they're you know, it's funny they're carrying five
Speaker 1: quarterbacks on their team. I'm sure the Planets are free agents,
Speaker 1: so there's four. But they gave him really a one
Speaker 1: year contract deal. You get a seven and a half
Speaker 1: million dollar guarantee one year contract. The Raiders, in a
Speaker 1: smart way now have a second year of ten millions,
Speaker 1: So say Mariota comes in as a great year, they
Speaker 1: won't be stuck like the Tannehill situation. But no, I don't.
Speaker 1: I don't think he has the arm stage. But look,
Speaker 1: rudeness obsessed with finding a quarterback that can make a
Speaker 1: play within a play, he's tired of car going back
Speaker 1: there that's not open and then throws the bottle ounce
Speaker 1: or just you know, takes a bat you know, doesn't
Speaker 1: do what he needs to do. And maybe Mariota's athleticism
Speaker 1: will appeal to but I can promise you this, they had.
Speaker 1: These two guys, Derek Carr, Marcus Mariota are just wonderful guys. However,
Speaker 1: in terms of their leadership skills, in terms of their
Speaker 1: toughness and grit everything Growden once in a quarterback, in
Speaker 1: terms of them being as close to rich Gannon as possible,
Speaker 1: these two are probably the antithesis that there's no gen. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's an interesting play. Uh, hang out if you could, Michael,
Speaker 1: because we've got short break here. UM. I want to
Speaker 1: ask you probably the most actionable questions, which is this
Speaker 1: is gonna be a very strange offseason. Obviously already is
Speaker 1: it's going to continue to be odd. And I want
Speaker 1: to sort of get at what teams that might be
Speaker 1: an advantage, for what teams it might be a disadvantage
Speaker 1: for Get your thoughts on that, and then get your
Speaker 1: thoughts on some of these draft prospects. What your opinions
Speaker 1: are of them, who you think is overrated, who you
Speaker 1: think is underrated? We'll come back. It's a numbers game
Speaker 1: right here at Visa with a great Michael Lombardi. Welcome
Speaker 1: back to a numbers game with Jill Alexander. Back from
Speaker 1: the Numbers game. It is Kill Alexander right here at
Speaker 1: Visa the sports betting network. Michael Lombardi hosts the Lombardi Line,
Speaker 1: also the GM Shuffle podcast with his buddy ad Dan Verke.
Speaker 1: Great listen each and every week and of course the
Speaker 1: book is The GM Shuffle at m Lombardi NFL. You
Speaker 1: want to follow Michael on a Twitter and you should,
Speaker 1: by the way, Michael, Okay, given the lack of a
Speaker 1: team organized activities, is it even more so than ever?
Speaker 1: Um the teams with a great culture, a top head
Speaker 1: coach uh that you would say would be at an
Speaker 1: advantage when things resumed, more so than in any other
Speaker 1: year because of the nature of this offseason. Can you
Speaker 1: see some coaches being invented during this time? Are there
Speaker 1: any specific coaches teams and I'll give you the ones
Speaker 1: that I'm thinking of that you think will have an
Speaker 1: advantage when things resumed. So for me, the NFC East,
Speaker 1: the Eagles, the continuity of Doug Peterson and Jim Schwartz.
Speaker 1: They've been together for five years there in Philly, which
Speaker 1: is amazing to think that they've been there for five years.
Speaker 1: Every other team in the NFC East, if I'm not mistake,
Speaker 1: I'm not mistaken, Cowboys, Giants, redskins off the top of
Speaker 1: my head, new head coach, new coordinators. I think, Um,
Speaker 1: the Saints who you just referred to, Drew Brees never
Speaker 1: gonna retire and at Sean Payton and Drew Brees once
Speaker 1: again are the Is that true, that premise true in
Speaker 1: your opinion that this year, more than any, teams like
Speaker 1: that have an advantage, more distinct advantage. Yeah, I think
Speaker 1: that the teams that are going to have the hardest
Speaker 1: time with the teams that need there are two thousand
Speaker 1: and nineteen draft to really come through. And and those
Speaker 1: are the the team those players in that nineteen draft,
Speaker 1: the ones that have red shirted last year, the ones
Speaker 1: that kind of didn't play a lot that need to
Speaker 1: really take that giant mother, may I step, those are
Speaker 1: the guys that are going to suffer. And always as
Speaker 1: the case, like for example, when you have a new
Speaker 1: coach and an existing quarterback. It's like having new everywhere.
Speaker 1: So the Browns and and you know the Patriots now
Speaker 1: even though you know Jarrett Stidham was there last year,
Speaker 1: it will be a new offense. So those are the
Speaker 1: kind of caks to work out. And I think the
Speaker 1: other factor is, and I would look this completely, is
Speaker 1: is whose offensive line comes back intact? That's going to
Speaker 1: be the key because if you can like the Titans
Speaker 1: using even though I don't think Jack Conklin is a
Speaker 1: great player, they're going to have to replace some of
Speaker 1: their offensive line. The Colts, for example, won't have to
Speaker 1: replace any lineman. They got the Stanza. Those are the
Speaker 1: kind of teams to me that I would say have
Speaker 1: an advantage going forward. The Raiders they get their whole
Speaker 1: offensive line back. The Ravens, even though they lose, uh yeah,
Speaker 1: they'll get that basically four the five or back. That
Speaker 1: to me is the key is if you get that back,
Speaker 1: then you know you've got a chance to start to
Speaker 1: hit the ground running pretty well. I know you're not
Speaker 1: a draft nick necessarily like mel Kuyper, Todd mcsher anybody
Speaker 1: like that who makes their whole living doing that, But
Speaker 1: from what you have observed. Um, I don't know if
Speaker 1: you need to list five for us, but who are
Speaker 1: your favorite guys that you've seen on film coming out
Speaker 1: for whenever the NFL Draft will take place, which right
Speaker 1: now is scheduled to take place at the end of April,
Speaker 1: although not in Las Vegas. You know, one of one
Speaker 1: of favorite guys as Isaiah Simmons from Clemson. I think
Speaker 1: he's dynamic obviously because he can he can can affect
Speaker 1: the game on three levels, which I think you absolutely
Speaker 1: have to be able to do. You've got to be
Speaker 1: able to affect the game on those levels. If you can,
Speaker 1: then all of a sudden, it becomes a real problem.
Speaker 1: And he can attack the pocket, he can play with great,
Speaker 1: he can play with he can rush the passer, you know,
Speaker 1: and he can play with with with the ability to
Speaker 1: play the run side on the side, and he's an
Speaker 1: excellent tackler. So when you add all that together here
Speaker 1: you get a linebacker that you don't have to worry
Speaker 1: about taking off the field. And then I think for me,
Speaker 1: it always goes back to most people want to go
Speaker 1: to the receivers, you know. I think you got to
Speaker 1: go to the offensive line. And Andrew Thomas and Georgia,
Speaker 1: Jerrick Willis you know from Iowa, I think, and then
Speaker 1: you go to I mean Christian Whips from Iowa. You know,
Speaker 1: you've got to look at you and then the Alabama
Speaker 1: kid Willis I think, and then you know Vected from Louis.
Speaker 1: Though there's four legitimate, four legitimate left tackles in the
Speaker 1: end that could play left tackle. That's really significant when
Speaker 1: you get into that. The defensive line, for example, is
Speaker 1: it nearly to the level of where where that is?
Speaker 1: I mean when you look, when you just break down
Speaker 1: the defensive line, you're like, Okay, look, you know Derrek
Speaker 1: Brown's tremendous. But after Brown, you got Kin Law, who
Speaker 1: I think the forty Niners think they could get at thirteen,
Speaker 1: but I don't think he'll be there at thirteen. Then
Speaker 1: there's a drop. Then there's a drop. See. The draft,
Speaker 1: for Meg is always about binding players that you can't
Speaker 1: find in free agency. How do we do that. It's
Speaker 1: hard to find left tackles on the street. It's hard
Speaker 1: to find inside defensive tackles that can pass us. It's
Speaker 1: hard to find mic linebackers that can play on all
Speaker 1: three downs. And if you can do that in the draft,
Speaker 1: you better take them. So you know that begs a
Speaker 1: question also, and this is the draft is a game.
Speaker 1: We talk about this, you and I am sure you
Speaker 1: talk about it with others too. It's a game. And
Speaker 1: there's some teams that get that. There's some teams that
Speaker 1: don't get that. And so to to your point, or
Speaker 1: at least following up on that point, Accuda at number
Speaker 1: three to Detroit. I get it they want to replace
Speaker 1: Darius Slay, But isn't that a pig. Isn't that a
Speaker 1: guy they could get at six or seven? Like, isn't
Speaker 1: that someone they could make a trade down for and
Speaker 1: still get well? I mean, they could pick Acuda at three,
Speaker 1: but they still can't rush the passer, Like, what good
Speaker 1: does happen coverage? Guys? If you can't rush, you know,
Speaker 1: it's hard just to play coverage. It's hard to play coverage.
Speaker 1: You gotta find somebody. They gotta find somebody in their
Speaker 1: defensive front, you know, that can really take over the game.
Speaker 1: And you know, and they tried to do it last year.
Speaker 1: Tray Flowers is a really good player. We drafted him
Speaker 1: in New England, and I like Tray Flowers but Tray
Speaker 1: Flowers need some help. On the other side. You know,
Speaker 1: Danny Shelton is not going to be on the field
Speaker 1: when the game goes to pass. You know who else
Speaker 1: is going to rush the pastor they need somebody else
Speaker 1: that can rush the path, you know. And for me,
Speaker 1: you know, Derek Brown would be a much better player.
Speaker 1: For him, you put him inside, somebody, get the paint
Speaker 1: and try to add another corner. I mean, right now,
Speaker 1: they signed True Font, they got Justin Colvin, who they
Speaker 1: spent a lot of money on last year. So they've
Speaker 1: got two corners, and now they've got to find an inside,
Speaker 1: penetrating defensive tackle that could dominate the game. And if
Speaker 1: I were picking there, I pick Dirk Brown. I wouldn't
Speaker 1: even hesitate. I'm always fascinated by teams that that draft.
Speaker 1: And you know, people were killing the Giants, for instance,
Speaker 1: for drafting Daniel Jones last year as as high as
Speaker 1: they did at number six. And I remember saying very
Speaker 1: clearly on the show, Listen, none of us know if
Speaker 1: he's going to be good or not. By the way,
Speaker 1: turned out to be pretty good his first year in
Speaker 1: the NFL. But people were killing it. Uh, people were
Speaker 1: killing the pick of Daniel Jones, And I was very
Speaker 1: clear to say, it's if you don't know how good
Speaker 1: he's gonna be. It's the fact that they might have
Speaker 1: been able to get him later. Right, It's the game
Speaker 1: theory of the draft that can be criticized. It again,
Speaker 1: I'm just always fascinated by teams um that makes strange picks,
Speaker 1: not having any idea if that pick is actually gonna
Speaker 1: be good or not in the end. You get what
Speaker 1: I'm getting in Yeah, No, And I think this, here's
Speaker 1: my issue with Daniel Jones. If he were in this draft,
Speaker 1: where were you going? Where would he go? Is he
Speaker 1: better than Justin Herbert? Is he better than two of
Speaker 1: is he better than Burrow? Is he better than Jordan's Love?
Speaker 1: And here's what I never want to be able to do.
Speaker 1: I don't want the next year's draft class to be
Speaker 1: better than the player I picked. I want that guy
Speaker 1: to last forever. I'm not sure and left Michael, Michael,
Speaker 1: sorry to step into, sorry to step in interrupting you apologize,
Speaker 1: will come right back. We will pick up right there.
Speaker 1: Got a whole bunch more from Michael Lombardi right here
Speaker 1: in a numbers game, A feasting Welcome back to a
Speaker 1: numbers game with you, Alexander. Back in the Number Game,
Speaker 1: Kill Alexander Live from San Francisco this morning. Michael Lombardi
Speaker 1: on the East Coast. Michael, I'm sorry you were rudely interrupted.
Speaker 1: I think you were making a great point about Daniel
Speaker 1: Jones and the quarterbacks available the next year. Go ahead,
Speaker 1: I'm sorry. Well, I'm just saying that. I think that,
Speaker 1: you know, in every draft class, you have to look
Speaker 1: towards the future, you know, like, is this guy going
Speaker 1: to be better? Frankly, is Daniel Jones better than say,
Speaker 1: Kwon Barkley. Is Daniel Jones better than Sam Donald? I
Speaker 1: mean Sam Donald's better than Daniel Jones. I mean he
Speaker 1: turns the ball over, but he's got more natural skill,
Speaker 1: you know, say Pon Barkley camp pass pretend. I mean,
Speaker 1: they just signed Dion Lewis yesterday at the Giants because
Speaker 1: they got to have somebody on third down that they
Speaker 1: can put in the game that they can count on it.
Speaker 1: If the young man doesn't change how he protects the passer,
Speaker 1: he's not gonna play a lot. And so I think
Speaker 1: that's how you have to look at that today. Just
Speaker 1: just a little update here. Adam Schefter just reported on
Speaker 1: Twitter Cam Newton will get released, which means that, you know,
Speaker 1: the Pathers will pick up sixteen million dollars basically of
Speaker 1: calf room, and we'll see where Cam's gonna go. Now
Speaker 1: Cam's out there. You know, why wouldn't the Chargers signed
Speaker 1: Cam Newton if they can get him for physical and
Speaker 1: take care of I mean, to me, that makes too
Speaker 1: much sense. Yeah, well, just it's just I mean, it
Speaker 1: drives home the point how you can be on the
Speaker 1: top of the world. Mean, Cam Newton was in a
Speaker 1: Super Bowl, you know, a minute ago and now released
Speaker 1: just the way, you know, an amazing league in terms
Speaker 1: of being to the highest mountain in the lowest valley.
Speaker 1: I asked you about the players you like in the draft.
Speaker 1: Can you give me a name of someone who you
Speaker 1: think might be a little overhyped right now? Well, I
Speaker 1: think all these receivers are overhyped. I definitely think that,
Speaker 1: you know, I think that what happens is I think
Speaker 1: that's why you're seeing teams dumped the receiver market, you know.
Speaker 1: I think they're dumping these high priced receivers because they
Speaker 1: know down the road they're gonna end up getting a
Speaker 1: guy you know later in the draft, whether it's Denzel
Speaker 1: Mims in the second round, who maybe just as good,
Speaker 1: if not as some of the guys that made people
Speaker 1: think are going to go rowing. So there is depth
Speaker 1: of that wide receiver draft. I think that that's gonna
Speaker 1: play a huge role in that Uh you know, I
Speaker 1: I think there's no doubt that you know, as you
Speaker 1: go through it, there's a lot more value in the draft.
Speaker 1: I mean, I mean, I love the safety from L.
Speaker 1: S U. Desper. You know, I think he's outstanding, and
Speaker 1: you know, when you break down the cornerback situation, you know,
Speaker 1: it always for me is is I always want a
Speaker 1: guy that I know, complained man, the man that I
Speaker 1: know can go out there and handle things. And you know,
Speaker 1: like C. J. Henderson from Florida, I think he's an
Speaker 1: outstanding player as well. Um, Mike, I want to ask
Speaker 1: you about the draft in generally, and it gets back
Speaker 1: to the quirky off season we're having. How do you
Speaker 1: think the draft itself is going to be affected, um
Speaker 1: by what's happening in the world. No pro days, no physicals,
Speaker 1: um our team is gonna rely on just tape. Do
Speaker 1: you think maybe bigger names. School brands have more an
Speaker 1: advantage in this draft because of what's going on. Specifically,
Speaker 1: the guy that I'm thinking about two with with no
Speaker 1: physicals and no pro days, even though I saw some
Speaker 1: video of him yesterday is obviously to h um. Does
Speaker 1: it change that video was taken? Gil know when that
Speaker 1: was taken? You know I saw that too, Yeah, I
Speaker 1: saw that. But you know, the medical has got to
Speaker 1: have to come through. I think it's gonna be challenging. Look,
Speaker 1: a lot of corners didn't run short shovels at the combine.
Speaker 1: A lot of corners didn't run their forty at the combine.
Speaker 1: You know, corner workouts something you really have to get
Speaker 1: your hands around. You gotta go work the corner out.
Speaker 1: You've gotta go work receivers out too, even though they
Speaker 1: do drills at the combine. I mean you, you've got
Speaker 1: to work them out because so often receivers in college
Speaker 1: never faced press coverage, right, so they don't know how
Speaker 1: well they're gonna react when a guidelines up over top
Speaker 1: of them. So you'd like to go work them out
Speaker 1: and really get them through your route three, not that
Speaker 1: stupid route tree they run into combine. So you know,
Speaker 1: this is really gonna hinder a lot of kids. It's
Speaker 1: gonna end the smaller school kids, like for example, you know,
Speaker 1: Northwestern always has a pro Day, which people say, well,
Speaker 1: it's no big deal, it's just north question, but northwesterns
Speaker 1: pro day has a bunch of small Illinois schools that
Speaker 1: come work there, and it really is one of the
Speaker 1: best pro days to go to because you're getting a
Speaker 1: lot of players to watch work out and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: not having that trying to find that diamond in the rock,
Speaker 1: it's going to be even harder. Jacob, if you could,
Speaker 1: could you throw up that tweet there? This is from
Speaker 1: my belief gentleman on the Redskins medical staff, just sort
Speaker 1: of requesting at this point, um that physicals and the
Speaker 1: normal operations don't happen in the National Football League this
Speaker 1: offseason because of COVID nineteen. There it is Dr Anthony Castelauro,
Speaker 1: cohead physician for the Redskins, President of the NFL Physician Society,
Speaker 1: sending a len NFL A basically NFL related physicals until
Speaker 1: the health crisis has passed. Quote, medical resources should focus
Speaker 1: on those who are ill or in need of care.
Speaker 1: Just strange times that's for me in Rappaport. Of course
Speaker 1: at rap sheet, if you had to guess Michael right now,
Speaker 1: where does twa goo? Where does Justin Herbert go? From Oregon?
Speaker 1: I think I think Kirkert's gonna go early. I think
Speaker 1: top six. I think that to h if he's healthy,
Speaker 1: will go in the top I think people are concerned
Speaker 1: about the medical but if he's healthy, he will go early.
Speaker 1: I could see Detroit trading out of three and moving
Speaker 1: down and let somebody pick a quarterback there. It wouldn't
Speaker 1: surprise me. Although if I were Detroit, I would seriously
Speaker 1: consider picking a quarterback as well if I thought he
Speaker 1: was a generational player. So, uh, you know, just looking
Speaker 1: at the draft as a whole, you know, and then
Speaker 1: the loves the wild card. Where does he go? There's
Speaker 1: a lot of this this, you know, Milk Keiper and
Speaker 1: Todd they have disagreements on where he's gonna go. I'm
Speaker 1: here and he is going in the first round, and
Speaker 1: you know, that could be something that I think when
Speaker 1: you look at it, uh, you know, when you look
Speaker 1: at it, you say, oh wow, that that you know
Speaker 1: that there's you know, that's three quarterbacks in the top ten. Well,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't be surprised if there were three quarterbacks at
Speaker 1: least in the top. Fie, it's amazing. I mean, you
Speaker 1: know better than anybody. These teams go quarterback crazy. Every
Speaker 1: draft is a quarterback league, so in some respect it's justified. Um,
Speaker 1: but I don't know that. I watched Jordan's Love and
Speaker 1: thought to myself that there would be a frenzy about
Speaker 1: him come draft day. But then I would have probably
Speaker 1: also finished the sentence by saying, but it's the draft,
Speaker 1: so these things happen with quarterbacks. Um, final couple of
Speaker 1: things talking. You know, he's got great he's got great size, skill,
Speaker 1: he played better as a junior. You know he can
Speaker 1: do something. He's got an incredible arm. Uh, he's very talented.
Speaker 1: Is he a great quarterback? No, but he's a great
Speaker 1: athlete with a great arm. And I think those are
Speaker 1: two things that always, you know, that always go together. Yeah,
Speaker 1: great arm, no doubt about that. UM. Talking to Michael Lombardi,
Speaker 1: of course, host of Lombardi Line here at Visa Gill
Speaker 1: Alexander from San Francisco, here on the Sports Betting Network.
Speaker 1: All right, so in recent years or in recent history, um,
Speaker 1: obviously the a f C has had maybe the two
Speaker 1: or three best teams in the league. The NFC has
Speaker 1: had sort of broader talent. You look at the NFC
Speaker 1: now and Michael, tell me if I'm wrong here, The Saints,
Speaker 1: the Niners, those rosters are loaded. Uh, Seattle still has
Speaker 1: Russell Wilson. They're always going to be an issue. Green
Speaker 1: Bay was in the NFC title game. Minnesota perennial playoff team.
Speaker 1: Cowboys are loaded, actually have a coach. Now, Atlanta should
Speaker 1: be better, Um, Chicago will be better. We can talk
Speaker 1: about that another time with Nick Foles. Arizona's got DeAndre Hopkins,
Speaker 1: as we mentioned, beefed up their offensive line, and of
Speaker 1: course Tom Brady's on the Buccaneers. The NFC feels very
Speaker 1: top heavy. Something's got to give there. Who's not as
Speaker 1: good as I'm making them ount to be. I think
Speaker 1: Minnesota has taken a little bit of a step back. Now,
Speaker 1: you know, they obviously have more draft picks, so we'll
Speaker 1: see what happens. But you know, to me, their their
Speaker 1: offensive line last year wasn't very good and it became
Speaker 1: a problem, you know, especially at right guard where Josh
Speaker 1: Klein played inside. Now you know Barbury and Elyn. They've
Speaker 1: got to play better, a lot of pressure on the
Speaker 1: receivers because they lose a big time outside seever that
Speaker 1: really helped, you know, feeling and feelings a really good player.
Speaker 1: I think Dalvin Coke at Madison were really good. But
Speaker 1: I think I think my bigger concern is defensively with
Speaker 1: the Vikings. How good can they be where their corner
Speaker 1: helped coming from. Mike Zimmer needs corners. He didn't have
Speaker 1: them last year, and I think we saw that come
Speaker 1: when they played against the good teams. He's got to
Speaker 1: find another pass rusher to go along with Daniel Hunter.
Speaker 1: I mean, look, whoever signs whoever signs Everson Griffin's gonna
Speaker 1: get one hell of a player because he played really
Speaker 1: good for him last year. I'm not sure how good
Speaker 1: Minnesota is. I'm worried about that, you know, I'm worried
Speaker 1: about their overall depth in terms of where they're going
Speaker 1: to come into UH you know, like, can they turn
Speaker 1: this corner? Will they be good enough to just to
Speaker 1: maintain the same level. Michael, I leave you with this,
Speaker 1: and I'm not asking you to predict how long the
Speaker 1: UH the global pandemic will last and its effect on sports. Um,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't ask you that, but of your knowledge of
Speaker 1: your instinct with a guy like Roger Goodell in the NFL,
Speaker 1: established meant how how sort of I'll say, what's there?
Speaker 1: What's their emphasis on doing things as normally as possible?
Speaker 1: In other words, would you put the favorite if this
Speaker 1: last for a couple more months. Do you think they
Speaker 1: try to just go as straight as possible. Do you
Speaker 1: think they try to do things without fans, maybe start
Speaker 1: the season without fans. What's your instinct on what they're
Speaker 1: thinking would be. I would say their instincts would be
Speaker 1: to cancel everything until training camp. I think the most
Speaker 1: important thing that they're probably thinking as training camp. Let's
Speaker 1: get the training camp, and let's get to July. And
Speaker 1: if we can get to July, then we could have
Speaker 1: a normal seat. And and if we can get to
Speaker 1: July and the pandemic is kind of under control, that
Speaker 1: we can have a normal season July. It gives us
Speaker 1: an opportunity and maybe you know, open up open up
Speaker 1: o t A days after the first of July and
Speaker 1: have people you know, bring the players back in and
Speaker 1: get that. To me, I think they're really they're going
Speaker 1: to forego any o t a days in exchange for
Speaker 1: making sure we can go in July. Michael, I thank you.
Speaker 1: What are you doing the rest of the day, What
Speaker 1: are you reading, what are you watching? What's your activity? Well,
Speaker 1: I got a lot of work to do. I'm working
Speaker 1: on my next book, which obviously I think I really
Speaker 1: need to write, and I'm doing there, doing a lot
Speaker 1: of research on that, and uh, you know, and I'm
Speaker 1: just gonna spend most of my day researching and and
Speaker 1: quarantining myself to this house and watching the college players
Speaker 1: in the afternoon. Any any hints on on a subject
Speaker 1: specifically about the book or you rather, Yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: the book. Now. My book is going to be about
Speaker 1: why certain people could see the non obvious and others can't.
Speaker 1: Why the secret? As Marcus de Relians says, the secret
Speaker 1: all victory lies in the organization is a non obvious
Speaker 1: and who sees that non obvious always figures out how
Speaker 1: to win. Michael, I can't thank you enough. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1: At m Lombardi NFL hosted the Lombardi Line along with
Speaker 1: Patrick mohurt right here at Vista and thank you my goal,
Speaker 1: stay safe by friend by girl, Bye bye. M m
Speaker 1: m HM