Albert Breer joins Michael Lombardi: NFL Schedule Release & Atlanta Falcons! | The Lombardi Line
thanks so much for hanging out with us on this Thursday edition of the Lombardi line presented by DraftKings alongside former NFL executive Michael Lombardy I’m stormy Bond and Tony a jam-packed final hour ahead so excited to break down all things schedule release with NFL Insider Albert Breer who’s going to join us coming up in 15 minutes Matt y’s on the program as well one of our sharper NFL betters here at vison he is also dialed in on the PGA Xander chafl shooting nine under in his first round today at Valhalla we’ll see how Matt wants to approach the in round angles of the tournament and a whole lot more later but Michael the schedule release comes out last night everybody is excited and I know you were too you know you can’t you can’t not be excited I mean because you know we’re close to getting there right and you could start breaking down the teams and for teams you can start working on your opponent right you know who you’re opening up with you know the first three games I I don’t look past much through the second half of the schedule because injuries play such an important role but you kind of have a sense of what you need to do in training camp to get ready for week one and go from there so it’s like we’re moving and now we’re in that love period where everybody’s having great camps Caleb Williams didn’t have an incomplete pass yesterday I don’t know if you heard that story me but the ball didn’t touch the ground so everybody’s excited and I kept saying to myself who’s the worst team and who is going to have the number one pick the Panthers are not favored in any game all year so they obviously are the Raiders have you know whether their quarterback situation can come through the Giants are only a half a point favorite over in L over in Munich against the against the Panthers so that tells you what the book thinks of them so it’ll be fun to look at and then I heard you were commenting on the giant uniforms during the break you didn’t like those huh uh yeah I liked them less than Mike Tomlin likes the Pittsburgh Steelers schedule on the back end yeah it those things are bad Michael we can’t we can’t deny that I know it’s the 100th anniversary team and they’re doing some special stuff around it that that uniform ain’t it though is it they look like they’re wearing khaki pants paired with a bad rugby look that’s kind of the vibe I was getting yeah yeah the bad rugby look never works right it’s like I you know can’t we dress up the oldtime uniforms a little bit can’t we yes that’s what I’m saying like you know things ultimately were modernized for a reason so I love paying homage I love all of that but you know we did move on with a certain goal and aesthetic in mind um there are though well for as bad as those uniforms are there are a lot of great games that are ahead on the schedule this year and one of them I am particularly looking forward to and dreading and it is the rematch of this past year’s Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers hosting the Kansas City Chiefs on October 20th um it’s it’s a game that I’m certainly going to have circled on my calendar and feel sick to my stomach approaching San Francisco is a two-point favorite in that game though which to me told me that odds makers Michael see this game as essentially a pick them because I mean HomeField isn’t three points anymore it’s really closer to two maybe even one and a half at times so these two teams are Super Bowl contenders again could be in that position again and oddsmakers see them as very equal yeah and and look Kans City gets a huge break right Kansas City has a buy before they have to come to San Francisco which gets them healthier gets them ready to go so that’s a huge break we know Andy Reed we hear about it all week in October about how Andy Reed coming off a buy is so good but look I think the ners you know I think the ners are taking their time this off season they’re not in a rush I think they they the both the ners and the Chiefs have spent so much time playing extra games you know OTAs all that I think they’re working on a gradual Pace but I think there’s some teams stormy that have to start fast and you mentioned it earlier in the first hour the AFC North Pittsburgh schedule is really tough the second half but the whole AFC North is hard like every team’s good there I don’t know if you catch a lucky break yeah that division is absolutely going to be a gauntlet Michael but to to stay on the 49ers here briefly because you did mention that bye for the Kansas City Chiefs going into that game that’s a stretch for San Francisco where the rest Advantage disadvantage is favoring the opposing team in a handful of them from week seven to week 13 so you start with the Chiefs then you have the Cowboys who are also going to be coming off of a buy the 49ers then get there by they play the Bucks in week 10 Seahawks who will be coming off a buy and they’re never an easy out at the Packers and then at the bills who will be coming off of a buy so that that’s going to be a challenge for this team no doubt no question they’re going to and look they’re they’re the hunted one everybody knows on the schedule we got to play the ners and they’re really good we got to play Kyle shanan offense the offense they’re really good so they’re not going to get anybody’s C minus game every game like last year when they went back to Cleveland it was their Super Bowl it was their it was their ability to declare they’re a good team when you beat San Francisco now you move into a class that you’re a good team let’s continue going through some of these schedule release highlights the Baltimore Ravens you talk about the north they’re a two-point favorite at the Chargers in November uh harbowl week 12 at Sofi Stadium we’ll also have Kirk Cousins in Minnesota taken on the team that let him walk Atlanta onepoint favorite they um indoors which Kirk we know loves the Pittsburgh Steelers a three-point favorite in Denver is Russell Wilson gets to face Shawn pyton and also how about Shawn pton making his return to New Orleans in October on Thursday Night Football on Amazon so a lot of good games on the Slate in prime time and and otherwise I I thought there were a lot of good games I think that the schedule I on the national games I thought they were great you know and look if you’re a good team you got to beat somebody right and so like Baltimore they open up I mean Baltimore gets it Baltimore gets you know to start their season and they have to you know they got to go out and play Kansas City they come back and they got the Raiders at home they got the Cowboys and buffalo Cincinnati I mean then they got washingt that’s a tough schedule but they’re a good team I mean you’re not you know they number one seed last year you’re not going to get a walk in the park but I think what you want to look at is the end of the year right they have a late buy which you always want especially after playing the Eagles get the Giants you should be able to win that game you go you got the Steelers that’ll be always a hard game Texas Texans on Christmas day and you end the season with the Browns so you know you got a chance to build a little momentum going into it but look there’s going to take some time I think one of the things as us as betters Baltimore new defense coordinator Zack or he’s taking over for McDonald that’s a tough job right Derrik Henry going to be more under Center because he needs to get the ball from the quarterback from under Center so there’s a lot of Mo new offensive line for Baltimore a lot of moving pieces here it’s going to be it’s going to be an interesting summer to watch them if they can just pick up where they left off last year yeah 13 wins a season ago win total this year 11 a half plus5 to the over um and you’re getting that plus money because of the difficulty of the schedule that you just laid out there Michael and for as good as a job as Mike North and everybody at the NFL in the broadcasting situation as good a job as they did Michael I do have one bone to pick with the leag and okay you know that I am a college football sideline reporter for ESPN I love love the sport I am so angry and I know why they had to do it but it doesn’t change anything for me about how upset I am about that Saturday double header we’re going to get which are good games in the NFL it’s Houston and Kansas City and Pittsburgh and Baltimore on December 21st that is also the first time under the new college football playoff layout that we’re going to have oncampus games for the cfp and you’re going head-to-head with college football and you’re going to win that battle you know you are why are you taken this away from the like I hate that I don’t want to have to be separated pulled in different directions leave my college football Saturdays alone you can play on every other day of the week I don’t care Sunday Monday throw a Tuesday in there and take it away from the Mac I don’t care don’t take away my college football Saturday with the cfp I am so upset about this yeah yeah I can I can understand it because you know we’re hoping they’re good games but I would have a on my sense correct me if I’m wrong is it will not be the first four teams it’ll be five playing 12 correct it’s there’s going to be three different games that are on that day three different cfam but they’re going to be none of the top none of the top teams will be playing on that day oh correct yes there that that’s my point so they they may not be great games because I think for everybody who wanted more teams into the playoffs we’re going to find out maybe more teams isn’t the right thing you you know maybe more teams isn’t going to maybe there aren’t enough good teams you know so I I think look you’re right you know but we’re running out of days we’re running out of I mean you can’t do that I mean you can’t do it you got Saturday and Sunday and the NFL would say well we’ve always had Saturday late December I know it just breaks my heart and this is a direct relation because we were playing on Wednesday for those Christmas games and those are the teams that they’re they’re moving forward and having them play on Saturday and then have to play on Wednesday so it’s still a short week for them but it’s different and it it just bummed me out you know I I love college football I want to be able to watch him separately so it is what it is but I I I but you know let’s be clear I I love college football I watch it but if it’s an NFL game I’m I’m going to watch the best game on uh I’m going to watch the best game that they have I have a feeling it’ll be the pro game because they’ll be good games also you know what else is interesting is we’re you know talking about that week in December and those Christmas games because they’re both going to be broadcast on Netflix what a masterful job that is as if the NFL already wasn’t going to be king on that day over the NBA we saw last year the Epic success that they had playing on Christmas now you have those games played in an app that are going to make it extremely difficult for anybody trying to change out of that to watch the NBA games so people aren’t going to unless you’ve got the multi-v set up you’re watching the NFL you’re sitting you’re kicking your feet up watching Netflix yeah there’s no question there’s no the that that getting out of the app to go to the regular so you have to have two TVs it’s it’s almost mandatory that you have to have two TVs to really conquer this so that’s what we’ll have we’ll have two TVs I’ll bring the outdoor TV in in the winter I’ll put that up there and I’ll have it set up and then I’ll be yelled at because the living room looks like crap and somebody needs to change it so you know how that goes I can’t have a man cave I know that here’s my my man cave is right here stormy and I have no TVs in here listen listen you got you got to give Millie her props okay she she puts up with you during football season so give her that yeah well right yeah and and through all through the other 11 months whatever six months too that isn’t football season he has to put up with it too but yeah I I that I didn’t think about that app thing that is interesting because you got to go from Netflix over and if you don’t have a smart TV like Barber Shop my father there’s no chance he’s doing that zero you’re not changing the channel it’s like going back to the old days when you didn’t have a remote control and you’d have to get up and go physically change the channel sometimes you’re just lazy you don’t want to do that uh we’re going to hit the break on remember those days you don’t even remember those days I can imagine we’ll be right back Albert Brier joining us [Music] next this is the Lombardi line with former NFL executive Michael Lombardi now here is your host stormmy batony on VN the sports betting Network for limited time we here at Von are offering our annual subscription at a ridiculous rate usually it’s $240 you can grab the subscription now for just 199 bucks and when you sign up today you’re also getting an extra 2 months free so 14 months of V pro access for less than 50 cents a day but you need to use our promo code Lombardi with Von Pro that’ll get you instant access to our daily Best Bets with the leaderboard to see who has the best win percentage and Roi 19 hours of live programming each and every day including expert breakdowns and in-game Analysis proven betting systems from professional hand cappers as well as our exclusive betting splits to show you where the money and bets are moving visit v.com subscribe today to claim your 14 months a Von Pro for $199 use that promo code again Lombardi this is the Lombardi line alongside Michael Lombardi stmy Bond and Tony with you and we’ll continue our NFL schedule release talk with Albert Breer who joins us now on the Progressive guest line senior NFL reporter Insider mmqb and we talked about it off the top of the show Albert that nothing is like better evidence for how the NFL is King than a day like yesterday where you’ve got the NBA and NHL postseason going on yet everybody’s talking about the NFL schedule release for games we already knew were going to be played we just didn’t know when yeah yeah it’s really unbelievable I mean I I can remember when this first started and I was um NFL Network sent me to a bar in Chicago and um this is probably like 2015 or so and um and M is probably familiar with some of these assignments but I I got sent to this bar in Chicago and it just happened to be on the same night that Blackhawks and the Bulls were playing in the playoffs in the same night and so we literally had to tell them ask them to change one of the TVs over to the schedule release because there’s no way it was be on any of the TVs there um and almost had to like generate like this like feeling that someone in the bar cared so uh you know certainly it’s come a long way in a short time and um yeah I mean I like it’s just another piece of evidence that America Can’t Get Enough football not enough I mean look we’re going to send them Carolina and the New York Giants and the Germans will love it more than anything in the world it’ll be amazing right I mean you know we couldn’t send two worst quarterbacks over there in the league but they’re going to eat it all up all right speaking of quarterbacks my favorite subject that Super Bowl winning franchise the Atlanta Falcons down there what have you heard since the pick’s been made uh there’s been a lot of conversation about how Arthur Blank wanted cousins and Super Bowl winning GM fno wanted wanted to draft pennic what have you heard you know what I’ve heard Michael is um a lot of Buzz terms from Home Depot being thrown around and the main one that kind of you know Rings true when you look at you know what they’ve done over the last three months is succession plan um they talked a lot about succession plans in that organization over the last last couple of months and you know I think a big piece of of of of their quarterback plan was making sure that they weren’t going to be left empty-handed in any sort of way and so um look I think part of it’s the PTSD that the owner has over the way the last three years went they offloaded Matt Ryan a year before they wanted to because of the DeShaun Watson situation um you know then they they Tred to tread water for a year with Marcus Mariota that doesn’t work they try to tread water for a year with Desmond rder that doesn’t work and so I think think you know font no and and rahee Morris went into the offseason with this mandate to get the quarterback position right and um you know they’ve obviously gone over the top and doing it I I think it’s totally fair to be critical of the way this was handled and and you know my reporting has shown that um you know like Kirk Cousins one of the reasons that he left the Vikings in the first place because they were very upfront with him about what they were going to do and they would not rule out the idea that even if he stayed that they would draft the quarterback of the future um you know in 20 24 it’s part of the reason why he didn’t sign an extension there um in 2023 and it’s part of the reason why he chose Atlanta over Minnesota when he was out there in free agency um and he thought the guaranteed money protected him but obviously things went the other way um you know with a number of different things happening over the course of the spring but obviously I like penics quite a bit too and you know nobody can fault either one of them for being upset at the situation whether you’re Kurt Cousins or Michael penck Jr but credit both of them for the way that they’re handling things outwardly like they can’t be mad at each other for the situation that they got put in I mean I don’t think I don’t think stormy I don’t think anybody thought like cousins was going to you know take the low road on this one like he he’s a standup guy that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his own feelings I mean again like a huge part of this is you know you imagine one employer tells you one thing um could happen and you go the other way because that one thing could happen and you’re not aware that that one thing could happen with your new employer and then a few weeks into your new job that thing does happen you might have your own feelings on too so I think human nature that just from the standpoint of human nature there’s no question that Kurt Cousins has his own feelings about how all this went but you know he’s he’s taken the high road here and you know I think the same way Aaron Rogers didn’t take it out on Jordan love when everything transpired in Green Bay in 2020 I I I don’t think Kurt Cousins is gonna take any of this out on Michael penx let’s shift to the Raiders I I I I I was my understanding that they said it was a coin flip between Brock Bowers and someone else what have you heard about what happened inside that Raider draft room well you know Michael I I I think the their plan a was actually pennic you know and um you know one thing I have heard is that um you know their move to plan B was to go with um their move to plan B was a result of the the quarterbacks coming off the board the way that they did now I don’t know if they would have liked Micks or McCarthy enough to take them but um you know I certainly think if penx had been there for 13 that would have been the pick um and so with six quarterbacks off the board in the first 12 picks you know they pivot and I do think Brock Bowers was was the the the overwhelming choice in the room I think it was Teran Arnold I can’t remember if it was Arnold or or quinan Mitchell was it Arnold stormmy is that right correct it was Teran Arnold it was yeah so I think he’s the one who said it would have been a coin flip and then a coach told him that and then you know Antonio Pier said he hadn’t talked to Arnold so um you know true Raider fashion there’s a little bit of a mess left behind but I I do think that that that Tesco and and The Scouting staff really they were in on on on Brock bers because they felt like they were uniquely positioned to take him in as a player the one thing that’s interesting about him and you know Michael you could probably dive into this a little bit more on the football end of things is that he as great a player as he was at Georgia you need to have a plan for him because he’s not a traditional tight end so you almost have to have a traditional tight end to use him correctly well the Raiders are one team that actually does have that and Michael May may you know and having mayor on board as their traditional inline wi tight end you know enabled them to to to take a swing here on a pretty special athlete in Brock Bowers you’re also very no question I think he’s more go ahead stor well he’s more of the F tight end as I was going to say I agree with Albert go ahead uh well you’re also very close obviously Albert with the the Patriots organization you know that inside and out very very well they are one of just two teams going into the season that are underdogs in every single game new head coach new situation bring in a Young quarterback and Drake May what’s your understanding of the situation CU Mayo comes out and says Drake May’s got a lot of work to do that we know I think everybody knew going in but is there a chance you think we could see him starting this year like we’ve seen so many rookie quarterbacks in the past yeah I think the number is and you can look back at this I think the number is 48 quarterbacks have been taken in the first round in the last 16 draft cycles and only two didn’t start at least one game their rookie year one was Jordan love the other one was Jake Locker Mahomes waited till week um 17 to start a game but all three of those guys had established guys ahead of them was Hasselbeck Matt Hasselbeck in front of Jake Locker Alex Smith in front of momes and Aaron Rogers in front of Jordan love so history tells us it’s it’s almost inevitable that Drake May is gonna start a game at some point um now I don’t think the plan is for him to start right now um they view him as being pretty raw he needs to be rebuilt in certain ways um they need to clean up a lot of stuff with his feet um you know obviously I think there’s some accuracy issues that been tesz from some of the things that were going on around him I’m in North Carolina last year so you know part of Gerard’s whole idea and putting a staff together was to put together some quarterback infrastructure they felt like they did that and bringing in Alex velt and Ben McAdoo and TC McCartney and so I think you know it’s almost like this isn’t a competition you know what I mean it’s it’s to me it’s like more like Drake May competing against himself um I don’t think that they want to risk messing up his development just to throw him out there and get game reps So This Isn’t So Much Drake May against Kobe brette as Drake May kind of fighting to convince the the coaches there that he’s ready to to get in the to to get into a game and and all the work that they will they’ve done won’t come undone if he does get into the game yeah and and the reality of it is is Albert If he if they don’t start fast you don’t think you know because you look at their schedule it’s not an easy schedule especially where they are you don’t think eventually they’ll have to put them in yeah and you know like that’s I mean as you know like it takes great discipline not to because you got I mean you guys know right like everybody up here in New England is is all for red shirting them now and and I think you guys both know exactly what’ll happen if they’re 0 and five or two and six which is people screaming from the rooftops why don’t you just throw the kid in there and you know again history shows us that you almost always team’s almost always Buckle to that pressure um for one reason or another whether there’s pressure from ownership empty seats um you know you get to November 1st there 20,000 empty seats jacobe resets on the field what do you think the narrative up here is going to be it’s going to be why don’t you just get Drake made the Reps even if that’s not what’s best for the kid and so I think you know as much as it has to do with Drake May and his development like I said it’s also having the right situation for him if you’re constantly playing for from behind if you’re constantly in third long it’s going to be it’s going to create a situation where bad habits can be [Music] reinforced this is the Lombardi line with former NFL executive Michael Lombardi now here is your host stormy baton on VN the sports betting Network you like watching and listening to VN the sports betting Network work why haven’t you checked out von.com your One-Stop shop for all things betting content in addition to everything that you hear on our shows each and every day Best Bets from our show hosts guests and experts all logged there on the website updated betting splits for each and every games as well as exclusive articles including one from our guy Michael Lombardi that came out today he does a weekly column this one breaking down some interesting spots on the NFL following yesterday’s schedule release visit v.com today speaking of von.com someone who does wonderful writeups on a regular basis Von host here at the network of Vin tonight each and every weekday Matt humans joins us now on the Progressive guest line and we we’ll talk schedule release in a minute Matt but I want to start with the PGA Championship because Rory mroy five under right now Scotty Sheffer I believe about to get underway those are the two favorites coming in and Xander schafle in the lead right now with a first round nine under he my my guy from San Diego State is always the bride made never the bride is this a good or a bad Omen that he got off to a nice start here you know first of all Michael Lombardi always breaking down tape writing books writing columns the guy’s a Workhorse he never stops true um you know as far as shley I wonder were you calling Xander shley your guy from San Diego State on Sunday when he turned a two shot lead into a seven shot deficit in about an hour uh one thing I used I I used to like shley and I used to bet him about two and a half years ago I gave up because certain players just don’t uh have that winning mentality they don’t have the Killer Instinct or they choke under pressure and um shley was one of those guys and so I basically stop betting him you can bet him top 10 uh he he’s a really solid Contender a guy who’s going to finish top 10 he doesn’t win many tournaments and uh Sunday was the latest example of that you know I’m not going to hate the strong word but my disdain my dislike for Xander Schley in these tournaments is getting pretty intense because he’s a front runner he gets out the leads plays well probably should have bet him firstr leader uh but then on Saturday Sunday he backpedals he doesn’t do what’s necessary to win a tournament I I can tell you one thing all the guys chasing shle are not too concerned they know he’s not going to run away with this tournament so I I’ve got action a lot of action on this golf tournament including guys like BR Kea Bryson dambo John ROM a few others U I’m not concerned that Xander is going to run away with this thing he hey Matt is the course I mean this is an impressive score 62 sure is the course that easy or was it just the weather was it he just had a hot putter today like are we going to expect to see scores in the 60s for four rounds you know the weather’s going to get a little bit worse I think it’s going to rain on the Friday Saturday Sunday might get a little windy uh today the the scoring conditions are perfect because shle got out there the course was softened up these guys are pen hunting I don’t know if you’re watching as we’re speaking right now but Scotty shefer just uh knocked one he just hold one from about 150 yards out in the Fairway and uh you know these guys are able to flag hunt today it’s target practice out there the course is not playing anywhere near as uh tough as a lot of people thought it would be so yeah that’s a hell of an impressive score by shley I think you’re going to see a lot of guys go low here in the afternoon too so uh it’s not going to be the typical PGA where you know struggling to make par is sometimes a good score I looks like this course is going to maybe lay down for these guys a lot more than we expected of of course Sheffer did that the crying baby’s not keeping him up too late just yet and the divorce certainly isn’t bothering Rory mooy out there with what he’s done last event into this one you mentioned a couple of the guys that you do have bets on Brooks kka John ROM um for somebody who maybe didn’t get into the tournament pre flop are there things that you can be looking at to try to get involved in tournament what are some angles you would suggest you know the adjusted OD is going to be posted after the first round tonight we’re going to talk about that on our show later tonight because I there’s a lot to happen yet this afternoon uh you could BET live right now and take Scotty sheer a 5 to one or you know you could uh there there’s nothing I see right now I I would recommend that as I watch this more this afternoon and tonight West Reynolds and I will talk about it on our show and hopefully also on von.com we’re going to post some updates and betting strategies after each round so we can talk about that a little bit more after today’s round bless you Michael um let’s turn the page here Matt thank you let’s turn the page to a little NFL schedule release Here real quickly when all of the when all of the news broke down yesterday and you kind of get the lay of the land for what teams are going to play who when was there any team that changed your opinion for them whether it be on a win total or an approach early in the season that stood out to you I don’t know if anything changed my opinion that much but uh I thought there were a lot of interesting things with the schedule I know Michael wrote about some of the stuff today I you know Brent musberger was on with us last night to react to the schedule too and Brent brought up a good point about the Steelers in their brutal final eight weeks Steelers have they better get off to a fast start because it’s going to be us it’s going to be tough on the Steelers to have a fast finish with that schedule in the final eight weeks one thing I thought was interesting was the Bears and the Steelers have no division games in the first 10 weeks yeah and I don’t like that I don’t think a schedule should ever be set up that way that means the Bears and the Steelers are going to have six of their last eight games in the division not playing a division game until week 11 is something I don’t think should happen I’ll say this stormy and Michael I think the 49ers actually got uh kind of a uh a bad deal from the schedule maker let’s put it that way uh the 49ers are going to play four teams that are off by weeks before they play San Francisco that means the 49ers are going to be an a r disadvantage against the Chiefs the Cowboys the Seahawks and the bills all 14s have a buy the week before playing San Francisco also the ners have back-to-back Road games at Green Bay and buffalo late November early December I think the schedule uh looks more difficult the schedule layout looks more difficult for the 49ers after yesterday’s uh schedule release also you know I look for things like three straight road games the the bills the Browns the Bears the Vikings all have three straight road games that’s going to be a negative scheduling Dynamic uh for those teams uh you know a lot of times what you want to do in NFL season some win total too is you want to look to play over the low numbers and the Patriots have the lowest number on the board of four and a half but man after I looked at the schedule last night I’m not all that bullish I’m betting the Patriots over unless something changes my mind uh this summer uh one team I am going to take a look at is the Bears and uh there’s a book out there with a nine under n even money most places have an eight and a half shaded over I think the Bears have one of the League’s easiest SK schedules but when you look at it on paper that doesn’t mean it’s going to play out the same way when you get to the season I know a lot of people are looking at well they got home games against the commanders the Cardinals the Patriots uh all those teams look like they’re going to be automatic wins for the Bears I don’t think you can necessarily think that way the Panthers are the only team when I look at schedules I say well that’s going to be a win that’s going to be a win because the Panthers are pathetic the rest of these teams commanders Cardinals Patriots have a chance I I think to be pretty good or better the next expectations those are just some of the things I looked at when the schedule came out last night Matt so I’ve been asking everybody who’s going to have the first pick in the next in next year’s draft give me your four teams who are potential to be in the first because if you’re going to play Survivor you’re want to play teams that aren’t going to win right so you’ve already mentioned Carolina who are your other three teams you know Brent said last night he’s already got his Survivor pick for week one he’s playing the Bengals over the Patriots right so of course you know with the yeah with the uh with the Patriots schedule I think it is going to be hard for that team not to be one of the bottom four in the league and they got to figure out the quarterback situation anyway uh so even though I’m I’m probably not as down on the Patriots as some people I think it’s going to be challenging there so the Panthers uh the Patriots I’m going to say um uh let’s go yeah I’m not really sure who the other two worst teams are going to be right now I’m not going to go out on a limb on that yet I’m might have to study this one a little bit more I think the Panthers and the Patriots are two pretty good bets to be at the bottom and you know a lot of people would say the Arizona Cardinals too but I think the Cardinals actually have a chance to be decent I I like the NFC West I think those teams are actually closing the gap on the 49ers a little bit yeah I know Michael’s pretty high on the Seattle Seahawks he likes the Rams the Cardinals are getting better I would throw the Giants in as one of the the potential worst teams that’s one that and I have talked about a good bit um but as far as week one goes just to close things out here Matt and those Survivor ones do you think that Patriots Bengals is going to be potentially the most played or is there another one at least at first blush that stood out to you yeah we did talk about that a little bit last night because you know that Bengals play is going to be the most popular in Survivor I think you you just write that down in pen right now not pencil it’s gonna be Bengals I’ll tell you a sneaky a good survivor Play I don’t know if it’s Sneaky by the time we get there might be pretty popular I don’t necessarily like the team a lot but the Saints over the Panthers in week one because when are you really going to want to use the Saints again yeah you probably wouldn’t and I think a lot of a lot of contestants W going to want to pick on the Carolina Panthers you’re the man Matt thanks so much for stopping by we appreciate you great job Matt thank you yeah he talked Michael about how what a hardworking guy you are here at V same thing for Matt he is like up late every night he doesn’t sleep he’s unbelievable I sleep this guy doesn’t sleep I mean he doesn’t sleep I mean he’s he’s just throwing shade at me that guy is always up check him in West Reynolds out tonight on Vin tonight we’ll be right [Music] back this is the Lombardi line with former NFL executive Michael Lombardi now here is your host stormmy batony on VN the sports betting Network the NBA playoffs are heating up and so is the action at draftking Sportsbook an official sports betting partner of the NBA new customers who bet $5 get 150 in bonus bets instantly download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now and use our code V vs i n Only on DraftKings the crown is yours speaking of the NBA that’s where we’re going to go with our Pro tip of the day here as well Michael we do these Pro tips each and every day on the show every show on the network does them they’re searchable on von.com by Sport and by show but today talking about the Denver Nuggets who seem to have flipped a switch after going down 02 at home against the Timberwolves we talked to Mike Sage earlier in the show where he said it just it feels like the nuggets have the Timberwolves figured out and I’ll double down on that that if you’re looking to make an NBA title BET right now you’re not fully sold on the Boston Celtics as a oddson minus 135 number right now if the Denver Nuggets win tonight which they are a twoo underdog on the road plus 110 on the money line if they win tonight this is the lowest number you’re going to get on them to win a championship at plus 255 no question and I and I think what what you said earlier about Mike Sage said about having them figured out it was pretty obvious in the stats right we know Minnesota’s really good defensively and the the when they W lost game four in Minnesota they were unable to really contain the Denver offense and then it got worse again so it wasn’t like they you would think they were going to round it back out and play better defense they didn’t the shooting percentages for Denver went up now I understand they were playing home but still I think Mike Sage is right they have them figured out again a two-point spread tonight total in the game 205 vsin Pro tips available each and every day at vn.com now it’s time to wrap up the show on a high note let’s roll that no way no doubt open do you disagree with these takes no way uh-uh no way or do you approve oh no doubts no doubt no doubt my mind no diggity no doubt it’s time to ask Michael Lombardi no way or no doubt all right let’s see where Michael is on board and where he’s got a no way for us we’ll see um we’re starting with a little salary conversation last season last offseason we saw the average annual value in the highest paid salaries Go Up Up and Away the record being broken four times we saw Kyler Murray who was the highest Jaylen Herz gets his deal Lamar Jackson gets his deal Justin Herbert finally Joe burrow who now sets the standard at $55 million in average annual value but even Jared Goff is out here getting over 50 with guys like Trevor Lawrence Tu a Tunga byoa Dak Prescott still upon us could we see someone Leap Frog burrow in the short term no way or no doubt Michael Joe Burrow’s NFL record $55 million salary will be broken this off seon no way because look momes is below him and as long as Mahomes stays below him you know then you really can’t make the casee right momes is taking less for his team and so he’s doing something really well so I I can’t see that now Dak will try and Dak would probably be the one who has no way no doubt that he’ll get more because dax’s not settling for a penny less dax’s is like Kur cousins he’s not leaving a chip on the table so uh right now I would say no way somebody’s going to get ahead of burrow because burrow and has been to a Super Bowl also because Mahomes is below Barrow and Jerry Jones is probably like well well Dak you know the the the even Jared G getting farther in playoffs than we are just put that out there uh every year Michael in this offseason just throw it just just saying you see that’s another segment we need to add to the show still we’re waiting we’ll get the open made just saying just saying every year in the offseason as well we see players that are skipping offseason workouts they’re holding out for contract reasons no way or no doubt bigname players vying for new contracts are hurting their team by skipping these offseason workouts no way I mean it’s probably better they’re not in there as long as they stay in shape and they work I mean like if they’re in there hayward’s in Pittsburgh he’s just not doing anything on the field that’s fine I mean these guys are on the field way too much as it is The Season’s getting longer and longer and longer you don’t want to wear your team out what you want to do is condition them you want them to be in the weight room you want them to be you know doing the getting themselves in condition to handle the rigers of the NFL season but in terms of where you line up how you play in the defense or the offense you can catch up to that pretty quickly so at what point does it start mattering for example like we remember dvo Samuel a couple years when he was holding out into the preseason and he said that even the mental game of it really like messed him up as a player so it’s not just the team impact but the personal impact at what point does it become a hindrance I think it definitely becomes an Hance to training camp right because you’re trying to bond the team you know you can’t go two a days anymore so you’re only doing one a day you want to make sure that your best players are getting the Reps you want to make sure that they’re in condition you you need to wear spikes you need to play on the grass you need to play football to be good at football and if you just show up in week one like Josh Jacobs did you know when have that when have they ever had good years when guys just show up right there right before the season starts it’s very challenging and difficult let’s go to the Pittsburgh Steelers who I’ve heard many make the argument because Mike Tomlin and the Steelers owe Russ Wilson nothing they are paying him next to nothing and Justin Fields is sitting there waiting in the wings that the leash could be very short for Russ in a schedule that looks pretty daunting toughest in the NFL right now if Christmas day is the target Michael no way or no doubt Russell Wilson will still be the Steelers quarterback under Center to take off the Chiefs on Christmas oh this is a hard one you no way I think he’ll be the starting quarter back Christmas Day this one’s a hard one for me I can go either way here I’ll go no doubt he will be because look we do know this about Mike Tomlin Mike is very you know look how long was he going to stick with Kenny picket right how long did he stick with Kenny he stuck with Kenny pick in a while a lot longer than many would have I think to me you know obviously it’s hard to predict if a guy’s going to play well or not but Wilson within this Arthur Smith offense I think certainly could now the C are going to come from all over Danny O at ESPN they’re all going to start coming out of the woodwork Justin Fields has to play you can’t leave that Talent on the sideline we’re going to hear that right I mean get ready that’s week two of the pre you can’t leave that Talent on the sideline right so there’s a movement out there for him to play there’s no question yeah that that’s why I ask the question again if you missed it the Steelers win total remained 8 and a half after their challenging schedule was released but the juice went from minus 120 to the over to plus1 125 another quarterback situation worth monitoring is in Minnesota the Vikings signed Sam darnold to a one-year $10 million deal but Kevin oconnell drafted his guy and JJ McCarthy as well so no way or no doubt the darnold McCarthy quarterback battle will be the closest of any entering this offseason I think that’s no doubt that’s right there’s no doubt that I think to me if McCarthy shows the ability to retain and understand what’s going on why waste any time you know you’ve got darn there to be the backup if he feels like you can go handle it he can run the offense and not hinder what you’re doing and get the ball to the right players I think he ends up being the starter why waste any moment if he’s ready whereas what we’re saying about Drake May is Drake May needs in the immortal words of Domin our former Scout he needs refinement which is a better term for he needs a lot of coaching right he needs coaching and and he needs fundamentals and techniques and all that McCarthy doesn’t quite need that McCarthy needs the experience but there’s a difference between having experience and having expertise once he becomes an expert of the offense I think that takes over the experience JJ McCarthy by the way of these quarterbacks potentially to start he’s the shortest shot of anyone to go from backup to qb1 plus 115 Sam darnold is still in odds onus 140 favorite to be the qb1 out of camp but let’s go to Drake May Michel no way or no doubt the former UNCC tarhill will start at least half of the Patriots games this season no way he starts half but he will he will start some okay no way he will start half but he will because what I asked Matt yans and what I’ve tried to what I was talking with our what we talked about with Albert Breer is at some point when The Season’s lost you might as well give them some reps much like when when the season was lost for the Super Bowl winning franchise the Atlanta Falcons they put Desmond Ritter in in the last four games of the year remember that to give him some reps to see where they were I suspect that’ll be the case here they’ll have to do something like that and and the stat that Albert brigger dropped he said of the 48 first round quarterbacks that have been taken in the last handful of years only two of them have ultimately not had at least one game that they played in during their rookie season so I think that’s certainly in the cards for Drake May who it’s it’s going to be like that’s the guy that’s going to be their quarterback of the future and it makes sense that if your team is bad and you’re in a position late in the season to give him a little bit of that opportunity right yeah no question so you give him a little bit but you’re you’re not counting the season on him because here’s the problem is he’s not ready to be the starter and the team wants somebody to help him win games and brassette can handle that right and so he’s once he catches up or once the season lost then you’ll put him in there but until that point I think it’s a little bit premature and I don’t think that’s the halfway point either stormmy I think it’s going to happen later in the year and to Albert’s Point earlier too you don’t want to put your future quarterback in a position to get ruined prematurely right we talked so much in the NFL about young quarterbacks getting ruined more than they are developed and he’s got a lot of development on the way that’s it for us today on the Lombardi line check us out same time same place tomorrow sharp money coming up next as well as Pablo t on draft teams
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"Super Bowl winning GM Terry Fontenot."