Semi-OT: The "GM Street" Podcast

[NE-VT]

A number of us have been recommending this podcast from former Patriots insider Michael Lombardi. It is a review of current league trends and a critique of various NFL management and coaching styles. This latest episode was so excellent I thought it was thread-worthy:



A couple of things that I found particularly interesting in this episode:

1. Starting at 1:29 Lombardi starts discussing the Rams' and the Eagles' use of college-like run-pass-option concepts. This has been a growing trend in the league.

2. Starting at 33:30 Lombardi discusses the importance of the middle linebacker for diagnosing the offensive play and communicating defensive audibles. I believe this has implications for our defense without Hightower.

 

[supafly]

I don’t always agree with Lombardi’s takes, but he’s always worth a listen.

Dallas, KC, Philly, and the Rams have all deployed successful read option offenses that seem to be causing some communication issues around the league at times. Will be interesting to see what direction that trend goes, moving forward.

 

[NYPatsFan]

I listen to this podcast. These guys bring energy and Lombardi is... entertaining and sometimes insightful.

 

[Mike the Brit]

31:33 "Remember. Fear does the work of reason in these situations!"

 

[Wheelman]

I always recommend taking anything that Michael "Hot Take" Lombardi says with a grain of salt.

The only reason I still listen to GM Street is because I find his analogies entertaining and every now and then he's got a nice back story with Bill Walsh, Al Davis, or his time with the Browns, or with BB when he was with the Patriots.

Otherwise, take caution, he's got a lot of hot takes.

If you want knowledge of the game. I highly recommend listening to Matt Chatham's podcast.

 

[ForThoseAboutToRock]

I always recommend taking anything that Michael "Hot Take" Lombardi says with a grain of salt.

The only reason I still listen to GM Street is because I find his analogies entertaining and every now and then he's got a nice back story with Bill Walsh, Al Davis, or his time with the Browns, or with BB when he was with the Patriots.

Otherwise, take caution, he's got a lot of hot takes.

If you want knowledge of the game. I highly recommend listening to Matt Chatham's podcast.

Do you have an example of a hot take you found particularly cringeworthy?

I ask because I tend not to think of him as a hot-take machine like a TV talking head self-promoter, but instead as a "sidelined industry guy" who has more of "can you believe they're doing this" opinions developed from a) having been there and done it and, b) talking to people around the league who are probably in agreement with parts of what he's saying.

 

[Wheelman]

Do you have an example of a hot take you found particularly cringeworthy?

I ask because I tend not to think of him as a hot-take machine like a TV talking head self-promoter, but instead as a "sidelined industry guy" who has more of "can you believe they're doing this" opinions developed from a) having been there and done it and, b) talking to people around the league who are probably in agreement with parts of what he's saying.

Nothing that comes to mind right now. Everything he says just sounds like out there. Don't get me wrong, it's entertaining. But I'm like, really? How do you know that? You can't have possibly watched every minute of every game.

Just take whatever he says with a grain of salt. That's all.

 

[patfanken]

A number of us have been recommending this podcast from former Patriots insider Michael Lombardi. It is a review of current league trends and a critique of various NFL management and coaching styles. This latest episode was so excellent I thought it was thread-worthy:



A couple of things that I found particularly interesting in this episode:

1. Starting at 1:29 Lombardi starts discussing the Rams' and the Eagles' use of college-like run-pass-option concepts. This has been a growing trend in the league.

2. Starting at 33:30 Lombardi discusses the importance of the middle linebacker for diagnosing the offensive play and communicating defensive audibles. I believe this has implications for our defense without Hightower.

I LOVE listening to Lombardi. He is fearless in his pronouncements and is willing to take the heat when he's wrong. But good or bad, he's never vanilla and always entertaining as well as being informative.

And you are right. His comments about the games that go one between the QB and a smart LB before the snap is WELL worth the time to listen to this podcast. Also his comments on Kotter and Macado were spot in

PLEASE!!!!! remember to post this again next week.

 

[ForThoseAboutToRock]

Nothing that comes to mind right now. Everything he says just sounds like out there. Don't get me wrong, it's entertaining. But I'm like, really? How do you know that? You can't have possibly watched every minute of every game.

Just take whatever he says with a grain of salt. That's all.

Fair enough. *takes salt* *takes a bit more because it's delicious*

thinking about him, he's a bit "hot takey" with respect to coaches like Petersen in Philly or "the clapper" Garret in Dallas. He doesn't show a lot of respect for them - kinda calls them out the same way he did McAdoo. Philly fans have obviously been all over him because of this - and as you know, he's well aware that he hung himself out there to get roasted as Philly shows itself to be having a pretty strong season.

 

[ForThoseAboutToRock]

I LOVE listening to Lombardi. He is fearless in his pronouncements and is willing to take the heat when he's wrong. But good or bad, he's never vanilla and always entertaining as well as being informative.

And you are right. His comments about the games that go one between the QB and a smart LB before the snap is WELL worth the time to listen to this podcast. Also his comments on Kotter and Macado were spot in

PLEASE!!!!! remember to post this again next week.

You don't have a smart phone app or something set up to get podcasts? You can also go to The Ringer Podcast Network - The Ringer to find it if you're at a desktop type computer all day.

 

[Wheelman]

Fair enough. *takes salt* *takes a bit more because it's delicious*

thinking about him, he's a bit "hot takey" with respect to coaches like Petersen in Philly or "the clapper" Garret in Dallas. He doesn't show a lot of respect for them - kinda calls them out the same way he did McAdoo. Philly fans have obviously been all over him because of this - and as you know, he's well aware that he hung himself out there to get roasted as Philly shows itself to be having a pretty strong season.

Oh I think he's right about the clapper. I love it when he disses Garret. The guy is horrible. I don't understand how BB keeps getting robbed of CoY by these jokes that are supposed to be coaches. BB should have won CoY in 2013 and 2016.

The way Lombardi does that though, you gotta admit, it's entertaining right?

 

[NE-VT]

I LOVE listening to Lombardi.
PLEASE!!!!! remember to post this again next week.

As long as there is interest, I will be happy to keep bumping the thread with the new releases.



'GM Street’ — The Stink of Green Bay

Lombardi makes an argument that Green Bay's under-achievement with Rodgers is more of a function of their front office, rather than their coaching.

 

[luuked]

Nothing that comes to mind right now. Everything he says just sounds like out there. Don't get me wrong, it's entertaining. But I'm like, really? How do you know that? You can't have possibly watched every minute of every game.

I think that you hit on a pretty important distinction when it comes to Lombardi. I am growing a bit tired of his game specific takes because as you said he is watching multiple games from inside a bar so he cant possibly be focused enough especially during the early games. But I cant think of many of his football specific insights, insider takes (trades, needs per team) or general background information that has been off. It is the latter that I love listening to him for. For the former I have -- as you already suggested -- Chatham which is essentially intro/intermediate X&O porn.

 

[luuked]

As long as there is interest, I will be happy to keep bumping the thread with the new releases.

I suggested it a few weeks back to make like a podcast mega thread but simply lacked the time in the last 3-4 weeks to do anything about it.

I think in addition to Lombardi and Chatham the other podcast that is essential are the QuickSlants portions with Mayo on it. And then there is also the Ex-Pats podcast with Giardi and Koppen but this one suffers a bit in depth because they have a very early release (Mondays ?).

 

[NE-VT]

I suggested it a few weeks back to make like a podcast mega thread but simply lacked the time in the last 3-4 weeks to do anything about it.

I think in addition to Lombardi and Chatham the other podcast that is essential are the QuickSlants portions with Mayo on it. And then there is also the Ex-Pats podcast with Giardi and Koppen but this one suffers a bit in depth because they have a very early release (Mondays ?).

I think a podcast mega-thread is a very good idea. I agree with you on those first three. I have never checked out Giardi and Koppen.

I am growing a bit tired of his game specific takes because as you said he is watching multiple games from inside a bar so he cant possibly be focused enough especially during the early games.

I still like the game specific takes because it gives him a chance to discuss HC game/clock management. Part of the game theory of football is beyond play specific X & O. It is about knowing when to take risks, predicting tendencies, realizing the situation, etc. I love getting his take on this type of stuff, even if it is comes up in the context of a shallow following of a particular game.

But the thing I like most is this, as @patfanken said: "He is fearless in his pronouncements and is willing to take the heat when he's wrong". Lombardi clearly knows X & O stuff and does analyze things at that level from time to time. But he also attempts to make predictions based on league wide trends he sees. IMO, doing that well is much harder than simply explaining the coverage on a particular play. So I am forgiving when he gets a prediction wrong.

 

[ForThoseAboutToRock]

I suggested it a few weeks back to make like a podcast mega thread but simply lacked the time in the last 3-4 weeks to do anything about it.

I think in addition to Lombardi and Chatham the other podcast that is essential are the QuickSlants portions with Mayo on it. And then there is also the Ex-Pats podcast with Giardi and Koppen but this one suffers a bit in depth because they have a very early release (Mondays ?).

This post may come across as being overcritical of QS - I don't mean to be. I'm a pretty dedicated listener and think almost every Patriots would get something out it. That said upfront...

I like Mayo a lot - don't get me wrong - but the combination of him and Tom Curran is so energetic that it tends to get ... disorganized?

When it's just TC and Phil Perry (vastly underrated Patriots media guy, imo), you get a good blend of entertaining TC insanity plus Phil keeping the conversation pointed in a direction. Add Mayo to the mix, and the thing teeters on going off the rails with Perry's personality being overridden by the sheer vigor of TC and Mayo.

Additionally, a lot of Mayo's insight - when he's talking hard x's & o's - would be best suited to a visual medium. I think they've said as much on the show itself. Hard to follow some of that stuff without repeated listening.

Lastly, Quickslants sorta feels relegated to the back seat compared to the TV show. Maybe a drop in quality from last year's QS. This is economically very understandable, but I don't watch the show (or listen to its summary podcast), so from my perspective it's a negative.

 

[luuked]

I still like the game specific takes because it gives him a chance to discuss HC game/clock management. Part of the game theory of football is beyond play specific X & O. It is about knowing when to take risks, predicting tendencies, realizing the situation, etc. I love getting his take on this type of stuff, even if it is comes up in the context of a shallow following of a particular game.

This falls under football specific insight for me. But either way I agree he is very good when it comes to explaining the process of a football game and most probably the closest we will come for a while to understand the way how BB sees the game.