This is the athletic football show.

Welcome to the athletic football show.

I'm Robert Mays.

Fun show for you guys today.

Our Lions writer from the Athletic Chris Burke is going to be joining us a little bit later. I visited with him yesterday just outside Detroit. I was at Lions practice. Really enjoyed that conversation. We're also going to, if we have time, get to Rams passing game coordinator and safety's coach at Gero Evereaux. I talked to him last week. We've been saving that because our show has been going a little bit long. So we'll see if we have time for that. Before we get to any of that, though, I'm thrilled to welcome. My good friend, Nate Tice, Nate, how you doing, buddy? I'm doing great. I feel like we're in the same wavelength because I'm recording a show after I just traveled. Yes. And that's what you've been doing. Yeah, we're on the same level. I always took my mask off.

I'm like, I'm like,

I'm sitting in a press box right now and everyone has a lot. I was wondering. I recognize. Press box right now is where I am. I'm in one of the coaches' boots, which is a familiar setting for me recording a podcast.

I didn't want to record it out in the open and just piss off everyone trying to do work out there right now.

So I'm trying to be, here's my thing.

I described my overall approach to this tour as like 40% apology.

Like I'm just 40% apologizing everywhere I go because I don't know where I'm going. I don't know where I'm supposed to sit. I don't know who I can talk to. I don't know. Nothing. So I'm just constantly apologizing. So the as much as I can do to not upset people, that's kind of my going concern right now. Yeah. There's enough stress. It's like now it's like, oh my God, they already asked this person a question. Like, and you feel like a toddler. Someone needed to pack you a snack too. Like, just so you're okay throughout the day. We're all over the place. So the Bengals conversations will come on Friday's show. We'll talk to Paul DeNer Jr. Really enjoy some of the chats I've had here. So hopefully we'll be able to fold some of that into the show. On today's show, we're going to talk about the guys we feel are the most intriguing first-year offensive play callers in the NFL. And I really wanted to do this show because so many of these guys have such a huge impact on these teams. And we know the guys that are familiar, right? Like we talk all the time about what Andy Reid can bring and Sean McVeigh and Kyle Shanahan and Sean Payton. And now these guys are the ones getting their first crack at this, at least with the new team. And I think that how they shape the offense and what it's going to look like is something we talk about when these guys get hired, but then we stop talking about it as we get closer to the season. And I wanted to really dig into this. And this was such a fun show to prepare for. And I'm really excited to kind of chew on this stuff. So we're going to start. We had the same list, by the way. So we didn't have to worry about it. Yeah, they all overlapped. So it worked out well.

So let's dig into this.

I want to start with Joe Lombardi, who is now the Chargers offensive play caller.

He was the quarterback's coach in New Orleans for a long, long time with a slight detour

for two years, I want to say in 2014, 2015 with the Lions.

That's it. He's one of those guys who was a Saints lifer for a really long time, which I think will inform this conversation. So as you're thinking about how Joe Lombardi fits that offense, what they might look like with the Chargers, what are the first couple of things that come to mind for you? I picture choice routes with the backs and tight ends. I picture some choice routes. They might have Kenan Allen been doing that and it might motion them in and do some fun stuff like that. And I just see a lot of kind of core concepts. I can think that's the best way to put it or staple concepts. And just a lot of like everyone recognizes it. They're plays that you run to Madden.

I mean,

they're just going to be like a lot of spacing,

which is, you know, it's just a staple quick game play. But I think with Justin Herbert, I think, and we've discussed this before, I think he's going to really lean into my more of that early Saints Sean Peyton era, Drew Brees, where he, when Drew Brees could consistently push the ball down the field, because as we've

seen him from Cliff from Twitter or from camp or even last season, Justin Herbert can throw the ball

pretty far. And that thing doesn't really dive at all. That thing is just a missile going out to

70 yards. And so I think he's going to lean into that. I think with him, it seems like by all, by all counts, Herbert's a pretty sharp guy either way. But I think in that offense, it's going to be a lot of efficient concepts where he's going one to two to check down, one to two to like just let him play quick, let him play quick. And if he has to create, he can create. That's going to be the bonus. Those play action concepts, if you see it, we're going to talk about in a minute. But like, say, picture the Rams when and when Todd Groley was rolling there. And how many times you just catch a checkdown on a play action and go 20 yards up the sideline? Those plays too, not only just the checkdowns, but if a quarterback can use his legs, it's like another checkdown option. And on play action, the linebackers, all those intermediate defenders coming up and then they're high tailing it back, they're finding their coverage assignment. How many times we see someone in the Seahawks defense have some linebacker carrying the overrout? Or, you know, Fred Warner carrying an overrout. They have to, you know, their eyes are everywhere. But that's the thing. Also, there's a big void in that middle of the field because they're like, oh, shit,

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