VSiN Weekend Morning Line | August 1, 2026 | Hour 2

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
This is VSiN, The Sports Betting Network. Welcome to the VSiN Weekend Morning Line on VSiN, The Sports Betting Network.

**Marc Malusis** (0:20)
Welcome back, our number two VSiN Weekend Morning Line, Marc Malusis with you right here as Brent said, VSiN, The Sports Betting Network. Now is the time to get ready for college football and the VSiN College Football Betting Guide comes out on Monday. It is fantastic. Sign up for VSiN Pro today and go to instant access to our NFL Betting Guide, then receive our College Football Betting Guide. When it's released on Monday, you'll get previews of all 138 FBS teams, our preseason top 50 power ratings, proven betting systems and best bets from VSiN's sharpest minds. Plus, this is where I need to help as well. You'll say, I need help. My wife tells me that every single day. The fantasy life, fantasy football draft guide, daily best bets, real time betting splits, AI powered prop projections and 24-7 video on the VSiN Watch app. Start today for just $9.99 or get a full year and save 50% with a VSiN Pro annual subscription. Head to vsin.com/subscribe now. That's vsin.com/subscribe now. Let's continue the NFL conversation.
Matt Verderame joins us now, covers the National Football League and does a tremendous job. And we're going to talk all things NFL and Matt obviously for Si in Sports Illustrated Si Now. Hey, Matt, Marc Malusis with you. Thanks for the time this morning. Appreciate it.

**Matt Verderame** (1:43)
No problem. How are you doing?

**Marc Malusis** (1:46)
I'm doing well, Matt.
What are your most intriguing store lines as camps are getting going here? You know, what are you keeping an eye on the most?

**Matt Verderame** (1:54)
You know, I think for me, it's a couple of things. The NFC East is fascinating because you have the commanders coming off a year that was bitterly disappointing. They spent a lot of money in free agency. Jaden Daniels is healthy again. But that's a division where, you know, the Giants obviously have overhauled everything from the coaching staff on down, the Cowboys are a team that some people think could make a deep run. And then Philadelphia, what is the impact of Asia-Brandway if you have on them? I mean, there's so many different storylines in that division. Like which team kind of steps up or do none of them separate from the pack? And it's just a division that's tight all the way to week 18
And in the AFC, I can't tell you the same thing conference-wide. Like I don't think there's any one team in the AFC that you'd look at and say, that team is just clearly the favorite. Like the Rams in the end of the city, we all feel like, okay, that team is probably the team to beat if not in the whole league. In the AFC, you have the Bills, the Ravens, the Chiefs, the Texans, the Broncos, and on and on and on, the Patriots, who went through a ball year ago. Who's gonna step up and become the hunted, so to speak? So there's a lot of open-ended questions right now.

**Marc Malusis** (3:03)
And Matt, joining us here on the Progressive Guest Line, this is the VSiN Weekend Morning Line, Marc Malusis with you right here on VSiN. Matt, which team has got a lot of heat around them, a lot of shine, a lot of burn, that you're the most concerned about coming into 2026?

**Matt Verderame** (3:19)
For me, it's probably the Chargers.
I understand why people like them. I always believe in who's your coach, who's your quarterback. And in that regard, the Chargers check the box. Harbaugh is a terrific coach. Herbert is, even if you're down on him more than others, at least in the top 10
But we'll get the rest of the roster. The rest of that roster is not overwhelming. It's okay. It's not terrible, but it's a lot of McConkie and friends catching the ball. I mean, there is nobody outside of McConkie who really puts any fear into it. Even McConkie last year, it's kind of disappointing. They didn't have 800 yards of shooting.
You know, I look, I like Mike McDaniel coming in there, but I don't know if they have the pieces to play the way he wants. He wants to have these explosives in the run game. And he wants to be able to use the run game to set up these huge yards after catch or these play action bombs. There's nobody with deep speed on that offense. There's nobody who can stretch the field. Defensively, Tui Talopo is fantastic. But other than him in the front seven, you know, it's Kalil Mack, hoping to get another good year out of him. You know, Henley's a good linebacker, but not like a Pro Bowl level player. In the second there, he's Derwin James. And again, a bunch of other guys, all right. But I think the Chargers, I've seen some people pick them through the age. Tyler Gaines picked them though, Super Bowl. I think the Chargers are probably around a 500 team. I think their ceiling is a wild card team that maybe can win one point off the game, but I don't love them.