The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

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Feb 24, 2025 • 1h 5min

Mailbag Monday: Successful GM/head coach dynamics, quarterback urgency in the draft, offensive line composition, and more

It may be combine week, but we're still opening up the TAFS mailbag. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dig into questions about successful GM/head coach dynamics, how urgent teams should be in the draft when they need a quarterback, the Jets, Saints, and Vikings, offensive line composition, and more.Host: Robert MaysCo-Host: Derrik KlassenExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Feb 21, 2025 • 1h 21min

What To Watch For During the 2025 NFL Combine

Who's going to own the 2025 Scouting Combine? Which players are going to crush the testing? Which lesser-known prospects are going to turn heads? Who has the most at stake during the interviews? Draft expert Dane Brugler joined Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen to run through everything that really matters next week in Indianapolis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Feb 19, 2025 • 1h 12min

How Can Free Agency Help Teams Win the Super Bowl?

For years, free agency lessons are typically framed about how teams falter in the market. But the 2024 Eagles were a shining example of how the right injection of free-agent talent can propel a team to a championship. With this year's champs in mind, Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen looked through the past decade of Super Bowl participants to see what lessons we can learn about the right ways to use FA. How many teams spent big? How important were the right bargain signings? And what advice, if any, can we give to teams looking for the right boost from the veteran pool in 2025? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Feb 17, 2025 • 1h 9min

Mailbag Monday: Second-tier QBs vs. elite coaches, Trevor Lawrence as Gen-Z Matthew Stafford, Bills/Ravens future, and more

Would you rather have Matt LaFleur or Dak Prescott? Is Trevor Lawrence Gen-Z Matthew Stafford? Would you rather be the Bills or Ravens for the next three years? Those are just three questions that Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen answer in this edition of The Athletic Football Show mailbag.RundownQB vs. coach valueThe Chargers offseasonConverting contracts into signing bonusesIs power football all the way back?The Eagles as a blueprintThe most entertaining division in the leagueWhich QB has your real-life skill set?WR vs. OLWho should be trading for Myles Garrett?Trevor Lawrence as Gen-Z Matthew StaffordAre the Bills or Ravens in a better spot?A documentary on...?Host: Robert MaysCo-Host: Derrik KlassenExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Feb 14, 2025 • 1h 1min

Biggest questions of the 2025 offseason

Where will the on-the-move quarterbacks get off the carousel? How will the Bengals address their defense? Will the Rams turn the page to a new era? Where will the big-name free agents land. Those are just four of the offseason questions Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen addressed on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Host: Robert MaysCo-Host: Derrik KlassenExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Feb 13, 2025 • 1h 6min

Travis Hunter, Abdul Carter lead Dane Brugler's first Top 100 of 2025

OK, enough with the 2024 season, it's time for 2025! Dane Brugler's post-Super Bowl Top 100 is out, and he joins Robert Mays on this episode of The Athletic Football Show to get us firmly pointed toward the combine and the draft.Host: Robert MaysCo-Host: Derrik KlassenWith: Dane BruglerExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassFollow Dane on X: @dpbruglerTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Feb 10, 2025 • 47min

Super Bowl LIX recap: Eagles cap off dramatic turnaround from last season with dominant win over Chiefs

The return to bully ball was one of the stories of the 2024 season. So perhaps it's fitting that the story of the Super Bowl was that of the Eagles utterly dominating the trenches on both sides of the ball in their 40-22 triumph over the Chiefs. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen break down Super Bowl LIX on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Host: Robert MaysCo-Host: Derrik KlassenExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Feb 7, 2025 • 57min

Super Bowl LIX Preview

The NFL season is a 285-game march to the Super Bowl. Friends, we have reached that 285th game. Super Bowl LIX between the Chiefs and Eagles is here, and Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dive deep on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. What are the key matchups? Who and what will the guys be watching on both sides of the ball? What does this mean for the legacies of the key players, coaches and executives involved. Robert and Derrik get into all that, and a whole lot more, on our Super Bowl LIX preview.Host: Robert MaysCo-Host: Derrik KlassenExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Feb 6, 2025 • 55min

The Super Bowl characters who have changed the way we think about them this season

Consider what you thought about Saquon Barkley before this season. How about Trent McDuffie? How about Nick Sirianni? Might feel a bit different about them now, right? Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen discussed nine people involved in Super Bowl LIX who have changed the way we think about them this season on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.RundownSaquon BarkleyNick SirianniHowie RosemanVic FangioZack BaunTrent McDuffieJoe ThuneyAndy ReidHost: Robert MaysCo-Host: Derrik KlassenExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Feb 5, 2025 • 1h 8min

The Chiefs hunt for a three-peat meets the Eagles march for redemption

Way back in September, it didn't necessarily feel like we were going to end up here. The Chiefs may have enjoyed their status as the NFL's latest—and perhaps greatest—dynasty, but it was clear the Bills and Ravens would push them in the AFC. The Eagles, meanwhile, began the season 2-2, and saw their coach getting in shouting matches with fans at their own stadium. And yet, here we are, getting ready for Chiefs-Eagles in the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons. How did these teams make it here? What's at stake for them (beyond the obvious, of course)? Robert Mays sat down with Nate Taylor and Brooks Kubena, The Athletic's Chiefs and Eagles beat writers, respectively, to answer those questions on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Host: Robert MaysCo-Host: Derrik KlassenWith: Nate Taylor and Brooks KubenaExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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