The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

Latest Episodes:

Biggest questions heading into training camp, with Courtney Cronin Jul 24, 2023

Show notes

By the end of this week, all 32 teams will be in camp. In other words, the NFL season is here. What are our biggest questions at the start of camp? Robert Mays and Courtney Cronin from ESPN lay them out on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Follow Robert on Twitter: @robertmays

Follow Courtney on Twitter: @CourtneyRCronin

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

Apple

Spotify

YouTube

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/MAYS and get on your way to being your best self.

The Football 100, the definitive ranking of the NFL’s best 100 players of all time, goes on sale this fall. Pre-order it here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Coaching candidates to watch in 2023 with Conor Orr Jul 21, 2023

Show notes

Conor Orr returns to The Athletic Football Show to bring you his list of the best up-and-coming coaching prospects before the season kicks off. Plus, he and Robert dig into some real solutions for the RB value dilemma and what should the Cowboys do about Zack Martin's holdout?

0:00 - 31:30 - RB value solutions

31:30 - 39:49 - Zack Martin’s holdout

39:49 - Prime head coaching candidates

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The state of NFL analytics: It's more than going for it on 4th down Jul 20, 2023

Show notes

Analytics departments across the NFL have moved way beyond, "So, should we go for it on fourth down this time?" But where exactly are they, and where are they headed? Robert Mays and Sam Schwartzstein, analytics expert for Amazon's NFL broadcasts, dive into those questions on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Follow Robert on Twitter: @robertmays

Follow Sam on Twitter: @schwartzsteins

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

Apple

Spotify

YouTube

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/MAYS and get on your way to being your best self.

The Football 100, the definitive ranking of the NFL’s best 100 players of all time, goes on sale this fall. Pre-order it here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The secret sauce of QB development, with Tom Gormely, Will Hewlett and Bruce Feldman Jul 19, 2023

Show notes

Josh Allen becoming a perennial MVP candidate? Jalen Hurts leading his team to the Super Bowl? Those weren't exactly foregone conclusions when they entered the league. Quarterback development looks a whole lot different today than it did just a few years ago. How did we get to this point, and what is the secret sauce of developing a quarterback in the present day? Tom Gormely, the director of sports performance and sports science at Tork Sports Performance, quarterback coach Will Hewlett, and Bruce Feldman, college football reporter at The Athletic, join Robert Mays to dive into the topic on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Follow Robert on Twitter: @robertmays

Follow Tom on Twitter: @GormelyTM

Follow Will on Twitter: @WillHewlett

Follow Bruce on Twitter: @BruceFeldmanCFB

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

Apple

Spotify

YouTube

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/MAYS and get on your way to being your best self.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Monday Mailbag: Models for offensive progress, building a running back room, elite position coaches, and more; Plus, DeAndre Hopkins signs with the Titans Jul 17, 2023

Show notes

Mitchell Schwartz sits in for Nate Tice on this mailbag edition of The Athletic Football Show. He and Robert Mays tackle questions on models for offensive progress, best builds for a running back room, the traits that set elite position coaches apart from the rest, and more. Robert also welcomes on Titans beat writer Joe Rexrode to discuss the DeAndre Hopkins signing.

Follow Robert on Twitter: @robertmays

Follow Mitch on Twitter: @MitchSchwartz71

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

Apple

Spotify

YouTube

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/MAYS and get on your way to being your best self.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Playcallers Ep. 1: The kids are all right Jul 10, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to The Playcallers - a five-part podcast series that explores the innovation, competition and sometimes even self-destruction inside the N.F.L.’s youngest coaching family.

In Episode 1, host Jourdan Rodrigue details the origins of the Shanahan/McVay offensive system, which over time grew into the most popular in the sport. Unique circumstances push Kyle Shanahan to start to evolve this system as he joins up with other young coaches in Tampa Bay, Houston and Washington. A collision of forces, dysfunction and talent culminates in the offensive explosion (and then implosion) in Washington with rookie quarterback Robert Griffin the Third.

Voices in the episode include Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Mike McDaniel, Matt LaFleur, Raheem Morris and Robert Griffin the Third.

Playcallers is presented by Miller Lite. To get Miller Lite delivered right to your door, visit millerlite.com/playcallers.

Celebrate Responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, WI. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Playcallers Ep. 2: When football breaks Jul 10, 2023

Show notes

Once candidates for the same head coaching jobs, Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay's dynamic gets complicated as they turn into NFC rivals in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Host Jourdan Rodrigue goes inside how both coaches' modern offenses take shape and the untold stories of McVay's hiring process by the Rams. Eventually, McVay's Rams take the NFL by storm in 2017-18. But all the while, one of the greatest coaches in NFL history is lying in wait to teach McVay a humiliating lesson in Super Bowl LIII...just a couple of years after Shanahan's own Super Bowl heartbreak at the hands of that same veteran coach.

Voices in the episode include McVay, Shanahan, Matt LaFleur, Mike McDaniel, Les Snead, Kevin Demoff, Andrew Whitworth, Mina Kimes and Steve Wyche.

Playcallers is presented by Miller Lite. To get Miller Lite delivered right to your door, visit millerlite.com/playcallers.

Celebrate Responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, WI. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Playcallers Ep. 3: You are not me Jul 10, 2023

Show notes

How far can Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay go to evolve their own offenses? Each coach hires a defensive coordinator who is their perfect schematic opposite. In San Francisco, Shanahan and Robert Saleh's epic practice battles shape what are now the NFL's best defenses. In Los Angeles, McVay's and Brandon Staley's schemes clash as McVay becomes wholly obsessed with finding out how his offense can be solved. Host Jourdan Rodrigue studies the collision of apex systems and how the ripple effects start to shape each team - and the entire NFL.

Voices in the episode include McVay, Shanahan, Saleh, Staley, Thomas Brown, Andrew Whitworth, Mina Kimes, and Steve Wyche.

Playcallers is presented by Miller Lite. To get Miller Lite delivered right to your door, visit millerlite.com/playcallers.

Celebrate Responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, WI. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Playcallers Ep. 4: Blood can blind Jul 10, 2023

Show notes

Sean McVay becomes the first coach from this coaching family to win the Super Bowl, but it costs him more personally than he could have realized. Before McVay gets to the championship, he has to exorcise his "Kyle Shanahan demons" in the NFC Championship game. Shanahan and Mike McDaniel built their offense into a versatile, punishing group as McVay's own system centers around the flourish of the passing game. McDaniel, who becomes the Dolphins head coach in 2022, starts stretching his legs after so much time working under Shanahan. Meanwhile, Matt LaFleur's own Packers offense is built around compromise and a Hall of Fame quarterback. In speaking with host Jourdan Rodrigue, each head coach opens up about how play-calling has shaped their identity.

Voices in the episode include McVay, Shanahan, LaFleur, McDaniel, Kevin O'Connell, Zac Taylor, Kevin Demoff, Les Snead, Raheem Morris, Andrew Whitworth, Mina Kimes and Steve Wyche.

Playcallers is presented by Miller Lite. To get Miller Lite delivered right to your door, visit millerlite.com/playcallers.

Celebrate Responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, WI. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Playcallers Ep. 5: To resist it is useless Jul 10, 2023

Show notes

A look at the modern NFL shows that variants of this offensive system - and even the defensive systems it pulled into its innovation loop - are everywhere. What happens when it becomes too saturated? How do coaches know when to jump into what comes next? Host Jourdan Rodrigue also looks at the unintended consequences the explosion in popularity of coaches from this offense have had on the NFL's hiring practices. Meanwhile, coaches across the league are candid about how they try to evolve and adapt in a sport that endlessly moves in patterns and cycles.

Voices in the episode include Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Matt LaFleur, Mike McDaniel, Raheem Morris, Kevin O'Connell, Thomas Brown, Kevin Demoff, Les Snead, Andrew Whitworth and Robert Griffin the Third.

Playcallers is presented by Miller Lite. To get Miller Lite delivered right to your door, visit millerlite.com/playcallers.

Celebrate Responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, WI. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected