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The NFL may be a copycat league, but it’s not like the 28 teams that fell short of Conference Championship weekend can just look at the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots and Denver Broncos and say, “Oh, let’s do that.” After all, Mike Macdonald and Matthew Stafford and Drake Maye and the Broncos defense don’t grow on trees. Still, there are lessons that we can draw from those four teams and apply to how we think about the league and each of its 32 teams. Friends of the show Nate Tice from Yahoo and Bill Barnwell from ESPN join Robert Mays to unearth those lessons on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

0:00 Welcome to the show
3:00 Explosive plays
11:51 Tight ends
24:19 Pass rush
32:15 What other podcast is making Wu-Tang Financial jokes?
35:22 Big picture: reduce your opponent’s playbook
43:11 Special teams
49:32 Is defense back?
1:03:35 Nickelback / Nick Emmanwori
1:14:09 A new coaching tree
1:17:41 The concept of a “championship window”
1:21:30 We’re talking about the Chicago Bulls now
1:22:02 The podcast goes off the rails
1:25:37 What are we doing here?

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Take our listener survey: http://theathletic.com/survey26

The NFL may be a copycat league, but it’s not like the 28 teams that fell short of Conference Championship weekend can just look at the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots and Denver Broncos and say, “Oh, let’s do that.” After all, Mike Macdonald and Matthew Stafford and Drake Maye and the Broncos defense don’t grow on trees. Still, there are lessons that we can draw from those four teams and apply to how we think about the league and each of its 32 teams. Friends of the show Nate Tice from Yahoo and Bill Barnwell from ESPN join Robert Mays to unearth those lessons on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

0:00 Welcome to the show
3:00 Explosive plays
11:51 Tight ends
24:19 Pass rush
32:15 What other podcast is making Wu-Tang Financial jokes?
35:22 Big picture: reduce your opponent’s playbook
43:11 Special teams
49:32 Is defense back?
1:03:35 Nickelback / Nick Emmanwori
1:14:09 A new coaching tree
1:17:41 The concept of a “championship window”
1:21:30 We’re talking about the Chicago Bulls now
1:22:02 The podcast goes off the rails
1:25:37 What are we doing here?

For more Athletic Football Show content:
– Join The Athletic Football Show Discord Server: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow
– Follow The Athletic Football Show wherever you listen to podcasts: https://podfollow.com/the-athletic-football-show/view
– Twitter: https://x.com/TA_FootballShow
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Take our listener survey: http://theathletic.com/survey26

We’re certainly in the heart of S. Bowl season. For most of us, that refers to the Super Bowl. For Dane Brugler, though? In that case, you’re referring to the Shrine Bowl and the Senior Bowl. This week, Dane’s travels take him to Mobile for the Senior Bowl. With practices underway, who’s already catching the eye of scouts? What more is to come the rest of the week? Dane and Dave Helman get into it all on this episode of The Athletic Football Show’s Building the Beast.

0:00 Welcome to the show
3:37 First impressions
4:42 TJ Parker pt 1
5:43 Derrick Moore
6:44 TJ Parker pt 2
7:19 Offensive and defensive linemen
8:52 LT Overton
10:09 Garrett Nussmeier pt 1
11:49 Diego Pavia
14:15 Cole Payton
15:23 Cole Payton = Michael Penix?
16:17 Tyren Montgomery
17:16 Garrett Nussmeier pt 2
20:36 Caleb Banks
23:49 Chris Johnson
25:03 Colton Hood
29:12 Linebackers
30:00 Kyle Louis
31:20 Keyshaun Elliott
32:57 Ted Hurst
34:58 Josh Cameron
36:17 Lee Hunter

For more Athletic Football Show content:
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Dan Campbell said it best after the Lions lost to the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game after the 2023 season. “This may have been our only shot.” No matter how bright a future may appear, there’s no guarantee that you get back to your conference championship game. After falling one step short of Super Bowl LX, where do the Los Angeles Rams and Denver Broncos go in 2026 and beyond? Dave Helman and Derrik Klassen consider what’s next for both teams on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also discuss the recent hires of Mike McCarthy and Jesse Minter.

0:00 Welcome to the show
2:44 Broncos
5:21 Broncos free agency decisions
6:18 John Franklin-Myers
8:01 Alex Singleton
8:19 Nate Atkins
10:28 Free agency additions
10:45 Mike Evans
11:09 Rachaad White, Emanuel Wilson, Tyler Allgeier
13:21 David Njoku
11:54 Why the Broncos need offensive weapons
16:24 Alec Pierce
19:00 What if the Broncos lose Vance Joseph?
21:13 Davis Webb
22:51 Broncos offensive line
23:57 Year 3 of Bo Nix
25:24 Bo Nix = Jalen Hurts?
30:04 Rams
30:26 How Matthew Stafford’s decision will affect the roster
34:38 What do the Rams do if Stafford retires?
35:39 We’ve identified Derrik’s worst nightmare
36:09 The case for Stafford to return
40:25 Rams extension candidates
41:42 Draft wish list: Sonny Styles
43:25 Kam Curl
44:35 Cobie Durant
46:55 Rams draft targets
48:39 Chris Shula
50:19 Nate Scheelhaase & Mike LaFleur
51:08 Davante Adams
53:42 Tutu Atwell
56:17 Draft wish list: Kenyon Sadiq
1:00:30 Pittsburgh Steelers & Mike McCarthy
1:11:53 Baltimore Ravens & Jesse Minter

For more Athletic Football Show content:
– Join The Athletic Football Show Discord Server: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow
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