Early returns on five new offenses across the NFL

Week 2 of the college football season may not have had the marquee matchups that Week 1 did, but it still gave Dave Helman and Dane Brugler more than enough to talk about from an NFL Draft perspective. The guys dig into John Mateer's big day against Michigan, Sawyer Robertson's second straight strong showing against a power four team, Jordyn Tyson's hot start to the season, and a whole lot more on this episode of Building the Beast on The Athletic Football Show.Rundown (timestamps are approximate)5:12 Game Ball: Oklahoma QB John Mateer12:40 Game Ball: Oregon QB Dante Moore18:40 Sawyer Robertson leads another big week for Baylor's draft prospects28:45 I Was Not Familiar with Your Game: Cincinnati LB Jake Golday34:23 Prospect Snapshot: Louisville WR Chris Bell38:38 Prospect Snapshot: Texas A&M EDGE Cashius Howell42:21 Top-50 Stock Watch: Sam Leavitt and Jordyn Tyson46:13 Top-50 Stock Watch: USC WRs Makai Lemon and WR Ja’Kobi Lane50:04 Top-50 Stock Watch: Iowa State DT Dominique Orange vs. Iowa C Logan Jones56:40 NFL Rookie Watch: Browns LB Carson Schwesinger and Jets OT Armand Membou1:05:33 Week 3 CFB previewHost: Dave HelmanCo-Host: Dane BruglerExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerConnect with The Athletic Football ShowX: https://x.com/TA_FootballShowIG: https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshowYT: https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShowTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshowDiscord: https://discord.gg/sPp5md3BCall us: 847-448-0701Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Dave on X: @davehelman_Follow 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.

10 Sep 1h 12min

Our return to five episodes per week means that the Weekly Hangover is back! Because look, Sundays are busy. We can't possibly talk about every game in the way that we'd like to on our Sunday night recaps. But we do still want to talk about every game. That's what the Hangover is for. In the Week 1 Hangover, Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen get to two games we didn't discuss on Sunday night—the Commanders' 21-6 win over the Giants and the Cardinals' 20-13 win over the Saints. Plus, we listen to some of the best voicemails we got on the TAFS voicemail line on Sunday.Rundown (timestamps are approximate)6:00 Commanders-Giants recap31:50 Cardinals-Saints recap56:02 Your sad voicemailsConnect with The Athletic Football ShowX: https://x.com/TA_FootballShowIG: https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshowYT: https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShowTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshowDiscord: https://discord.gg/sPp5md3BCall us: 847-448-0701Host: Robert MaysCo-Host: Derrik KlassenExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassFollow Dave on X: @davehelman_Theme 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.

9 Sep 1h 2min

Same Sunday night recap you know and love, brand spankin' new look. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman celebrate the return of the NFL with the Week 1 recap episode of The Athletic Football Show, the first from our new studio in Chicago. The guys discuss the Bills' dramatic win over the Ravens, the Packers' dominant victory against the Lions, the Jets and Steelers—really!—giving us the most exciting game of the day, troubles for the Dolphins and Titans, and a whole lot more.Rundown (timestamps are approximate)5:30 Bills-Ravens thriller15:15 Packers dominate Lions27:40 Steelers-Jets fireworks!39:00 Emeka Egbuka pays immediate dividends49:00 Dolphins embarrassed by Colts56:10 Titans fumble multiple chances to upset Broncos1:05:00 Seahawks endgame leaves a bit to be desired1:12:30 Bryce Young off to a rough start1:16:05 The Bengals get away with one1:22:15 Geno Smith starts his Raiders career with a bang1:27:00 The Stafford/Davante connection1:30:35 You can't ignore bad training camp vibesConnect with The Athletic Football ShowX: https://x.com/TA_FootballShowIG: https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshowYT: https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShowTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshowDiscord: https://discord.gg/sPp5md3BCall us: 847-448-0701Host: Robert MaysCo-Host: Derrik KlassenExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassFollow Dave on X: @davehelman_Theme 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.

8 Sep 1h 30min

And with that, the 2025 NFL season is officially underway. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman recap the Eagles' 24-20 season-opening win over the Cowboys on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/sPp5md3BSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show⁠Apple⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠YouTube⁠Host: Robert MaysCo-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave HelmanExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassFollow Dave on X: @davehelman_Theme 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.

5 Sep 24min

Football friends, we have made it back to the start of another NFL season. We hope you enjoy the crazy six-month ride with us. To kick off the season, Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman highlight what they're excited to watch in Week 1 on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/npVXkk3cSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show⁠Apple⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠YouTube⁠Rundown (timestamps are approximate)5:43 We're in studio!9:57 Lamar vs. Josh13:52 Chiefs-Chargers21:50 The Ben Johnson Bears27:53 Can the Giants front create the weird Week 1 game?30:30 The sicko games on the noon slate36:31 Proof-of-concept matchups (HOU OL vs. LAR DL, Raiders offense vs. Patriots defense)38:30 The loaded afternoon slate43:22 The potential uh-oh games48:47 Aaron Rodgers vs. the Jets52:00 Michael Penix Jr. vs. Todd BowlesHost: Robert MaysCo-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave HelmanExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassFollow Dave on X: @davehelman_Theme 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.

4 Sep 48min

We've previewed every division. We've pondered every lingering question. We've analyzed every roster from top to bottom and back to the top, again. There's only one thing left to do. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman offer up their awards, playoffs and Super Bowl predictions on this final preseason episode of The Athletic Football Show.Rundown (timestamps are approximate)4:35 Defensive Player of the Year15:18 Offensive Player of the Year23:09 Coach of the Year36:40 Offensive Rookie of the Year44:35 Defensive Rookie of the Year48:49 Assistant Coach of the Year55:03 Protector of the Year58:47 MVP1:07:07 NFC Playoff Picks1:16:25 AFC Playoff Picks1:21:46 Super Bowl picksHost: Robert MaysCo-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave HelmanExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show⁠Apple⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠YouTube⁠Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassFollow Dave on X: @davehelman_Theme 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.

3 Sep 1h 28min

We saw Arch Manning, Garrett Nussmeier and LaNorris Sellers all play in Week 1, to varying results. What are our first 2025 impressions of all of those quarterbacks? And who else should NFL Draft heads already be taking notice of this season? Dave Helman and Dane Brugler recap Week 1 of the CFB season on this episode of Building the Beast.Hosts: Dave Helman and Dane BruglerExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...⁠Apple⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠YouTube⁠Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Dave on X: @davehelman_Follow 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.

2 Sep 1h 8min

The annual Wins Pool Draft is here. Three drafters, seven teams apiece, glory and ignominy at stake. What more could you ask for? In both of the last two seasons, Robert Mays has had to pay off an embarrassing bet on Radio Row. Will he make it three years in a row, or will Derrik Klassen or Dave Helman save him and fall into the TAFS Wins Pool basement? Listen along as they guys select seven teams—five good and two bad, with bad being defined as a win total over/under of 6.5 or fewer—on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Host: Robert MaysCo-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave HelmanExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show⁠Apple⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠YouTube⁠Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassFollow Dave on X: @davehelman_Theme 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.

1 Sep 51min