Summary of The storylines we didn't talk enough about this offseason

Overview of The Athletic Football Show

This episode is a “why didn’t we talk about them more?” offseason debrief. Robert Mays, Dave, and Derek look back at the teams that somehow slipped through the cracks during May and June content, then explain why that happened and what the more interesting discussion points should have been. The common thread: a lot of these teams either stayed in stasis, changed quarterbacks or play callers, or were already so well-defined that the most important questions are really preview-season questions.

Why These Teams Fell Through the Cracks

A few themes came up repeatedly:

• Stability can be boring in offseason content. If a team mostly kept the same core, there’s less to mine from the spring.
• New quarterbacks or play callers shift the conversation forward. When the most important change is schematic, last year’s tape matters less.
• Some contenders are just “known quantities.” Teams like the Bills or Ravens mostly remain in the same tier year after year, so the real intrigue is whether something changes in January.
• Drama can also create fatigue. In places like Philadelphia, the offseason storyline got so drawn out that by the time the move happened, it felt like it had already been discussed.

Team-by-Team Takeaways

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons felt like a classic transition/holding-pattern team.

• They didn’t make major splash moves.
• The offense is still built around the same core: Drake London, Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, and most of the same offensive line.
• The bigger question should have been whether Jeff Ulbrich’s defense was real last year:
  • They were much better than expected overall.
  • Their pass-rush and pressure packages were interesting.
  • But the run defense remained a concern.

Big picture: Atlanta looks like a team trying to get its house in order for a bigger push later, not necessarily a true contender this season.

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers’ offseason was always going to come back to Bryce Young, which is part of why there wasn’t much more to say.

• There isn’t a ton left to re-litigate with Bryce unless he takes a meaningful leap.
• The supporting cast may be a little better with more health and some added pieces.
• The more interesting discussion was actually on defense:
  • The Panthers have a potentially exciting player at nearly every level.
  • If the defensive additions hit, the unit could become the team’s biggest strength.

Big picture: If Carolina’s defense can become elite-ish, it changes how much pressure is on Bryce Young and even keeps the door open to a future QB pivot if needed.

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings were hard to revisit because the big conversation was always going to be the quarterback situation.

• J.J. McCarthy’s time on the field was rough overall, even though the team still finished with a winning record.
• That made the offense hard to judge fairly.
• A more proven quarterback in the room changes the lens entirely.
• The other big offseason question should have been whether the supporting cast and offensive line can rebound after injuries and instability.
• On defense, they used valuable draft capital and need some of those rookies to contribute.

Big picture: The Vikings are one of those teams where the most important question is not “what were they last year?” but “what does the offense look like with a different quarterback dynamic?”

Buffalo Bills

The Bills were simply too familiar a story.

• They’re still Josh Allen’s team, with a top-tier offense and playoff expectations.
• The biggest offseason storyline is really the defensive scheme change and new coaching setup.
• Offensively, there isn’t much mystery:
  • The line is mostly intact.
  • The core pieces remain.
  • The offense is expected to be good again.

The one offensive angle worth more attention was the receiver addition/trade and whether it gives Allen a more reliable one-on-one separator and vertical threat.

Big picture: The Bills are stable enough that it’s easy to assume they’ll be there in January. The real question is whether the new defensive direction makes them feel different when it matters most.

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens are another example of a team whose offseason was dominated by forward-looking scheme questions.

• The key uncertainty is what the offense looks like in a new configuration.
• Lamar Jackson is still the engine, but the team had a weird, uneven season and there are lingering questions about health and identity.
• The offensive line and interior personnel changes were a major discussion point.
• Defensively, the question becomes whether they can still be top-five-ish with new structure and some health luck.

Big picture: The Ravens don’t need to be the 2023 version of themselves to be dangerous; they just need enough quality on both sides to stay in Super Bowl range.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles are easy to ignore in the summer because they operate in cycles of extreme highs and constant chaos.

• The offseason was shaped by long-running drama and roster turnover.
• The most important question is the new offensive coordinator and what that means for the offense.
• Defensively, there’s a real argument that this could be one of the best personnel groups they’ve had under Vic Fangio.
• The health of the offensive line matters a lot:
  • The unit was beaten up last year.
  • If it’s healthy, the Eagles’ ceiling rises quickly.

Big picture: This is still a team with championship upside, but the offense needs to settle into something more stable before the conversation gets truly serious.

Denver Broncos

The Broncos might have been the easiest team to overlook because they were so close to being a finished product already.

• The roster didn’t undergo a dramatic overhaul.
• The biggest change is Sean Payton giving up play-calling duties.
• That creates two real questions:
  1. How does the offense look with a different voice?
  2. How does Sean Payton handle not being the one calling the shots?

The roster itself already feels strong, and the offense may just need one more explosive weapon to go from good to really dangerous.

Big picture: Denver’s ceiling may depend less on talent acquisition and more on whether Payton can adapt.

New England Patriots

The Patriots were another case where the discussion got crowded out by the season context and by how the playoffs ended.

• The team’s offseason is being shaped by the question of whether last year’s success was fully real or partially schedule-driven.
• Drake Maye remains the key piece:
  • The show pushes back on the idea that one playoff run defines him.
  • The tape and context suggest he’s still a legitimate long-term starter.
• Defensively, there are more interesting personnel changes and schematic questions than on offense.
• The late-season defensive surge is worth revisiting:
  • Was it sustainable?
  • Or was it just the product of the moment and the way they had to scheme?

Big picture: The Patriots are still a team with real upside, but the conversation should probably be more about whether the defense can stabilize than whether the offense is already solved.

Main Takeaways

• The offseason often under-discusses teams that are either too stable or too scheme-dependent.
• Quarterback and play-caller changes push the most important questions into preview season.
• Several of these teams have strong ceilings, but their real evaluation belongs closer to Week 1 than to late spring.
• The show’s larger point: not talking about a team much doesn’t mean it isn’t interesting — it usually means the most meaningful discussion is still ahead.

Looking Ahead

The hosts end by noting that the content calendar is shifting from offseason reflection to training camp and season preview mode:

• new quarterbacks
• new play callers
• best offenses/defenses
• second-year breakout candidates
• the final summer mailbag before preview season begins