Half-baked takes for the 2026 season

Here’s a simple recipe for baking a take: 1. Have a thought or feeling. 2. Look up facts, stats, etc to support or disprove that thought or feeling. 3. Ponder the scope of the thought or feeling (a day, a season, a decade). 4. Mix in some outside opinions. 5. Enjoy your take. For this episode, we’re stopping about halfway through step two. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen, and Dave Helman share their half-baked takes for the 2026 season.0:00 Welcome to the show2:52 Coby Bryant injury7:10 Baltimore Ravens & Maxx Crosby/Trey Hendrickson13:56 DaVonta Smith19:31 San Francisco 49ers & Ricky Pearsall27:55 Washington Commanders & Jayden Daniels31:29 Mike McDaniel34:12 Houston Texans42:17 Field goals47:47 Los Angeles Rams54:10 Natural grass fields57:46 Picking playoff teams1:03:17 New Orleans Saints1:06:21 Dak PrescottJoin The Athletic Football Show Discord Server: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshowHost: Robert MaysCo-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave HelmanExecutive Producer: Michael BellerSenior Producer: Katy DuffySocial Producer: Scott KrinchFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @RobertMaysFollow 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.