Winning QBs and Football Nerds With Mina Kimes, Plus Robert Redford’s Incredible Career With Brian Koppelman

What It Covers

Bill Simmons and Mina Kimes analyze NFL Week 2 storylines including quarterback performance tiers, the historic rise of 12 personnel formations, kickoff rule impacts, and divisional races, followed by Brian Koppelman discussing Robert Redford's multifaceted career legacy.

Key Questions Answered

• •12 Personnel Revolution: NFL offenses now use two tight end sets 25% of the time, the highest rate ever recorded, as teams exploit lighter defensive packages with blocking tight ends like Tucker Craft while maintaining play-action passing threats against nickel and dime formations.
• •Quarterback Hierarchy Shift: Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson currently rank as the two best regular season quarterbacks based on 2025 performance, with Patrick Mahomes dropping from the top tier due to limited weapons and offensive infrastructure challenges despite his playoff pedigree and coaching stability.
• •Kickoff Rule Economics: The new kickoff format creates significant strategic inefficiency where kicking into the end zone results in the 35-yard line, making touchbacks nearly equivalent to kicking out of bounds at the 40, fundamentally changing special teams decision-making and increasing return rates dramatically.
• •Playoff-Caliber Quarterback Count: Only nine current NFL quarterbacks can conceivably win a 2025 playoff game based on team situation and past performance: Mahomes, Allen, Lamar, Hurts, Love, Stafford, Goff, Mayfield, and Purdy, with Herbert and Dak as debatable additions.
• •Redford Career Blueprint: Robert Redford established the modern actor-producer-director model by winning Best Director for his first film Ordinary People in 1980, founding Sundance, and consistently selecting projects with memorable endings like Butch Cassidy, All the President's Men, and The Natural.