Mahomes is good, but (1 Viewer)

[TenTwo]

How many times must we watch a first year starting QB playing out of his mind before we realize that being a one year starter has an advantage over the league. Once the league gets enough tape on you, that's where you separate the boys from the men. I could go down a list of johnny come lately's, all hyped as the next great thing. Wentz, Prescott, Newton, RGIII, Watson, even Nick Foles a few years ago...now it's Mahommes. A player comes out and has early success and it tricks you into thinking they have the ability to sustain. Put up enough film and the weaknesses become exploitable.

That's what makes players like Brees so special. There's more tape on him than any living human being, yet he's still shredding defenses. Mahommes could be the next great player, but he is just as likely to come back down to Earth, starting very soon.

 

[ycleptjah]

It's also interesting that there's this sudden notion that Mahomes is careless with the ball, a "gunslinger", etc. I get that for many, last night was the first time they've seen him play. Game script necessitated "gunslinging" last night, but he's been extraordinary at taking care of the ball all year until last night.

To put it in a bit of perspective, Alex Smith, generally considered a careful quarterback and the farthest thing from a "gunslinger", and a guy who played most of his career in the same offense, would have to throw 150 touchdowns before his next interception to have a better TD:INT ratio than Mahomes' career ratio.

Extraordinary at taking care of the ball? He's thrown 10 ints in 11 games and fumbled 7 times...that's not God-awful, but I would certainly not call it extraordinary.

 

[t_s_whodat]

Mahomes will be his own player when all is said and done. He has traits similar to Favre, Big Ben, and Russell Wilson. He slings it around like Favre, stands tall in the pocket like Ben, and extends the play like Wilson. I don't see the comparisons to Watson, and yes I have watched plenty of Texan's games. Watson doesn't trust his offensive scheme at all. It's like he is antsy in the pocket. He moves around even when he doesn't need too, making himself constantly off platform. Mahomes is typically ready to rocket one at all times, unless he gets lazy with his footwork. I think last night, he fell victim to the clock in his head. To me he has a mentality; much like Favre, that he can make something happen on ANY play. So he holds onto the ball too long, or lets it go too late. Maybe he gets over that somehow, but isn't that what makes him electric? Only time will tell. The real takeaway for me from last night was Tyreek Hill. Guy is a STUD. Crazy to think he only has five maybe six years of football under his belt, hard to cheer for him though after the whole girlfriend thing way back when.

 

[meily]

10-11 games into his NFL career after holding a clipboard last year and people are finding something to gripe about.

 

[Loose Cannon]

Extraordinary at taking care of the ball? He's thrown 10 ints in 11 games and fumbled 7 times...that's not God-awful, but I would certainly not call it extraordinary.

Fair enough. He's only lost two of those fumbles. And the interceptions are fairly high**, but given that it's his first year as a starter and playing in a system that airs it out like they do, it's decent at the very worst.

So "extraordinary" might be a stretch, but he's pretty good at taking care of it, especially for a first year starter in his 2nd year as a pro.

Time will tell if teams figure him out. I'm sure his TD numbers and yardage will come back to earth, but I don't see anything in his game that would lead me to believe he's going to pull a one-year wonder.

** On a side note.. go look at interception leaders for QBs. I didn't realize how low even the worst guys were. The highest interception number right now is Darnold with 14. Guess the new rules really are changing things.

 

[Loose Cannon]

Mahomes will be his own player when all is said and done. He has traits similar to Favre, Big Ben, and Russell Wilson. He slings it around like Favre, stands tall in the pocket like Ben, and extends the play like Wilson. I don't see the comparisons to Watson, and yes I have watched plenty of Texan's games. Watson doesn't trust his offensive scheme at all. It's like he is antsy in the pocket. He moves around even when he doesn't need too, making himself constantly off platform. Mahomes is typically ready to rocket one at all times, unless he gets lazy with his footwork. I think last night, he fell victim to the clock in his head. To me he has a mentality; much like Favre, that he can make something happen on ANY play. So he holds onto the ball too long, or lets it go too late. Maybe he gets over that somehow, but isn't that what makes him electric? Only time will tell. The real takeaway for me from last night was Tyreek Hill. Guy is a STUD. Crazy to think he only has five maybe six years of football under his belt, hard to cheer for him though after the whole girlfriend thing way back when.

I don't see the Watson comparison either. Mahomes is a much, much better passer.

 

[Swimmer]

He's a great gunslinger.

He's similar to Rogers but a better athlete.

Physically, he's freakin amazing. And for a kid in a huge game, that kid keeps a cool head even after he implodes. He has one of the best arms I've ever seen in football and like you mentioned, he pulls off jaw dropping Rodgers type plays. If he can learn and grow, the ceiling is the limit. But many of the Texas Tech gun slinning QBs were not able to make that adjustment in the pros.

But the 5 turnovers, 3 for direct scores by the defense, pretty much handed the MVP to Brees. To me, I think it should come down to Brees and Donald. Donald comes from another planet. He is a freak. And Brees gets the MVP.

 

[Swimmer]

Fair enough. He's only lost two of those fumbles. And the interceptions are fairly high**, but given that it's his first year as a starter and playing in a system that airs it out like they do, it's decent at the very worst.

So "extraordinary" might be a stretch, but he's pretty good at taking care of it, especially for a first year starter in his 2nd year as a pro.

Time will tell if teams figure him out. I'm sure his TD numbers and yardage will come back to earth, but I don't see anything in his game that would lead me to believe he's going to pull a one-year wonder.

** On a side note.. go look at interception leaders for QBs. I didn't realize how low even the worst guys were. The highest interception number right now is Darnold with 14. Guess the new rules really are changing things.

Hey LC. Congrats on your Longhorns. Looks like your program is back in Top 20 and it also looks like a great recruiting class so far. Your new head coach seems really classy and smart.

Is it my imagination or has the size of your Longhorn avatar gotten bigger as the Longhorns got better and better this year - lol

Question though. You are one of the most astute football analyzers I know. Do you think Mahomes will be able to make the change from the Texas Tech bombs away spread to a more disciplined NFL mode? Thanks.

 

[Swimmer]

100% agree with this.

Big Ben is not a Hall of Famer and I sometimes have to do a double-take when I see people throwing him in that category. If it's because of RINGZ, well he didn't even play well in his first SB win. He had 0 TDs and 2 INTs, and that game probably is a Seattle victory if the refs call it right.

Ben has never been an elite QB. Older Steelers fans will admit that they merely tolerate him because he can throw a football and he's not Kordell Stewart. Most of their older fans can't even stand him cause of his behavior off the field with getting thrown out of bars and his sexual assault history. I hope he never goes into the Hall.

this is just my perception, but I think a lot of people do not give Big Ben his due because of his off field disgusting behavior. Big Ben is one tough dude who plays in Alaska type weather much of the time. All he does is win, including 2 SBs. Don't think he's an all time great, but I do think he is one of the Top 5 of this era. If he were wearing Black and Gold for us, we would love Big Ben.

 

[Swimmer]

Yeah, I’m not sure why there is a negative narrative around either Watson or Mahomes. Both of them are young and exciting, and productive.

Perfect El ^

 

[Loose Cannon]

Hey LC. Congrats on your Longhorns. Looks like your program is back in Top 20 and it also looks like a great recruiting class so far. Your new head coach seems really classy and smart.

Is it my imagination or has the size of your Longhorn avatar gotten bigger as the Longhorns got better and better this year - lol

Question though. You are one of the most astute football analyzers I know. Do you think Mahomes will be able to make the change from the Texas Tech bombs away spread to a more disciplined NFL mode? Thanks.

The NFL is essentially co-opting college offensive schemes (spread, RPO) as it is. The Chiefs 2018 offense is probably closer to the 2018 Texas Tech offense than it is to the 2008 Chiefs offense. So yeah, I think he'll be fine.

 

[BlueChimay]

Considering his overall NFL experience (12 games), I think he is doing pretty good.