The Athletic caused quite a stir recently when they published anonymous quotes that painted Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes as a one-trick pony who can’t read defenses.
Laughable, right?
Here’s the quote from an anonymous defensive play caller:
“We love Mahomes because of his unorthodox throws, not because of his natural pocket presence,” this voter said. “And when that disappears, that is when they lose games. I don’t think that is a 1. I think that is a 2. Nothing against the guy. I love the kid. But take his first read away and what does he do? He runs, he scrambles and he plays streetball.”
So Mahomes is a former NFL MVP and a former Super Bowl MVP but he can’t diagnose a defense?
I’m not buying that.
And neither is Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.
On Friday, Reid subtly threw some shade at The Athletic (and the anonymous voter) by suggesting folks go read Pro Football Focus and find out how often Mahomes throws to his second receiver.
Andy Reid with a mic-drop to end the presser today regarding Mahomes being a tier 2 and a street ball QB. “I know you guys look at @PFF … so go look and see how many times he hits his second receiver” as he exits with a smirk #ChiefsKingdom
— Keaton Schlatter (@Schlatter_10) July 29, 2022
That’s what we call a mic drop.
And in case you’re wondering what PFF says about Mahomes throwing past his first read, here are the numbers.
Patrick Mahomes on throws past his first read since 2018:
— PFF (@PFF) July 27, 2022
🎯 91.0 PFF Grade (1st)
🎯 4,498 Passing Yards (1st)
🎯 39 Passing TDs (1st) pic.twitter.com/hYbEgbhVW0
That pretty much debunks every bit of nonsense from that anonymous coach.
I’m guessing that guy either coaches for a team that Mahomes has lit up before, or he’s just never played against the star quarterback before.
Either way, he couldn’t be more wrong.
Featured image via Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
