From a Red Raider alum: Things you may not know about Patrick Mahomes II
 

The majority of what has been written and publicly discussed about Patrick Mahomes II has focused on his arm and his ability to make plays. As is usual, the national sports media rarely sees beyond their keyboard.

I have a vested interest in this because I consider Kansas City my second home and my adopted hometown. The three years we spent in KC were the best of our career and the good folks of Kansas City took my wife and I in and made us feel more welcome and at home than any other place we have lived. For that, we'll always be grateful and we truly love the city as if we were born and raised there.

Now to Mahomes II.

Those of us who are Texas Tech alumni and supporters see quite a bit more. In no particular importance, I want to share my observations and experiences with Mahomes from the past three years.

1. No off the field issues and probably never will be. Patrick is not just an outstanding athlete, but he is an outstanding young man. In Raiderland, we never had to hold our breath wondering what foolishness he was going to get into. He has a solid moral compass, solid values and his focus--both professionally and socially--is on being a role model fit for both young kids and old grandmothers alike. He will be excellent for the Kansas City community in the way that Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith were active, and he has the boyish personality and "boy next door" persona of Joe Montana.

This is huge for me given as how I'm a retired ad agency and brand guy, the leader of a team has to wear that not just on their sleeve, but in their heart as well. Mahomes will make Kansas Citians proud everywhere he goes.

2. He's smart. Book smart, athletic smart and career smart. This too has been overlooked by the media. During his time at Texas Tech, Mahomes was an Academic All-American. He didn't cut or skip class and have coaches cover for him. (Kliff) Kingsbury doesn't tolerate that. We've lost some good players due to their academic hijinks and/or failures.

Concern over Mahomes' ability to learn an NFL playbook? Zero. Concerns over Mahomes' ability to manage his money rather than letting it manage him and becoming a distraction to the team and city? Zero. Concerns over his hitting an intellectual ceiling so far as being a professional quarterback goes? Zero.

3. He has an uncanny ability to not just read the defense, but to read what is happening on the defense as the play develops--and exploit it. Much of what I've read by sportswriters criticizing Mahomes for a "lack of pocket discipline" has been amusing. Watching six minutes of game film highlights and then penning a story for the press does not give one anywhere near the correct perspective of what Mahomes saw and accomplished on the field.

Tech fans have seen this for three years. Mahomes will see what the defense is doing, audible or adjust the play and then make adjustments on the run. Yes, some of this will need to change in the NFL and he will need to learn when a play cannot be salvaged or saved, but see Point #2 regarding his intelligence. The bigger picture here is that the young man has not only the vision to see what a defense is adjusting or preparing for, but also has the ability to react and counter-attack during the play. In high-scoring Big 12 games, this is critical.

4. Mahomes has the best "full field vision" of any quarterback we've ever had at Tech. Period. If what they say about reincarnation is true, Patrick Mahomes was a bird-of-prey in a previous life. His eyesight and vision is other-worldly when it comes to seeing the entire field. In three years and thousands of yards of passing, we may never have any idea how many touchdowns and first downs were made because he saw the entire field and every single eligible receiver.

Broadcasters are always good at pointing out during a replay the receivers that were open that the quarterback missed. You can go back and review all three years of Mahomes playing at Tech and you won't have more than a handful of those remarks by the broadcasters. The kid has incredible field vision and--

5. He analyzes and decides like a super computer. Maybe faster. This was another thing that kept the Raider faithful enthralled on game days. Mahomes knew who his primary and secondary receivers were, but his ability to read and analyze a defense and then adjust, sometimes even on the fly as the play was unfolding, and then process what was happening and then shift who was NOW the primary and secondary receiver was mind-boggling. Even the Tech receiving corps would shake their heads at how fast he could go from one side of the field as they were covered, to finding them as soon as the defense mistakenly thought they had the play covered, and then find his next set of primary receivers and make the play to them with laser-like accuracy.

He is a zone defense's worst nightmare. Man-on-man coverage is up to the receivers, but defensive coordinators and defensive backs are going to lose a lot of sleep trying to out guess and out-react Mahomes.

6. He is a freakshow of an athlete.This has been touched on, but Mahomes' athleticism goes far beyond his right arm. He's a husky, big kid who is a gym rat and fitness fanatic. He has eye to hand coordination that can fake you out on the football field or dazzle you on the baseball diamond.

7. He's humble. I doubt you'll see entourages or "crews" hanging with every move. Mahomes is self-confident and assured. He's not a Manziel that needed hero-worshippers falling all over him every step of the way. Mahomes gives credit to his coaches and receivers and teammates before he talks about anything he might have done in the game. Too much of that gets edited out by the sports writers and broadcasters, but this young man is the consummate team player and a natural leader.

In conclusion, I wanted to share these thoughts, views and experiences from the past three years of thoroughly enjoying Mahomes in a Texas Tech jersey. That he is trading Texas Tech red for Kansas City red. . . Christmas came in April and is now running non-stop for as long as this outstanding young man calls Arrowhead Stadium home.

Best regards,

--JD

Thanks. Great write up. Oh and trade three years for four and that is exactly how my wife and I feel about KC.

Thanks for the write up.

Exciting times in kc for sure.

Thanks for the insight.


You can tell we are very excited to have him.

Thanks for contributing, hang around. Post more.

And welcome to the planet. It's a crazy ****ing place, but you'll be ok.

After watching Alex miss wide open receivers all over the field, this excites me the most.

https://i.redd.it/m1nxd4dxd6ay.gif

Mahomosexuals???

Finding it increasingly hard to believe this guy shouldn't start this year.

I have a real estate lady friend that follows Texas Tech because her son graduated there and now a bunch of her friends bet on college football and shes the gatekeeper for the bets. I told her a couple days ago my team picked up her QB and she went on and on about Mahommes and said most everything you just stated. She said we are going to be real happy with the kid and he makes plays with a lot of intelligence.
your comments on his field vision has me stoked. that's what we are lacking so badly. I'm a happy camper with this guy.

It will happen soon enough.

Patience.

Mahomies.

This is what is great about welcoming a talented young QB to your team...getting that perspective from people who have already watched him for years. Much appreciated!

Please stick around...your contributions and insight on Hammock Parties will be valued.

The fact that defenses will have to be wary of the possibility of a downfield threat more than 15 yards will keep them honest. It's opens up so many more possibilities....

If I was the wide receivers coach I would be telling all my guys to practice wind sprints daily...

My God, imagine how well Reids short passes will work with the defense backing off to cover Maclin and Hill deep?

A thought just occured to me. Wonder if Alex Smith is color blind and can't see the difference in jersey colors and just never told anyone.

It boggles the mind that a rookie already has better field vision than our "smart, cagy, 12-year veteran."

Might explain it.

He can make some great passes. Something just isn't right upstairs.

I was thinking that too.....Kelce is probably ecstatic about the thought that he will be running in some open spaces and won't have to worry about the Safeties cheating up because they know that any long pass Smith would heave up there would float so bad they could recover and still make a play on it.

I actually heard a guy on the radio say....."well what if Alex Smith steps up his game this year, won't the Chiefs have wasted a draft pick?" I was laughing so hard as I was driving I was in tears and almost had to pull over to compose myself.

Bubble screens may not sound like such a bad thing now...

2018 can't get here fast enough !

This all sounds great, but the fact is, clearly his decision making was questionable at times, and that, along with his footwork, has to be cleaned up.

He's a bit raw with a high ceiling, and there's a lot of work to reach that ceiling.

Conley too. Reid sent him on a bunch of deep stuff last year. Remember that while his short area quickness isn't great his top end is pretty damned good. Go 3 wides. Send maclin Hill Conley deep. Hit Kelce in the middle. Witch bitches squirm.

Things are starting to click for Alex....per Tiger.

One of the most hilarious things I've ever read here.....because he was actualy serious and didn't realize how ****ing stupid he sounded. Lol

Excellent !!

Now we just need a picture of him in the middle of all the Chiefs with the caption that reads "My Homies" !!

Will he be an instant winner like Russell Wilson who had to play behind one of the worst pass blocking offenses? Cause that's what everyone on this damn board is telling me. For having strong legs I'm curious as to why his running ability is so mediocre.

Give him 2 years and he'll be Top 15 in the league. In 4 years he could be top ten. But he has a lot of work to do and is nowhere game ready like Luck/Wilson/Prescott/Winston/Mariota. His ceiling is higher than Winston and Mariota's, that's for sure.

Yeah...true. But he could also be a great learner, work on his questionable items and make them NFL ready and be a long terms answer for the Chiefs.

That coin has 2 sides.

I must be in your head and that important if you are spending your days talking about me. Creepy old man, that is what you are.

No one cares. See, we drafted a QB to THROW THE BALL.

So ....... is everyone ready to turn on all the Mahomes' fan that come to CPlanet for no other reason that to cheer for him?

isn't that a CP rule or something

I'm just concerned with how he'll adapt to running the offense under center rather than out of the shotgun. But then again the Chiefs run a lot of their passing plays out of the shotgun..so we'll see. He's going to have 2 OTA's, 2 camps, and a full season of practice before we're going to have to worry about any of this..that is of course unless Smith gets injured.

No...Mahomes is welcomed. He's not a retread game manager who has already hit his ceiling.

Luck and Wilson shouldn't even be in the same comparison as the others....

To me Prescott benefited from being behind one of the best O-lines in the league. That's not to say he isn't talented but put him in the situation like Seattle, Houston or Cleveland and I doubt we would be talking about him in the same vein.

Mahomes is no different than any other QB coming out of college in a spread offense. He has to learn how to adjust in the NFL speed and if he does that with his raw capabilities it will be a win for the Chiefs.

This is what I was talking about in other threads. We're going to see all kinds of new Chiefs fans. And for good reason.

KC got their Russell Wilson.

Excellent write up BTW. This one could make it to our Hall of Fame and it's posted by a brand new Chief fan.

From his interviews and everything I've read, I fully expect him to be a quick study.

I think his biggest challenge will be the discipline not to try to make a play with his arm or legs when the play is past the point of unsalvageable but I can see why he is like this though because he was the only offensive threat that TT really had and felt it was all up to him to get a score.

No one turned on Smith fans.

Those of us that hated that trade didn't need these morons coming in here telling us how to be Chiefs fans, while also trying to sell us the beach front property version of Alex Smith when we already knew he was bucket of spilled water.

No doubt Prescott, just as Carr, have benefitted from excellent pass protection and a good to strong run game. Cam Newton also. But Prescott's maturity/humbleness reflects his decision-making on the field which won him the starting job.

Yep, dont give a damn about his running ability, he is a 4.8 guy anyway so its not like anyone expects him to dice teams up with his legs

But everything I've seen shows a guy who is great at buying himself time behind the line, then launching a laser guided missile from any angle... and thats what makes a QB

Mahomes rushed for 12 TDs in 2016. 10 in 2015.

Russell Wilson?

Love you Mahi, but let's take this slow and contain the expectations a little bit. )

Mahomies, Mahomers, Mahopes...everything feels so good :)

I've seen Mahomes say in multiple interviews that though he can run, he is always looking to throw on the run because the receivers are the guys who are fast and put the ball in the paint.

It shows up on the tape. He runs as much as Rodgers does. They both look to throw when outside the pocket.

If this keeps up I am going to need a skin graft on Maboner.

Also, the OP was awesome. Thanks.

2PM: 'The Face That Runs the Place'

I got an erection reading that. Is that weird?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

PM2? 2PM?

Nah.

He's a gunslinger.
I'm just going to call him "Doc".

Thank you for the great intel, sir.

Cam Newton has a good to strong running game? Are you talking about his abilities or the RB's for the Panthers? Because I don't see any "strong" running game for Carolina.

The nickname that is used within his own circles is 2PM, based on a shirt I saw that was worn at his draft party.

I prefer 'The Face That Runs the Place, The Champ That Runs the Camp' but it's kinda long. :D

****ing in!

The year they went to the SB they were one of the top (if not the top) in percentage of plays that were runs.

That's all I need to see/know. Someone that can see more than captain checkdown.

bring on the Air REID offense!

<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="RNvC2nh"><a href="//imgur.com/RNvC2nh"></a></blockquote><script async src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

We could call him the Cookie Monster, with that voice. ;)

I really don't see the point in sitting this kid for a full year. Half season maybe or by the bye week but lets get this kid on the field and let him soak it up.


I hate the term "Game Manager" Alex Smith manages to lose playoff games I don't want Patrick Mahomes II learn how to be a "Game Manager" I want him to be a "Game Winner"


I've never been so stoked for a quarterback to start for Chiefs.


****ing A all he has to do is chuck it deep to #10 numerous of times and DBs will have to play deep so our run game is going take off. We have a down field threat and can utilize speed and a cannon arm. ****ing A

Nice writeup. That's like nonstop Viagra for the KC faithful! :D

POS REP sent NooB

HALLO BOYS AND GIRLS

ME AM TOUCHDOWN MONSTER

T IS FOR TOUCHDOWN

THAT GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!!!!

LMAO

What will be interesting is how much Reid wants cleaned up from Mahomes i.e. to his footwork because let's face it not only can he make all the throws standing as well as on the run but he is accurate the majority of the time when he does throw even if his footwork is not ideal in certain scenarios. Hopefully Reid will not try to fix too much that is not really broke if you get my point. Sometimes when a person is so athletically talented you have to let him play to his own natural ability, instinct, and intuition and know the difference when to intervene. This is what I hope Reid recognizes from his work with Favre as it translates to Mahomes.

When to tinker and when to not tinker is Reid's goal here IMHO.

That play makes me sick. We traded up for Mahomes because of plays just like that.

IN WITH THE MAHOMES FANS OUT WITH THE ALEX FANS

a great era of Chiefs football is upon us very soon

I heard an interview with donovan McNabb the other day and he said he had to tell Reid "Hey, I'm not Brett Favre" so then Reid let him be himself. So yeah, the same thing crossed my mind. But Reid is a professional Coach so he knows the natural abilities a player has is why they're where they are.

When I saw this video, that play was the final final nail in the coffin for Alex for me.

I was so pissed we traded for Alex Smith DID NOT WANT :cuss:

Just to see a quarterback continue to look downfield as pressure comes will be a welcome damn change from what we have now.

Been said a million times but what was our other option ? Matt Cassel?

And 11-5 and 12-4 made football a lot more bearable.

No, he does need some time to learn behind the scenes. His talent is off the charts and he would have been the #1 overall pick if he was actually ready to start. I hope Alex can stay healthy so Pat is not thrown to the wolves too early.

Any guy Clay assesses, the opposite happens. Let's not forget.

That is what made our (Red Raider) offense so potent for three straight years. We've always been "Receiver U" since Mike Leach took the program and installed his Air Raid offense. So with multiple deep threats, a LOT of short and middle ground opens up. Big 12 defenses tried blitzing Mahomes, which was liking drinking gasoline and whizzing on a brush fire so bad did they get lit up.

The Chiefs have the offensive bombs, bombardment and smart bombs in place. We just lacked the necessary aircraft to deliver them.

That is no longer a problem.

As much as I love the kid, I will never question that he made some decisions that had me wanting to unload an Uzi at my big screen tv. But what you RARELY saw, was him making the same bad decision twice in a row or even in the same game.

Again, this is where his intellect, discipline and focus comes in.

Kliff Kingsbury will be a very good coach for us at Texas Tech in the years to come. But at the end of the day, he and his assistants are still very green and in the early learning curves.

That is not a problem we have with Andy Reid and his staff.

I think a year of preparation will be all that Mahomes needs. Will be reach a Super Bowl in his first starting season? Maybe, but maybe not. But we will be in the playoffs and I would wager as the AFC West Champion.

This is the guy (Mahomes) that has the focus, determination, confidence and skills to get in a gunslinging game with the likes of a Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers and have the Vegas oddsmakers sweating like a Saigon harlot on GI payday. :)

--JD

I'm glad Alex was here. I liked the last 4 years, but it's time. If Mahomes looks outstanding in preseason, we may see him sooner than later. I hope he gets tons of playing time, maybe a whole game in the preseason.

So Mahomes 1 year out of college is going to immediately be superior to that of Carr, Mariota, Brady, Luck, Big Ben, Rivers, Flacco and Dalton...and people say I'm the one that's delusional? Am I missing something that people see that give reason to hype him like he's coming out of the gates and going to be successful like Russell Wilson?

:facepalm:

Pump the brakes, kids.

It wasn't long ago that we were hyping another QB because of preseason play, and God knows what team he plays for now. Reid and Dorsey aren't going to **** up this kid's development. Bray is the backup for this season. Get used to it.

No, it's true !

God likes us now that Peyton retired.

Patrick Mahomes II has potential to do wonderful things for the Kansas City Chiefs a HELL of a lot more potential than Alex Smith has now. So he needs to develop and work on his game so he can fulfill that potential I know it can take time but he has time and I think this year will be a good test for him if/when he gets playing time. He could very well take over Alex Smith job by years end or by mid-season even or if Alex Smith gets a nice concuss to the noggin again we may see him after only a few games.

The future is Patrick Mahomes II

Alice is a dead man walking. Every start he makes just delays the future.

I wish they'd trade him tomorrow.

AMEN BROTHER

Seriously, where does CP get all those scumbags and sociopaths that wish injuries to players?