MILLER: It Is Officially Time to Buy the Hype on Patrick Mahomes

[pugsnotdrugs19]

I know this was posted in the Mahomes thread, but a lot of you hate mega threads and might miss this piece otherwise so, here it is: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...atrick-mahomes

READ THE ARTICLE HERE:

Spoiler!

Every so often, a player comes along with expectations so high that it's almost impossible for him to live up to them. Jadeveon Clowney after he destroyed that poor Michigan running back comes to mind. Even as he's developed into one of the best defenders in the NFL, people still consider him overrated.

Living up to the hype is tough. And if you're a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs, you've picked a side when it comes to the potential of second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes II.

General manager Brett Veach didn't help matters when he, in a post-draft press conference this year, called Mahomes "one of the best players I've ever seen." Some will see a GM confident in his selection (and the trade up to get Mahomes) the previous year. Others see a bar set impossibly high for a player with one career start before the team shipped off incumbent Alex Smith to clear the way for him.

Is the hype real? That's a question I asked many of the Chiefs front office staff, coaches and players.

"Oh, it's real" said a member of the coaching staff. "We've been watching him for a year and he just keeps getting better and better. Sure, there are mistakes, but there are also plays I've never seen a quarterback make before."

Something you hear a lot from people inside the organization: "He makes plays unlike anything we've ever seen before."

Great quarterbacks are often defined by their ability to create, make plays and make the people around them better. One source in the scouting staff pointed back to how well Mahomes did against the Chiefs' starting defense last year while "playing with a bunch of practice squad receivers" and noted "he's torching [Marcus Peters]."

The Chief aren't doing much to dampen expectations. They've watched Mahomes develop from an air raid quarterback with unreal physical gifts into a legitimate starting QB in only a year. One member of the staff went as far to say that barring injury, Mahomes has the tools to be a top-10 NFL quarterback at season's end.

What makes him so special?

The staff raves about his arm strength, athleticism and, per one assistant coach, "that It factor where he just knows where to put the ball. It's all that stuff we saw at [Texas] Tech that made us fall in love with his game, but now he's a year smarter."

Mahomes' pre-draft scouting report was full of praise for his arm strength—which might be the best in the entire league—and his ability to create plays on the move with his athleticism. The biggest question mark was his ability to translate to a pro-style offense, but the Chiefs solved that issue by drafting and stashing Mahomes behind Alex Smith so he could learn and develop.

The Chiefs coaching personnel only amps up the Hahomes hype. Head coach Andy Reid is considered by many to be the best quarterback mentor in the game. And they got to be patient with Mahomes while he worked with former offensive coordinator/current Chicago Bears' head coach Matt Nagy all of last season. Mahomes' time with those coaches and behind Smith allowed him to catch up mentally after coming into the NFL with a lot to learn. Now he's ready to take off.

How good can the Chiefs be this year? A rival general manager thought they would "win between seven and nine games, depending on the defense." Other scouts and coaches told Bleacher Report the Chiefs will go "as far as Mahomes can take them".

The pressure is on the second-year quarterback to carry Kansas City farther than his predecessor could in multiple playoff berths.

For the hype to be real, Mahomes will have to deliver in January. but according to those who've seen him daily for the past year, he's ready.


Matt Miller covers the NFL and NFL draft for Bleacher Report.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by Warrick

So Watson = RGlll?

It's premature to say whether or not Watson is analogous to RGIII from a hampered by injury front. But it is concerning that shit fell apart for him in so fluky a manner so soon into his career.

But Watson's early success looked little like RGIII's early promise. RGIII's early success was due to his physical skills making him a double threat. Watson had a relatively short, but still appreciable, run where the playcalling surprised the opposition. The only real threat during that time was Watson slinging it to all-world WR talent. The confluence of the coach being willing to call bombs downfield, Watson being willing to pull the trigger, and the WRs having the skill to pull said bombs down caught Texans opposition by surprise for a while.

Maybe my dataset was skewed by the complete incompetence of our secondary against him, but I didn't see anything while Watson was slinging it that will succeed once opponents gameplan for this tendency.

[jallmon]

Originally Posted by Bewbies

Rival general manager is Elway.

Nobody else in the division is dumb enough to think this season is defined by the defense and not by the QB.

Plus, when Elway sees Mahomes he sees a scrub. Not the kind of talent at QB he's after in Denver.

Speaking of talent "he's after in Denver:" I am very thankful that Horseface jumped us in the draft and scored Paxton Lynch. There.

My grandma always said, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything."

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

It's premature to say whether or not Watson is analogous to RGIII from a hampered by injury front. But it is concerning that shit fell apart for him in so fluky a manner so soon into his career.

But Watson's early success looked little like RGIII's early promise. RGIII's early success was due to his physical skills making him a double threat. Watson had a relatively short, but still appreciable, run where the playcalling surprised the opposition. The only real threat during that time was Watson slinging it to all-world WR talent. The confluence of the coach being willing to call bombs downfield, Watson being willing to pull the trigger, and the WRs having the skill to pull said bombs down caught Texans opposition by surprise for a while.

Maybe my dataset was skewed by the complete incompetence of our secondary against him, but I didn't see anything while Watson was slinging it that will succeed once opponents gameplan for this tendency.

Very well put

[Best22]

Originally Posted by Detoxing

Lol WUT

The Chargers run defense was worse than ours. Did you pay attention last year?

The Steelers, Pats, Niners, Chargers, and Broncos all have suspect defenses. They could all be very good, or below average next year. None of them scare me

Jags have a good one, though. Those other 5 teams, let's wait and see before we crown them. B*llwashing other teams is a tired CP tradition. Needs to end in 2018

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by Otter

See my signature. This kid has every tool in the book to succeed and every girl I've pointed him out to finds him "cute" so he also has a chance to become the next NFL sweetheart that attracts fans (women) to the game and we all know that buys a team a couple benefit of the doubt calls come game time.

Now, if the NFL can manage to get the **** out of it's own way the future looks bright.

Now tighten up that haircut!

This post is gayer than Broadway.

[Halfcan]

For all the Alex lovers still lingering on here- his wife just donated all his old Chiefs gear. Get your game-worn Alex shorts now!!

https://sports.yahoo.com/get-gear-al...195544550.html

Looks like there is even a Mrs. Smith Jersey- his wife used to wear. Sounds perfect for SandyVag.

[DRM08]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

At this point I just want to see some “how the hell is that even possible?” type throws. If we come together and look like we can rock some shit then fine. But at this point, give me some fireworks and that will hold me over.

You will definitely get this from him if he stays healthy. He has insane playmaking ability.