The fascinating potential and unrealistic pressure awaiting Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes

[Hammock Parties]

Ghost written by Baby Lee.

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt...#storylink=cpy

The act of burning a jersey is silly, usually petty, and almost always a cry for attention.

After an(other) excruciating playoff loss, at least one Chiefs fan did that with an Alex Smith jersey, and because this is the 21st century, he shared the video on social media. The message is unclear.

Maybe he is blaming the quarterback with the league’s highest passer rating and most success on downfield passes this season for the disappointment. Maybe he’s blaming the quarterback who threw two touchdowns and no interceptions for a loss in which the play calling, receivers, tackling, scheme, health, kicker and, yes, officials all weren’t good enough.

Maybe this is an intended metaphor about a new beginning, with a new quarterback.

Whatever. Doesn’t matter, other than serving as an anecdotal example to open a column making a point I’ve been thinking about for months:

Bless his heart, Patrick Mahomes should know what’s coming.

Smith just played the season of his professional life, one that Mahomes is unlikely to match next year, and has thrown nine touchdowns and two interceptions in five playoff games in Kansas City. And a lot of us can’t wait to get rid of him. At least one of us burned his jersey. This is so weird.

Look, the Chiefs will likely trade Smith. That’s the smart move, anyway, because Mahomes is freakishly talented, showed well in his spot start in Denver, and the team around him could be improved with the $17 million in cap space and draft capital gained in trading Smith.

Assuming that happens, Mahomes will be the Chiefs’ starting quarterback in 2018 and begin his career with more pressure and higher expectations than any athlete in the history of Kansas City sports, with the possible exception of Alex Gordon.

Chiefs fans have been waiting decades for Mahomes. That is not hyperbole. The year he was born the Chiefs won the AFC West with a former 49ers backup and lost their first playoff game, at home, atrociously.

Even back then, many fans were tired of someone else’s backup proving just good enough to lose in the playoffs. Even back then, many fans thought the Chiefs had gone too long without drafting and developing their own quarterback. Even back then, many fans wanted something fresh.

That was 22 years ago.

The Chiefs just won the AFC West with a former 49ers backup and lost their first playoff game, at home, atrociously. The story hasn’t changed so much as it’s gone from molehill to mountain, snowball to boulder.

Dreams of someone exactly like Mahomes are older than Mahomes. Babies have been raised by parents complaining about the Chiefs not drafting their own quarterback. Some of those babies have now graduated college, bought homes, become doctors.

All of those hopes and complaints will now land on Mahomes, who spent much of last year’s training camp learning how to take a snap from under center.

Assuming Smith is traded, and assuming coach Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach use the flexibility to improve the roster, Mahomes will be surrounded by the most complete team the Chiefs are capable of employing.

We can talk as much as we want about “growing pains” and “learning curves,” but the downsides always sound better in theory than they feel in practice.

In 2012, many Chiefs fans told themselves they just wanted their team to not stink. Five years after that, many of us don’t care about that. It’s about the playoffs now.

For decades, Royals fans told themselves they just wanted their team to be competitive. Two years after a parade, many are already lamenting a rebuild. Mike Sweeney was once the most popular athlete in town, other than Tony Gonzalez. The contract extension he signed to say in Kansas City was still fresh when he started hearing boos at home games.

None of this makes Kansas City fans mean, unfair, unique, or even rare. Just makes us fans.

When I first started thinking about all of this, I had in my head that Kansas City is particularly tough on quarterbacks. But with more consideration, I don’t think that’s true. Lots of places are tough on quarterbacks — Cleveland and Washington and Chicago and Philadelphia and New York and even New England, where just two years ago some wanted Tom Brady out.

“It’s just part of being in one of those 32 jobs,” said Trent Green, who spent six years with the Chiefs and a total of five more in Washington, St. Louis, and Miami. “The team means so much to the city here. That was something as a player that I consciously thought about. You can affect the mood of the city by the way you play and perform. If the Chiefs have a bad day, you can tell, just going around town. They’re going to act differently.”

Kansas City has a different view on quarterbacks, because the Chiefs went so long without drafting one.

Not just that, but Chiefs fans watched one rival win Super Bowls with a homegrown Hall of Famer quarterback who then became GM and convinced another Hall of Fame quarterback to win a Super Bowl there. The Chiefs’ other rival once went to the Super Bowl with the quarterback the Chiefs dumped for Elvis Grbac.

That can’t help but harden you as a fan, in some ways.

This is a lot to take on. Mahomes is 22. This could’ve been his senior year at Texas Tech. Anyone in his recruiting class who redshirted will play college football next season, too.

He’s inexperienced, even when compared to other quarterbacks his age. He was a baseball player growing up, so his summers were about repeating the mechanics on his fastball, not doing the camps and watching the film and competing in 7-on-7 tournaments like most who eventually make the NFL. He didn’t play football full-time until his sophomore year at Tech.

Look, if we’re taking roll on who’s been caught up in and contributed to Mahomes hype, I stand before you today first in line with my hand pointed to the sky.

His talent and potential are so much of why sports have had my heart all my life. He did nothing to temper my excitement in that win at Denver. He had the bad interception, and was bothered more by blitzes than I thought watching live, but made at least six completions that simply cannot be taught and haven’t been made by a Chiefs quarterback since ever.

This is why I believe this is important, at least relative to the silliness of sports. It’s not just the jersey burners. As Reid might say, We all have a piece of this, ‘k?

Mahomes really might be a star. But it is nearly impossible for him to statistically match the season Smith just had, and the same way the Chiefs’ lack of playoff success these past five years are about more than Smith, fixing what’s missing is about much more than Mahomes.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by ARROW2

Just keep focused on that 1-4 playoff record, throw it in their faces EVERY time and shove it down their ****ing throats.

You mean the all time playoff losing QB in Chiefs history - Alex Smith.

[ARROW2]

I guarantee you that Brady, Ben and Brees have more career picks than Alex. but guess what? They have the rings. Maybe he can cuddle with his QBR trophy.....and his "lowest interception/perfect attendance" ribbon.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Bull ****ing shit.

The Titans mandhandled them in the second half of the playoff game and made them look like ragdolls.

They won 10 games because the AFC West ****ing sucked ass this year, which is something I don't expect next year. Gruden is definitely a better coach than Del Rio and the Chargers went 9-7 while starting out 0-4.

This isn't going to be a cakewalk in 2018 and if the Chiefs can't make serious upgrades to their defense, they aren't winning shit in the postseason and maybe not even 7 games in the regular season.

OK, well I'm sure they definitely aren't going to improve on defense, so may as well pack it in for 2018...

[ARROW2]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

You mean the all time playoff losing QB in Chiefs history - Alex Smith.

That's all that matters, Chiefs won't get REAL respect until their playoff fates change.

[Molitoth]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Bull ****ing shit.

The Titans mandhandled them in the second half of the playoff game and made them look like ragdolls.

They won 10 games because the AFC West ****ing sucked ass this year, which is something I don't expect next year. Gruden is definitely a better coach than Del Rio and the Chargers went 9-7 while starting out 0-4.

This isn't going to be a cakewalk in 2018 and if the Chiefs can't make serious upgrades to their defense, they aren't winning shit in the postseason and maybe not even 7 games in the regular season.

This is true. Sutton needs to go just as much as Alex.

[tk13]

People should be excited. Mahomes has a tremendous amount of talent. Now when people get out there and say the Chiefs will dominate the AFC soon, that's a bit much, he could still bust. There's a long list of 1st round QBs who never reach their potential. But we have a talented QB and a coach who usually gets the most out of his QBs.

I do think you're going to see people start complaining about the defense. It's not a championship unit. Good defenses take it to the opposing offense. We've lost the last two playoff games in part because the defense is helpless against the run and the other team can control the clock in the second half. If you think the Steelers and Titans did that to keep Alex Smith off the field, they're sure going to do it for Mahomes. Just like game managers rarely win Super Bowls, so do teams with average or below average defenses.

[iDeaL]

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

Nope. A #1 WR doesn't drop half the balls thrown his way in the playoffs.

Didn't the first ball that Reek "dropped" that all of the Alex ballwashers are complaining about doink off of his back shoulder? That means it was a poor throw. A better throw and its a TD there. And remember, Antonio Brown wasn't really Antonio Brown until like his 4th year in the league. He had a 1000 yd season in his 2nd year (similar to Reek), but only 2 TDs. He then fell off a little bit in his 3rd year (only played 13 games... not sure if he got hurt or what) and exploded in his 4th, never looking back.

I think Hill can be AB. He has shown as much or MORE promise than AB did early in his career. Both are of similar stature and are converted college RBs. Reek has a similar skillset but is faster. I'm so excited for what he is going to become in the future.

https://www.pro-football-reference.c...B/BrowAn04.htm

[Graystoke]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Next year?



Dumb AF

I have to agree. Our schedule is brutal.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by Graystoke

I have to agree. Our schedule is brutal.

So we might actually be tested and have to earn it?

I'm game...

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

And depth and better cornerbacks and safeties and defensive lineman and OLBers.

This defense needs a lot of new parts.

Yup. It blows my mind that Daniel Sorenson, Terrance Mitchell, Dee Ford and Ron Parker looked worse this year.

Hell did anybody that was here last season get better this year?! Maybe Chris Jones?

That’s ****ing coaching

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by RunKC

Yup. It blows my mind that Daniel Sorenson, Terrance Mitchell, Dee Ford and Ron Parker looked worse this year.

[Chiefnj2]

Originally Posted by RunKC

We desperately need a pass rush from someone not named Justin Houston or Chris Jones.

We need a pass rush from Justin Houston, especially in the playoffs.

[BlackOp]

One thing to consider...Mahomes wont be in a conference with 3 HOF QBs. Two of which have powerful owners.

This post season QB pool consisted of Taylor, Bortles, Mariota and Smith...Brady/Ben are almost done. Manning is gone...

The AFC is shaping up to be pretty QB deficient.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by RunKC

Yup. It blows my mind that Daniel Sorenson, Terrance Mitchell, Dee Ford and Ron Parker looked worse this year.

Hell did anybody that was here last season get better this year?! Maybe Chris Jones?

That’s ****ing coaching

I think that like Seattle has done this month, it's time for wholesale changes on the defensive side of the ball.

The message is stale and old. The young guys just aren't improving and the old guys are just getting older.

Plus, why the **** wasn't Tanoh on the field Saturday? He kicked ass against Denver and I don't even recall seeing him once.

Sutton, Gibbs, Reid's kid (Pipe dream, I know) and a few others need to go.

Edit: Yep, Tanoh had zero defensive snap counts. Holy ****ing hell.

http://www.chiefs.com/news/article-2...2-4977fb20f4a2

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

We need a pass rush from Justin Houston, especially in the playoffs.

Hey, ASSHOLE!

HE'S A ****ING LB!

HE DOESN'T JUST HIDE YOUR WIFE'S PRODUCTS AND MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER!

HE COVERS, BLITZES, RUN BLITZES, PLAYS MAN, AND RUSHES.

AT A ****ING PRO BOWL LEVEL...