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Originally Posted by DRM08
As someone who has watched every game he played for the last 3 years, below are probably the biggest issues that need to be fixed... even moreso than the footwork:
1. Trust the pocket. Pat would bail on the pocket too quickly at times and would actually make the play more difficult on himself and his team. He had a crap OL, but even when they did a good job for him he would still bail out of the pocket too soon.
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Agreed, and I think this will be the first major, instant-gratification improvement everyone will see out of Mahomes. He rarely
had a pocket to work out of at Tech, especially in the 2016 season. Plus, Kiliff's offense, to a large extent, was altered to take advantage of Mahomes mobility and full-field vision. Graham Harrell was a stellar pocket passer, but was about as mobile as I am.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DRM08
2. Decision-making. This one you can try your best to coach the gunslinger out of him, but his natural tendency is to go for broke on every play. If he is unable to control that tendency, he will be an INT machine at the NFL level and it will prevent him from reaching his potential.
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Yeppers, this is the one big concern that Pat himself is going to have to adjust and deal with, but I think that will come with maturity and experience. This is where he is incredibly "Favre like" but I'm confident that Andy Reid can squash that a little bit. As you recall, how many times did we hear Kliff in post-game interviews state that part of his offensive plan was to "let Pat be Pat?"
I used to want to hose down my tv with endless rounds of buckshot when Kingsbury would say that. I doubt we'll ever hear Reid say, "Yeah, he threw some bad picks and made some lousy decisions, but I was just letting him (Pat) be Pat."
Quote:
Originally Posted by DRM08
3. Protecting himself. He is a warrior and his natural instinct is to take whatever hits are required to get the first down, etc. This one I hope they can coach out of him or he will be an injury bust in the NFL. He has already had a number of self-inflicted injuries due to his refusal to ever give up on plays. They have to make him a lot more conservative on this aspect of the game.
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I remember the 2015 TCU game when he took some bad hits and I kept cringing--like everyone else at the stadium who was sober.
My guess is that this will be the SECOND major thing that Reid immediately gets out of the boy's psyche. Maybe we can recruit Deion Sanders to explain to Mahomes the concept of making a "business decision?"
This will, hopefully, come with the discipline that is present with solid, proven coaches like Reid and his staff. We didn't have that at Tech. We're getting there, slowly (TOO slowly), but Kliff was too generous with Pat and let him have his own way. Of course, I don't think Kliff has ever had a QB like Mahomes, either, in fairness to Kliff.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DRM08
Pat had a tendency to bail from the pocket too quick as well, similar to the "phantom pressure" you are describing. They are going to have to work with him on this for sure. Pat's field vision is great for the most part, but he does miss opportunities from time to time.
Gruden brought up a great example at the end of the Texas game. We were driving to try to tie the game. Still had a timeout on the board. Pat missed an obvious check-down throw and threw into triple coverage in the end zone. Sure enough interception cost us our chance to tie the game. We were not that far from the end zone either. Pat said the check-down guy could have made it to the 7 or 8 yard line. With a timeout on the board, you have to take that check-down when all the guys in the end zone are covered.
I think he understands that he has to change this aspect of his game. But the question is can he control his natural instincts? Even if you know the right thing to do, the question is can you control your adrenaline and everything under the lights or will you revert to bad habits?
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I think if we substitute "focus and discipline" in lieu of "control" his natural instincts, we have a winner. As you and I (and others) have followed this young man for the past three years, his intelligence and ability to focus when given the platform is uncanny. While Pat put up uncanny and outer-space like numbers in 2016, they were largely the product of self-preservation given that we had no offensive line, no running game and some suspect receivers. Mahomes' competitiveness worked for him statistically (great numbers), but against him physically (injuries from trying to force every play) in his desire to win.
I'll take the warrior any day so long as there is a wise-old wizard that teaches and instills in the warrior discipline, focus and know when to take two steps back in order to leap five steps forward.
Like you, I'm stoked about seeing him in a Chiefs uniform. Can't wait for everything to start rolling!
--JD