Kansas City Chiefs Laddie Morse

Patrick Mahomes: New Birth for an Organization

LadnerMorse December 28, 2018 No Comments

 

 

 

 

Patrick Mahomes: New Birth

for an Organization

 

 

by Laddie Morse | December 28, 2018

 

It was the Spring of 2011 and our Kansas City Chiefs had just come off of a 30-7 playoff loss at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens in Arrowhead Stadium. I had just begun to write for ArrowheadAddict.com and was touting the wideout from Pittsburgh, Jonathan Baldwin. The Chiefs had the 27th pick in the draft but the Ravens turned their card in late so the Chiefs jumped up to snag Baldwin at pick 26. Boy did I feel justified… only we all know now that he turned out to be a complete waste of a draft pick.

 

The first pick in that draft was quarterback Cam Newton out of Auburn where he had won a National Championship. The Panthers had to produce a 2-and-14 season in 2010 to be granted the honor of making that first overall pick. Fortunately for them, there was a QB worthy of the “franchise quarterback” designation and 5 years later they won the NFC Championship and appeared in the Super Bowl opposite the Denver Broncos who had a man at QB who takes us on to the next step of our story-journey: Peyton Manning.

 

Manning arrived in Denver in 2012 following a 14 year career with the Colts. His last season there was a healing year from multiple neck surgeries but, it also left the Colts with Curtis Painter, Dan Orlovsky and Kerry Collins taking turns at QB. That led to a 2-and-14 record and the pleasure of making the first pick in the 2012 NFL draft where, they took Andrew Luck. Luck was an immediate success and led the Colts to a 45-to-44 win over the Chiefs in the first round of the 2013 playoffs. However, Luck was out last year with an injury but has now led them back and the Colts are knocking on the playoffs door again.

 

In the meantime… the Kansas City Chiefs were expelling coaches at the end of 2012 because during the “Save Our Chiefs” season they finished 2-and-14 (are you sensing a 2-and-14 pattern here?)… and once again earned the right to be the team with the pleasure of picking first in the draft in the Spring of 2013.

 

The big difference between the Chiefs, the Colts and the Panthers? There was no “franchise quarterback” available in 2013. Chalk it up to bad football karma or whatever whets your whistle. So, the new regime led by Andy Reid choose the player who he believed could best protect a franchise QB and they picked Eric Fisher first overall. To fill the QB position… the Chiefs traded away draft picks for a guy named Alex Smith from San Francisco.

 

After five seasons with Mr. Smith at the helm Reid and Company chose to trade away picks and jump up to select Patrick Mahomes out of Texas Tech at the 10th spot in the 2017 draft. After a internship under Alex Smith for a year, Mahomes has taken the league by storm, and authored a new birth for an organization that has wallowed in medicrity for over 40 years.

 

So, let’s talk about what Patrick Mahomes has accomplished through his first 16 games of his career (including the game vs Denver, the last game of last season):

 

 

 

 

 

More outstanding than those numbers is the team’s 11-and-4 record so far this year. When you take into consideration the low ranking defense he’s playing with, then the 11-4 record is all the more impressive.

 

The 4th Quarter Man

I’ve followed many of the games best quarterbacks over the past 60+ years. One common element they usually share is the ability to perform under pressure and there’s no greater pressure than that of the 4th quarter. So, let’s take a look at what Patrick Mahomes has done in some of the 4th quarters he’s been in:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, that last pass to Chris Conley didn’t result in a win, but at least you can’t argue that Patrick Mahomes wasn’t doing everything right to bring his team back in the waning moments of the game.

 

“I Gotta Wear Shades”

You’ve heard that old song before, the future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades. Now that the Kansas City Chiefs have the best quarterback in the National Football League, it changes everything. Does he make the players around him better? Absolutely. Although he’s lost his starting RB who led the league last year in rushing, he hasn’t missed a beat. Does the team miss Kareem Hunt’s production? Sure, but it hasn’t kept Patrick Mahomes from producing at a high level. In fact, Patrick Mahomes hasn’t had a “down” game this season. I remember writing more than one article, back in the day, when Matt Cassel was the Chiefs QB and it was always about how Cassel couldn’t be consistent. He’d be up one game and down the next. He really was like following a rollercoaster and I had graphs to prove it. For a first year starter — and a brand spankin’ new quarterback in the NFL — it’s astounding how even keeled Mahomes has been throughout this season. Based upon his performances, we should be able to expect the same kind of top shelf execution and level headedness in the future.

 

You Catch More Flies With Honey

Patrick Mahomes is the winning ticket… the jackpot… the honey-hole. Yep, when the Chiefs traded away multiple picks to move up and take him with the 10th pick in last year’s draft, like many, I had my doubts. Yes, I was thrilled that they took the chance and made the move but I had no idea that Mahomes would be so good in his first starting season, so good that he’d even be considered for the league MVP honor much less appear to have it locked up in week 16.

 

 

Now, I’m resisting the urges to go posting Mock Drafts in an effort to “fix” the defense. Some fans might say I’m giving up on this season if I go that route. Not at all. I’ve actually already done more than a dozen mock drafts and I use that method for researching incoming players next season. The good news for Chiefs fans: it is a draft class which is deep in defensive linemen and defensive players, period. I will share that, at least one of the following Defensive Linemen will be available when the Chiefs pick at #32 (see what I did there?):

 

  1. Raekwon Davis – Alabama
  2. Derrick Brown – Auburn
  3. Christian Wilkins – Clemson
  4. Isaiah Buggs – Alabama

 

Now, there are many more Defensive Linemen in the draft who grade out as superior to these young men listed above but there are so many of them, I’d be surprised if one doesn’t slip to K.C.. I won’t go into it now but this is a really good year for Corners and Safeties too.

 

The Free Agent Market

The Free Agent market is where the Chiefs should be able to make some real inroads this coming offseason. Players will be wanting to come to Kansas City like they never have before because of Patrick Mahomes. If the Chiefs can make it to the AFC Championship game, or the Super Bowl this season, that will only help their cause as the Chiefs should come away from this season — no matter what the outcome is — being seen as the #1 team on the rise. That’s pretty heady stuff for a team that is already the best team in the AFC.

 

 

 

 

 

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