The Chiefs' QB did exactly what everyone said he needed to vs Green Bay, but failures elsewhere led to the conversation continuing as though he didn't.
Not sure I fully agree with third failed drive analysis. Gary makes Kelce whiff on the right side of the line, so I am not sure that following Thuney works. Maybe, maybe not. It would have been a heckuva play by Gary, but their linebackers were so good all game.
That said, the larger point of the piece is exactly right. Whether he gets it or not, the success or failure of that play had nothing to do with Mahomes.
It's so weird that almost the entire offense is struggling at different times. Fid Sammy Watkins open things up that much that we didn't see this kind of stuff?
Seems like Kelce got bearhugged on drive #6, right? Anyways, I think Mahomes needs to look for Kelce as much as possible. He's the best route runner and mismatch KC has. In so many of these replays, when you see him in the route, he's open often. Once upon a time, the narrative was that you couldn't have success with 2 high against KC because Kelce ate it up.
Great breakdown as always Seth. I left the stadium very happy in that I felt like Mahomes stayed in the pocket the entire game whereas previous weeks I felt like he was breaking the pocket (when he was) breaking the huddle.
I think there is a difference between a narrative and a false narrative, and THIS is the reason I enjoy your articles. You do so much leg work for us as fans, and although I don't agree with all the points you make here your articles always makes me challenge my preconceptions, or at minimum notice something I hadn't before, and ultimately help me gain some perspective around a given situation. As we have established, you are the man. Thanks again.
Couple notes:
1st failed drive: GREAT play by the LB. Very few backs are getting away there, and up to this point McKinnon has proven his ability to run through tackles. It's a good gamble by Mahomes, just doesn't pay off.
3rd failed drive:
1. Kelce AND Burton missed blocks on one of the Packers emerging players Rashan Gary off the edge, allowing him to come free and clean up after Gore's hesitation in the hole. Any doubt CEH is patient enough to pick this up?
2. What the hell is Pringle doing playing in line TE??? He did a serviceable job on this play, but shouldn't that be Noah Gray?
4th failed drive: any doubt that CEH makes that guy miss and walks into the end zone? Moot point but I think after several failings by the backs in space this past game we may be due for a CEH appreciation article. Thoughts?
Seth, did he genuinely play bad against the Giants? On my second review of the broadcast, I thought it was better my emotionally charged 1st view. Did the all-22 vindicate him compared to the narrative?
I think the three plays where running backs get tackled before they get a first down or touchdown kind of disproves Josh Brisco's mantra of "running backs don't matter." Well, they don't...until they do. For 95% of carries/catches, they are mostly fungible. But that 5% is what makes the difference. I'm not saying CEH would make those plays but those are the types of plays where you could justify investing in a running back with a late first or second round pick.
Several years ago the narrative was that Tom Brady was washed up. The Pat's were self destructing every Sunday, and the dynasty was declared "over." They won the SB that year.
It's never going to be easy, and it's unlikely to go pole-to-pole as front runners every year, but Patrick Mahomes II did not suddenly forget how to football.
It's time to go on a run, and what better place to start than Raiders week.
The most notable improvement to me was Pat's pocket presence. He used smaller, controlled movements within generally clean pockets and was far less likely to bail out. This enabled him to keep his eyes up and downfield as opposed to dropping them when evacuating the pocket. When the eyes drop, even for just a split second, it impairs field vision both in terms of defensive movements and those of his receivers.
How much do you think Pat adjusting to the new O-line and vice versa is affecting his timing and as a result creating hesitancy on his part? Because as we know, he who hesitates is lost, especially in the NFL. Based on my single viewing of the game in real time, it appears they're getting more comfortable with each other.
On the Hardman play, Josh was clearly trying to push a narrative there, and even kept defending it in the replies. He is practicing eisegesis instead of exegesis (hope you appreciate that, Seth :)). Hardman slows down and should have kept running. Also probably DPI on that play. Mahomes made the right decision and a good throw IMO.
Looks like Mecole slowed down on his route. Had he kept running hard the entire way I think it's an easy catch and TD. How can you play w/Patrick for more than three weeks and not realize you NEVER QUIT RUNNING HARD?
The one thing I keep wondering about with the Wr's play is that Reid seems to only call plays that demand curls or out routes. West Coast Offense is famous for their slants. So why doesn't Reid call more slants. I would think speedy, shifty players like Hardman and Hill would excel at 5-7 slants then have huge yards after catch.
In the bigger picture, the current struggles of the offense are something we’ve seen before, just on a smaller scale. For the past three years there have been stretches where the offense is out of sync, with a different player making a drive killing mistake each possession. Just rewatch the first quarter of the Houston playoff game. The problem is that before they would flip a switch and everything would click for three or four drives, putting the game out of reach. With the exception of the second half vs the WFT that hasn’t happened this year. The question is whether this is just variance that will eventually correct itself or whether there is a deeper problem. I’m still inclined toward variance but the wheel needs to start turning soon.
Excellent as always ...Agree with your overall point that PM's decisions and mechanics have improved (can't argue with the tape!) I do think the overall lack of rhythm still comes back to PM' and his overall mojo for lack of a better term(!), resulting in the turnovers, drops and stalled drives. We've all seen what this O can do when they click in previous years - even when we win this year, there are still only a few quarters where things click and gain rhythm. I think the multiple failure conditions that get individually dissected each week have to be looked at collectively to be understood. The interceptions, fumbles, missed receivers and drops are all part of same thing, rather than individual phenomena to be solved individually. Hoping we see that turn around, and bring the rest of the O along with it!
Not sure I fully agree with third failed drive analysis. Gary makes Kelce whiff on the right side of the line, so I am not sure that following Thuney works. Maybe, maybe not. It would have been a heckuva play by Gary, but their linebackers were so good all game.
That said, the larger point of the piece is exactly right. Whether he gets it or not, the success or failure of that play had nothing to do with Mahomes.
It's so weird that almost the entire offense is struggling at different times. Fid Sammy Watkins open things up that much that we didn't see this kind of stuff?
Seems like Kelce got bearhugged on drive #6, right? Anyways, I think Mahomes needs to look for Kelce as much as possible. He's the best route runner and mismatch KC has. In so many of these replays, when you see him in the route, he's open often. Once upon a time, the narrative was that you couldn't have success with 2 high against KC because Kelce ate it up.
https://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com/analysis/patrick-mahomes-deep-coverage-travis-kelce-tyreek-hill-2020/
It definitely felt like we should have won more of those one v one plays in space. GB made those plays and kept it close.
Great breakdown as always Seth. I left the stadium very happy in that I felt like Mahomes stayed in the pocket the entire game whereas previous weeks I felt like he was breaking the pocket (when he was) breaking the huddle.
I think there is a difference between a narrative and a false narrative, and THIS is the reason I enjoy your articles. You do so much leg work for us as fans, and although I don't agree with all the points you make here your articles always makes me challenge my preconceptions, or at minimum notice something I hadn't before, and ultimately help me gain some perspective around a given situation. As we have established, you are the man. Thanks again.
Couple notes:
1st failed drive: GREAT play by the LB. Very few backs are getting away there, and up to this point McKinnon has proven his ability to run through tackles. It's a good gamble by Mahomes, just doesn't pay off.
3rd failed drive:
1. Kelce AND Burton missed blocks on one of the Packers emerging players Rashan Gary off the edge, allowing him to come free and clean up after Gore's hesitation in the hole. Any doubt CEH is patient enough to pick this up?
2. What the hell is Pringle doing playing in line TE??? He did a serviceable job on this play, but shouldn't that be Noah Gray?
4th failed drive: any doubt that CEH makes that guy miss and walks into the end zone? Moot point but I think after several failings by the backs in space this past game we may be due for a CEH appreciation article. Thoughts?
Seth, did he genuinely play bad against the Giants? On my second review of the broadcast, I thought it was better my emotionally charged 1st view. Did the all-22 vindicate him compared to the narrative?
I think the three plays where running backs get tackled before they get a first down or touchdown kind of disproves Josh Brisco's mantra of "running backs don't matter." Well, they don't...until they do. For 95% of carries/catches, they are mostly fungible. But that 5% is what makes the difference. I'm not saying CEH would make those plays but those are the types of plays where you could justify investing in a running back with a late first or second round pick.
Several years ago the narrative was that Tom Brady was washed up. The Pat's were self destructing every Sunday, and the dynasty was declared "over." They won the SB that year.
It's never going to be easy, and it's unlikely to go pole-to-pole as front runners every year, but Patrick Mahomes II did not suddenly forget how to football.
It's time to go on a run, and what better place to start than Raiders week.
The most notable improvement to me was Pat's pocket presence. He used smaller, controlled movements within generally clean pockets and was far less likely to bail out. This enabled him to keep his eyes up and downfield as opposed to dropping them when evacuating the pocket. When the eyes drop, even for just a split second, it impairs field vision both in terms of defensive movements and those of his receivers.
How much do you think Pat adjusting to the new O-line and vice versa is affecting his timing and as a result creating hesitancy on his part? Because as we know, he who hesitates is lost, especially in the NFL. Based on my single viewing of the game in real time, it appears they're getting more comfortable with each other.
On the Hardman play, Josh was clearly trying to push a narrative there, and even kept defending it in the replies. He is practicing eisegesis instead of exegesis (hope you appreciate that, Seth :)). Hardman slows down and should have kept running. Also probably DPI on that play. Mahomes made the right decision and a good throw IMO.
Looks like Mecole slowed down on his route. Had he kept running hard the entire way I think it's an easy catch and TD. How can you play w/Patrick for more than three weeks and not realize you NEVER QUIT RUNNING HARD?
The one thing I keep wondering about with the Wr's play is that Reid seems to only call plays that demand curls or out routes. West Coast Offense is famous for their slants. So why doesn't Reid call more slants. I would think speedy, shifty players like Hardman and Hill would excel at 5-7 slants then have huge yards after catch.
Chief in the North--thoughts?
Maybe Reid calls them and I don't see it too?
In the bigger picture, the current struggles of the offense are something we’ve seen before, just on a smaller scale. For the past three years there have been stretches where the offense is out of sync, with a different player making a drive killing mistake each possession. Just rewatch the first quarter of the Houston playoff game. The problem is that before they would flip a switch and everything would click for three or four drives, putting the game out of reach. With the exception of the second half vs the WFT that hasn’t happened this year. The question is whether this is just variance that will eventually correct itself or whether there is a deeper problem. I’m still inclined toward variance but the wheel needs to start turning soon.
Excellent as always ...Agree with your overall point that PM's decisions and mechanics have improved (can't argue with the tape!) I do think the overall lack of rhythm still comes back to PM' and his overall mojo for lack of a better term(!), resulting in the turnovers, drops and stalled drives. We've all seen what this O can do when they click in previous years - even when we win this year, there are still only a few quarters where things click and gain rhythm. I think the multiple failure conditions that get individually dissected each week have to be looked at collectively to be understood. The interceptions, fumbles, missed receivers and drops are all part of same thing, rather than individual phenomena to be solved individually. Hoping we see that turn around, and bring the rest of the O along with it!
Thank u Seth! I thought he played better but couldn’t prove it. This I a clear case of sometimes es numbers lie