Patrick Mahomes talks about weaknesses in his game after evaluating Super Bowl film
Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL, but the most recent memory of him is the young quarterback running for his life in the Super Bowl as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers pressure mounted over him almost every play.
Everyone who watched the game knew that none of what was happening was Mahomes' fault, as the Chiefs posted a makeshift offensive line without Eric Fisher, Kelechi Osemele, Laurent Duvernay-Tardiff and Mitchell Schwartz against one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. However, there were still lessons to be taken from that game, and Mahomes did so after rewatching the game, according to an interview by Kevin Clark, from The Ringer:
“Sometimes,” Mahomes said, “when I get hit early, I don’t trust staying in the pocket and going through my reads. I kind of get back to that backyard-style football a little bit too much. And you could definitely see that in the Super Bowl. I mean, there were times that pockets were clean and I was still scrambling."
Mahomes won't blame the offensive line, Veach fixed anyway
Even though the offensive line was at fault for the worst offensive performance by the Kansas City Chiefs in the Mahomes era, Mahomes thought that he had a little bit of blame for the result as well.
Playing with a bum toe that forced him to have surgery following the Super Bowl, Mahomes ran for 497 yards evading pressure that day, a number that shows how much the Buccaneers had success in the trenches.
Everybody could see Mahomes running for his life that day. Brett Veach, the Chiefs' general manager, wouldn't risk having his best player hurt and did everything in his power to fix the issue last offseason. He signed Joe Thuney to a massive contract during free agency, traded for Orlando Brown with the Baltimore Ravens, poached Kyle Long out of retirement and drafted Creed Humphrey in the second round to play as center.
In the process of fixing his offensive line, Veach released Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz, the team's longtime starting tackles.
Can Mahomes get even better?
Just like Mahomes said, there's always something to improve on, even if you're the best quarterback in the NFL. He wants to improve within the pocket and has been taking advice from veteran quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, two of the best ever in the position.
Mahomes is the best-paid quarterback in the league and he's going to be a superstar for a long time. Still, he understands that the sport is always evolving and he can't believe his talent alone will cut it for him. He should be critical of himself to get even closer to perfection and add more rings to his collection.
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