Getty Patrick Mahomes II and Andy Reid addressed a recent unpopular assessment of the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback.
Just the other day on July 25, an anonymous opinion made waves in Chiefs Kingdom after an unnamed “veteran defensive play caller” related Patrick Mahomes’ game to “streetball” within The Athletic’s annual survey ranking NFL quarterbacks.
The full quote read: “We love Mahomes because of his unorthodox throws, not because of his natural pocket presence. And when that disappears, that is when they lose games. I don’t think that is a [Tier] 1 [QB]. I think that is a [Tier] 2 [QB]. Nothing against the guy. I love the kid. But take his first read away and what does he do? He runs, he scrambles and he plays streetball.”
Needless to say, many fans and analysts disagreed with this opinion, which quickly went viral. Today on July 29, the media asked Andy Reid for a comment on the situation, and the KC head coach happily obliged.
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Reid Backs His Quarterback
Right at the end of the debriefing, a reporter brought up the streetball remarks and Reid’s response was perfect. With a smirk on his face, he voiced:
A lot of coaches have to teach guys how to roll out and call plays and he just does it — no, he’s tremendous, he’s tremendous. You guys look at Pro Football Focus and all [of] those things so just take a peek at that and see how many times he hits the second receiver.
#Chiefs Andy Reid on Mahomes ‘streetball’ comparisons: “Just take a peek at [the film], see how many times he hits the second receiver.”
Is this guy having the time of his life or what? Big Red not only welcomed the “streetball” topic, but he also seemed giddy to shut it down. Anonymous quotes obviously don’t phase Super Bowl champion coaches.
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Mahomes Responds: ‘Always More to Prove’
Mahomes also spoke today and the media didn’t waste the opportunity, asking him a similar question on the hot topic of the week.
“You always feel like you have more to prove,” the quarterback began. “I promise Tom Brady’s feeling like he has more to prove. I think that comes with any sport, any competitor. If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse and [spectators] build you up to tear you down — you got to kind of know that. For me it’s all about, ‘how can I make myself better?’ Not what other people say. ‘How can I make myself better so that we go out there and win football games,’ and at the end of the day, nothing matters until you’re on that football field playing. That’s where you get to prove who you are every single day.”
With all the contract drama of the offseason concerning Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray, another reporter also wondered whether Mahomes believes black quarterbacks are evaluated any differently than white quarterbacks. He gave a measured, yet powerful response:
“I don’t want to go that far and say that,” Mahomes replied. “I mean, obviously the black quarterback has had [to] battle to be in this position to have this many guys in the league playing, and I think every day we’re proving that we should have been playing the whole time. We got guys that think just as well as they use their athleticism, so it always is weird when you see guys like me, Lamar, Kyler kind of get that [narrative] on them and other guys don’t. But at the same time, we’re going to go out there every day and show that we can be some of the best quarterbacks in the league.”
Mahomes was asked: With the streetball comments the past few weeks & Kyler Murray’s contract, do you think you’re evaluated differently because you’re a black quarterback?
“it always is weird when you see guys like me & Lamar, Kyler kind of get that on them and other guys don’t”
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Chiefs’ Andy Reid Shuts Down ‘Streetball’ Narrative About Patrick Mahomes