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Patrick Mahomes watched an old football game on TV recently. While it wasn’t film work of a Chiefs game or a future Chiefs opponent, he didn’t watch it purely for entertainment purposes either.
The Green Bay Packers were playing, and if Mahomes can’t recall weeks later whether it was Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, he remembers a very specific pass. An unorthodox throw. Almost like a pitch, really.
Now he’s tried it himself.
Mahomes completed such a throw — or pitch — in Sunday’s training camp practice. A throw unlike anything he’s used in actual game.
There could be more coming.
“I try to look at what guys have done before me,” Mahomes said. “I’ve looked at guys like Dan Marino and how he had success. And then I look at the guys playing around the league, with Deshaun Watson, Lamar (Jackson) and Dak Prescott — all these guys that are having success. And I try to find what they do, and then I try to take it out and put it into my game so I can be a better player every time I step onto the field.”
Now is the time to try. The “wins” in camp count only in terms of pride. The statistics aren’t tallied alongside his name. The interceptions don’t alter the momentum of a game.
The one-of-a-kind Mahomes throws seem so head-turning during an actual game. The lefty pass. The no-look throw. The off-balance heaves.
Those come from practices. From experimentation. Chiefs coach Andy Reid not only allows it — he encourages it.
“I think the great thing about training camp practices and practices with Coach Reid is he allows me to try those different things,” Mahomes said. “There’s been times I’ve made some of these throws and they worked out and we score touchdowns. And I threw one day, and it was an easy interception. He lets you try those different things. You just learn from them (and) see what you can and can’t do. It helps me in the game. When I get there, I know what I can do and what I can’t do.”
It can be difficult to gauge what qualifies as experimentation and what Mahomes has already comfortably added to his arsenal. The lines are graying every year, every game, every pass.
Rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire played with Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow at LSU last season. Burrow was known for his off-script throws. But in his first camp with Mahomes, Edwards-Helaire has still been wowed.
He described a play from Saturday in which Mahomes rolled to his left on a broken play. There appeared to be nothing there.
Until there was.
“The play just looked completely shut down,” Edwards-Helaire said. “By the time he got to the bottom of the numbers on the left hash, he just started saying, ‘Oh, I got it; I got it.’ Nobody looked open. He tossed it up. All of a sudden, Tyreek (Hill) came out of nowhere and they completed a pass. It went for 45 yards, whatever it was.
“Extending plays is something you see time and time again. But for him to not throw it out of bounds and just understand his vision and everything he has going on in his head, it’s a little different. It’s a little special.”
Mahomes made a similar throw Sunday. Off-balance, rolling to his left. Deep ball into a crowded end zone. Complete. Gehrig Dieter found himself on the other end of it.
Might we see some of these new tricks in a game? Might we see something Mahomes has yet to try?
“I don’t want to give away all my secrets,” he said.
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Sam McDowell KC Star
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