The start to the 2021 season for Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes caught the attention of fans, critics, and former NFL players. Mahomes’ odd start has been over-analyzed to the highest degree from spectators, but what do former quarterbacks have to say about his struggles?
Josh McCown played 18 seasons in the NFL for 12 different teams at quarterback, with 76 career starts in that span. Recently McCown appeared as a guest on the “Upon Further Review” podcast with Zach Brook” sharing his thoughts on Mahomes’ sloppy start and suggestions to fix issues.
”I think Pat, just continue to tighten up and play good football in the pocket,” said McCown. ”You don’t have to go out there and, and do Pat Mahomes things every game, just go be Pat Mahomes. You know, I think the biggest difference is, you cannot go out there. And that, you know, you scrambling and kind of those things aren’t plans like that, that’s not a game plan. And I’m gonna run around and just, you know, over time, that’s not sustainable.”
McCown was a third-round pick in 2002 and has played in multiple systems in his career. He last played for the Houston Texans in 2020, and at 42 years old, he is still an eligible free agent, not officially retired.
“What we’ve seen, and what we see from the dude down in Tampa, that’s 44 years old (Tom Brady), is sit back there from the pocket and make throws, sit back there and make throws execute, and let the other things be icing on the cake,” McCown said. “I think coming out of the year watching Alex Smith play. He was more in that we highlighted all those other things, all the cool Patrick Mahomes things, but he was more in that vein. And as those things became more highlights, they became more kind of what he was trying to do all the time. It seems like this last week, you know, to me, they rein him back in, the footwork was tighter playing from the pocket playing on schedule, the rhythm of the passing game was tighter, and you got a better output. So I think that’s where he needs to live. You know, that’s, that’s what we’ve seen over time that is sustainable is making those from pocket, and he can do that. It’s not like a guy who needs to run around because he can’t do it. He can stand back there and like every throw in the book, and then some, so I would encourage him to continue to do that.”
Mahomes was electric on Sunday night against the Las Vegas Raiders, completing 35-of-50 passes for over 400 yards and five touchdowns. He proved he’s still playing at an MVP level. He will continue to be in the spotlight of critics every time there is a miscue but can silence them with more impressive performances.
