[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by RedRaider56

That was a very good article.

I love the beginning.

Permit me a momentary digression … have you ever had food that was so hyped up you were afraid to try it? That was described as so delicious, so delightful, so utterly perfect that you knew trying it would inevitably lead to that “well … it’s good for sure, but …” feeling of disappointed expectations? I have.

The most worried I’ve ever been trying something was the Z-Man sandwich at Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que. I was told so many times by so many people that it would be one of the best things I ever ate. This happened so often that by the time I actually sat down in Joe’s all those years ago, I was filled with as much dread as anticipation. Then I took a bite, and I realized that (to steal a quote) for once, the gossips were right.

I bring that up because the feeling I had firing up Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ “All-22” film for the first time carried that same feeling of excitement mixed with dread. Mahomes appeared to play very well in the broadcast and was receiving universal praise. The analyst in me needed the truth that only film could tell, but the fan in me was very afraid that I’d walk away feeling disappointed in being wrong about how well Mahomes had played Sunday.

Well, I was wrong in a sense. Because Mahomes didn’t play as well as I thought … he played better. The film was worth the hype, and then some.

For a primer of the unique methodology of grading quarterbacks, check out this story. This system has been developed over the course of the last four years. The goal is to separate the quarterback’s play from the coaching, his blocking, and his weapons and figure out exactly how the most important player on the field did on his own. And Mahomes, while not flawless, was absolutely fantastic in his first outing as a starter.