Analysis: Patrick Mahomes should call out Kansas City Chiefs receivers when they perform poorly
ESPN sports commentator Stephen A. Smith – who I believe to be one of the best in the business – has been taking Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes to task for the last several days for Mahomes' incessant whining about NFL officiating after the Chiefs loss to the Buffalo Bills last weekend.
For those who missed the game or the manufactured “controversy” afterwards, a Chiefs touchdown was called back because a receiver was flagrantly offside. It was a correct call, which caused Mahomes to lose his mind in an expletive-filled rant while also physically charging at the officials.
For several days, Stephen A. Smith has been counseling Mahomes via his commentary to grow up and point the finger of blame where it really belongs. That being at the poor quality of play by the Chiefs, and specifically, at his receivers who have collectively dropped 33 passes to date including multiple potential touchdowns.
To his credit, Mahomes has since come out and apologized for his unprofessional – and factually wrong – rant. More specifically, Mahomes apologized to Bills quarterback Josh Allen who he subjected to more whining and f-bombs after Allen came over to greet him after the game.
During a discussion this week on ESPN First Take between Smith, former NFL player and head coach Jeff Saturday, and former NFL player Shannon Sharpe, Smith made it very clear that Mahomes should be calling out his receivers for their poor play and lack of fundamentals.
While I may not be an expert on sports, way back in the day, I had just enough talent to be invited to a few professional hockey camps and one professional baseball camp. Because of that background – and as a grateful fan -- I tend to follow the sporting world quite closely. As such, I found Jeff Saturday’s response to Smith’s logical – and needed – solution shocking and very telling.
Said Saturday in part: “Listen, you have lost your mind on this … If you think Patrick Mahomes will piss off all his receivers by saying, ‘You can’t catch. You can’t line up.’… Captain Obvious can see they’ve all screwed up. … Let me tell you what happens. Receivers, when they get their feelings hurt, it’s only going to get worse … the last thing you want to do is upset the apple cart with those receivers …”
What? Are you kidding me?
Patrick Mahomes can’t rightfully call out his own receivers because they might “get their feelings hurt” and what, mope and quit on the team? Professional football players – who get paid millions of dollars only because of their alleged skill to catch a football thrown to them by a quarterback – can no longer be held accountable by other players, their coaches, or ownership?
Anyone who is even remotely paying attention to the NFL of late can see that the quality of the game has gone down. While athletic ability might be rising with each successive draft year, following the simple fundamentals of the sport as well as executing basic plays and routes, is clearly declining.
Tom Brady sees a lot of mediocrity in today's NFL
Going back to Stephen A. Smith, the sports pundit hosted now retired GOAT Tom Brady on his YouTube show a few weeks ago. During the interview, Brady made an honest observation, which became quite controversial to some. Said Brady in part:
"I think there’s a lot of mediocrity in today’s NFL. I don’t see the excellence that I saw in the past. I think the coaching isn’t as good as it was. I don’t think the development of young players is as good as it was. The rules have allowed a lot of bad habits to get into the actual performance of the game. So, I just think the product in my opinion is less than what it’s been. … You hear coaches complaining about their own player being tackled and … why don’t they talk to their player about how to protect himself? We used to work on the fundamentals of those things all the time."
While Brady got some pushback, I suspect many in and around the sport at least privately agree with him. Others, like Dallas Cowboys superstar Micah Parsons, publicly.
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Brady is entirely correct when it comes to the need “to work on fundamentals” of the sport. But more than that, the “fundamentals” of accountability, humility, and being a grown up must also be worked on.
Players in the NFL – and every other professional sport – should remember that ultimately, they are being paid millions of dollars to play a sport only because of the fans. Fans who either attend the games, watch the games – and create the ratings - and buy the merchandise.
Without those fans, there would be no NFL. There would be no NFL owners. No NFL players. There would be no million-dollar-plus paydays.
What are those fans owed in terms of accountability and professionalism?
Fans who oftentimes are struggling simply to pay the bills needed to support their families. Fans who are regularly criticized in the workplace for their performance but don’t have the luxury of quitting on the company because “their feelings were hurt.” Fans who regularly look forward to NFL games as a way to decompress from the overwhelming realities of life.
Patrick Mahomes has proven himself not only to be one of the most gifted athletes on the planet, but a leader in the NFL. As such, maybe next time he’s upset by a “bad call,” he can go to the podium and remind all that appreciation of the fan base should be the first “fundamental” followed.
The next being accountability.
Douglas MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official and author of the book: The North Pole Project – In Search of the True Meaning of Christmas.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes should forget bad call, focus on accountability
