KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Alex Smith had a message recently for Patrick Mahomes, as the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback continues to pile up big numbers in his first season as starter.
"Tell
him to slow down," said Smith, who was the Chiefs' starter the past
five seasons before he was traded to Washington in the offseason to
clear the way for Mahomes. "He's making us all look bad."
Smith
presumably was speaking on behalf of all the NFL's starting
quarterbacks. Mahomes leads the NFL in touchdown passes with 29, six
more than second-place Andrew Luck of Indianapolis. Mahomes also leads in passing yards, with 2,901.
But
Smith also could have been speaking for the other 34 quarterbacks who
started at least one game for the Chiefs in the team's 59-season history
before Mahomes took over this year.
Mahomes, leading the 8-1
Chiefs, is already rampaging through the team's passing record book. He
is two touchdown passes away from breaking the 54-year-old record for
single-season touchdown passes. Len Dawson threw 30 in 1964.
Mahomes
is also on pace to break Trent Green's record for single-season passing
yards with one game left in the season. Green threw for 4,591 yards in
2004.
Here's what three of the best Chiefs quarterbacks of all
time had to say about Mahomes as he is putting together the best QB
season in team history.
Alex Smith
Smith
was teammates with Mahomes last season and had a front-row seat for
Mahomes' preparation as a rookie, even though he played in just one
game.
"Pat has put in the work," Smith said. "He was there so
early every single day, preparing himself, learning. I think he heard
that none of those Air Raid guys have been able to convert into pro
guys, and he worked so hard I think to be ready for this moment. It's
not by accident. Every day last year, he was in the building. They had
him in there [at] 6 a.m. I told him, 'Get your sleep, too.'"
Smith
had his best statistical season for the Chiefs last year, when he led
the NFL in passer rating and had a career-high 26 touchdowns. Mahomes
had 26 in his first eight games this season and three more in Sunday's
win over the Cleveland Browns.
"Nuts,
absolutely ridiculous," Smith said when asked to put Mahomes' touchdown
numbers in perspective. "You could see right away the upside Pat had
and not just the arm talent. I think more so it's his processing speed.
He can process what he sees really fast. You knew he was going to make
some wow plays. Everybody expecting he would maybe have some learning
ones, too. His decision-making is so good. He's ripped ‘em when they're
there, when he sees it and throws it. At the same time, when it's not
there, he hasn't forced any. That's been the most impressive thing to me
from afar. But the numbers? They're just absurd.
"The cool thing is that they're kind of tailoring [the playcalls] to
the guy. You can certainly see how they've tweaked it with me gone and
Pat stepping in, and [they're] letting it become his. They're letting
him take ownership and not just running what I ran last year."
Trent Green
Green,
the Chiefs' starting quarterback from 2001 through 2006, played on
high-scoring teams coached by Dick Vermeil. But Green's Chiefs were
never as strong offensively as the team is with Mahomes, and Green said
he doesn't see a typical first-year starter when he watches Mahomes.
"He
looks more like a seasoned guy," said Green, who as an analyst for CBS
called Sunday's game against the Browns and is scheduled to work this
weekend's game against the Arizona Cardinals
at Arrowhead Stadium. "One of the things that stands out to me is that
he'll stand in the pocket knowing he's going to get blown up, and he
maintains that focus and accuracy downfield. A lot of young guys never
learn to do that. He's doing it at such a young age.
"Another
thing that jumps out is the way he uses his eyes. He uses his eyes quite
a bit to influence defenses, and that's something that usually comes
with more experience. ... He can manipulate the defenders in coverage to
get them to move in a certain direction to open up a window on the back
side. It usually takes time to get to a place where you're able to
dictate to the defense."
Green's time with the Chiefs featured one
of the NFL's best rushing games, with Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson
doing a lot of scoring. Green's high with the Chiefs was 27 touchdown
passes in 2004.
Like Smith, Green has an appreciation for the
numbers Mahomes is posting. Green noted that the only other quarterbacks
to do better than Mahomes' 26 TDs in the first eight games are Tom Brady and Peyton Manning twice.
"But those guys weren't doing it as first-year players," he said.
Len Dawson
Dawson,
who started for the Chiefs from 1962 through 1975, started more games
(158) at quarterback than any other player in team history. He is the
only quarterback to play the most significant portion of his career with
the Chiefs and later reach the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Dawson said he's surprised that his record has stood for 54 years but not shocked that Mahomes is the player poised to break it.
"I'm
all for it," Dawson said. "It's time somebody broke that record, and it
should be someone like him because he has so many tools. He has such
great talent. You don't see talent like that come along very often. So
he's got the tools. Then you put that with good coaching, and you're
going to get a good result."
In 1964, the Chiefs were in the AFL
and played a 16-game schedule. But even after the NFL went to 16 games
in 1978, the Chiefs couldn't produce a quarterback who could seriously
threaten Dawson's record.
Elvis Grbac, with 28 TD passes in 2000, came the closest. Dawson had 29 in 1962.
Mahomes could at long last break the record with two touchdown passes on Sunday against the Cardinals.
"This
guy, from what we've seen in this short period of time, has the
opportunity to break all of the records," Dawson said. "I'm not just
talking about my records or Chiefs records but NFL records."
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