Bill Belichick described what makes Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes so dangerous
"If the ball is on their 20-yard line you've still got to defend to the goal line against him. He can rip it."
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’w blazing start to the 2018 season has produced collective amazement across an impressed NFL. Bill Belichick counts himself among that crowd.
In a Monday morning conference call – with the Chiefs traveling to Gillette Stadium to face the Patriots on Sunday night – Belichick was effusive in his praise. When asked what’s impressed him about Mahomes this season, the Patriots’ coach responded, “pretty much everything.”
“He gets the ball to all of his receivers quick, quick release, sees things quickly, can extend plays, got a great arm, got a fabulous arm, can throw the ball out of the stadium,” said Belichick. “He makes good decisions, accurate, gets the ball out on time.”
Regarding Mahomes’s arm strength, Belichick noted that it vertically expands the territory the Patriots’ defense will have to defend.
“If the ball is on their 20-yard line you’ve still got to defend to the goal line against him. He can rip it.”
One additional Mahomes note that Belichick offered was how the Patriots viewed him before the 2017 NFL draft. Mahomes was taken 10th overall by the Chiefs, who traded up to select him:
When you’re picking 61st, I mean there’s a lot of guys you can eliminate. I wouldn’t say we spent an inordinate amount of time on players that at 61 we had no chance of getting, or whatever it was, two years ago when we traded for [Brandin] Cooks. We didn’t have a first round pick, so I’d say no, we didn’t. You could probably list 30 guys that we obviously scouted them in the fall and we were aware of them and we worked on them and so forth, but they weren’t a factor for us in the draft just based on where we were drafting and where they were going to go.
The Patriots and Chiefs kick off at 8:20 p.m. on Sunday night.
