12-17-2018, 04:17 AM
at all The disparity between Kansas City Chiefs rushing numbers from 2017 to 2018 through three games has been more than apparent.At this time in 2017 Sammy Watkins Jersey , Kareem Hunt, then a rookie, had 47 carries for 401 yards (8.5 y/c) and four rushing touchdowns, along with nine catches for 137 yards and two receiving touchdowns. Through that same game span in 2018, Hunt has 52 carries for 168 yards (3.2 y/c) and two rushing touchdowns, one catch for five yards, which went for a touchdown.So who better to turn to when wondering about the Chiefs rushing problems than... Laurent Duvernay-Tardif?Actually, yes.“The thing with us running the ball right now is that there are so many plays that have a pass-option out of it, and Pat (Mahomes) loves to throw the ball, so sometimes, we block the look pretty well and Kareem (Hunt) would for sure go for 15 yards at least, but Pat decides to throw it for 20, so who can blame him, you know?” Duvernay-Tardif said, as the media laughed.With more than 1,100 yards and 13 touchdowns with no picks in three games for Mahomes, I know for a fact that Chiefs fans wouldn’t. Duvernay-Tardif continued.“With Pat’s arm, the cool thing this year is that we’re able to do those run-pass options, but instead of being for four yards passed, it’s a 25-yard pass Authentic nthony Hitchens Jersey ,” he added. “That’s a big thing for us and the way we approach a drive now—of course, we’re willing to drive the whole field for 15 plays like we’ve been doing last year, but to go out there and have a four-play drive for 65 yards is a good feeling, too.” Mahomes handing it off to Kareem.Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty ImagesAnd no, you don’t have to feel guilty because yes, everyone is thinking it
amn Larry, at least wait until Alex is in the room to defend himself.Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy provided an alternate take on the matter Friday.“Here’s the thing—I don’t think Pat just wants to pass all the time,” Bieniemy said. “He obviously loves to watch those guys run. I think that he’s just doing a good job of going through his progressions, doing what he’s been taught all week and just taking advantage of the advantageous situations that we’re putting him in. I think it’s just a testament to the kid. He studies a lot of tape. Obviously, there’s still a lot of room to improve, but we’re just going to continue chopping and continue moving in the right direction.”Duvernay-Tardif went on to explain that the problem isn’t necessarily in the run game, but more so that Mahomes chooses to pass at a higher frequency than Alex did. In that regard, Bieniemy is content with the decisions Mahomes is making.Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images“I’m always happy,” Bieniemy explained, “because one thing you don’t want to do—you don’t want any player going out there hesitating and not playing fast, so at the end of the day, whatever we decide to do, let’s go do it fast, let’s go play hard and regardless, we make a mistake or not Youth Kendall Fuller Jersey , it’s onto the next play.”But back to Hunt—the subject of the post. Where does that leave him?“That has been the dilemma for us right now, so maybe the running game doesn’t really reflect what we’re able to do on the field,” Duvernay-Tardif said. “I think a game like the Broncos is really where we’re going to be challenged to do good in the run game.”But the Denver Broncos on Monday night may not turn out to be just what the doctor ordered (I’ll be here all week). Through three contests, the Broncos are allowing a fourth-best 77.7 rushing yards per game, so despite the Chiefs’ intention to get the running game on track, it may not happen this week.Still, the Chiefs say Hunt is maintaining the right attitude.After a media opportunity last week in which Bieinemy told us Hunt is “running his ass off,” running backs coach Deland McCullough doubled down Friday by saying Hunt has been willing to do everything he can for the Chiefs.“[Hunt’s] been a great team guy in following along with the plan,” McCullough said. “He has individual things that he’d like to see happen along the way that he wants to see come to fruition. And what we’ve been doing is telling him to continue to trust the process. “Looking at the things he’s done well, the guy’s really been running hard, doing great in pass protection, his attention to detail is on point and continuing just to hammer away at it because those opportunities are going to come for him to get those big runs and when they do, he needs to make sure his details are tight, so he can exploit those.” All offseason, we wondered which star’s numbers would suffer between Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce and Sammy Watkins given there is only one football. Perhaps we were overlooking Hunt, as maybe in the Air Reid, the running back suffers.But if the Chiefs continue to win, that should be OK.Patrick Mahomes Week 4 Film Review: major improvements in managing pressure This is part three of a three-part weekly film analysis on the performance of Patrick Mahomes.Part one here, part two here.Feel for the pocket is an excellent trait for a quarterback. Feel for the readership is a good trait for a writer. Usually http://www.chiefsauthorizedshops.com/aut...unt-jersey , part three is about improvement and what needs improvement.But this week, I have absolutely no desire to write about areas of improvement for Patrick Mahomes, and I don’t think you have any desire to read it. There are a few, but the list keeps getting smaller and smaller and smaller. This week, it feels a little too picky. The performance on Monday Night Football was of the rarest kind. You don’t see many quarterbacks capable of what he did and you certainly don’t frequently see it done at 23 years old.What was so exceptional about the performance for me was clear, obvious growth in areas we’ve talked about in this article already in the past. There have been inconsistencies in how Mahomes manages the pocket. From last week:He has had to work through understanding the use of space in the pocket, knowing when to step up, knowing the timing for bailing out of it and how he will ultimately escape. It’s been up and done. His instincts are to run for depth to create, and he did it too frequently at the wrong times when there were easier options. Denver figured it out. If you read the quote from Von Miller in Pete’s excellent weekly article “The Re-Up,” the Broncos picked up on Mahomes’ instinctual desire to escape with depth out the back of the pocket. If you noticed that some of the pressures the Broncos dialed up against Mahomes right and deeper, it was to eliminate scrambling to his right and to try and catch him trying to get depth. How did Mahomes respond? He made drastic improvements from the pocket. And it’s the reason I’ve given up trying to be level-headed about the kid’s future.Something improvedThe timing of when he works out of structure is rapidly improving.We elaborated on this play and more yesterday. In the moments his team needed him the most, Mahomes showed grown-up poise and timing from the pocket for a perfectly executed escape. He wasn’t early to try to race to the edge with Miller closing; he calmly stepped up and then executed the scramble. The feel for timing is developing.There’s just a clear growing understanding of space. The leap this week was tremendous. He needed it the most this week, and he rose to the occasion. His eyes stay up through the chaos, he steps up to evade pressure and then exits at the right time to find Travis Kelce working to him on the scramble.All these plays keep happening in important moments.You’ve heard me say quarterbacks make their money on third down and in the red zone. Here’s another sign of well-executed escape—another step up into the work outside. He does a great job of maintaining the structure and then escaping with receivers working to him in the more congested red area. Also, a great throw on the run with little margin for error.It’s not just timing scrambles, it’s growth in when he should be working from the pocket. Kareem Hunt drops this, but the process to get it to Hunt is significant. The Chiefs are running a Yankee concept (post and a deep crosser working underneath it). No one is open. It could be very easy for Mahomes to want to create at this point, but he doesn’t. He steps into the pocket and delivers the ball in the face of pressure to a very open Hunt. I would’ve liked to see how many yards Hunt could have went for.We’ve talked about how great Mahomes has been in rhythm from the pocket, but when variables get added the results being not as stellar. Here, Mahomes wants to throw earlier Dee Ford Jersey , but he holds and hangs for an extra beat. There was no panic. He didn’t try to go back to the crutch of running around to create. He stayed and delivered a great ball to Kelce.Denver was challenging him with deep, front-side pressure. They wanted him to lean on old habits. He had the mental toughness to work through it where they didn’t want him to.Mahomes was challenged to grow by the opponent last week. They thought they could affect him and the offense with pressures like this. How did he respond? He just got better. Third down-and-6, and Denver is showing edge pressure from both sides, trying to make the kid process pre-snap. They bail out of backside pressure but bring three off the edge to the front side. Mahomes feels it, but instead of trying to outrun it, he slides away from the rush into space and delivers an excellent ball to Demetrius Harris for a first down that gets called back on a penalty.By the way, those last two plays were in the fourth quarter.When a quarterback scrambles, it initiates it not just for the offense but the defense as well. When you give the structure of the play every chance, it forces the defense to maintain their coverage integrity as well. The longer you wait, the better. Mahomes innately wants to create. He has the ability to do it and his old habits are akin to that urge. He looks anxious to it at times. He has displayed the rare ability, but if he can be more opportunistic with it, the game becomes that much more difficult for defenses.Mahomes was not as quick to create this week. He let it happen organically. He was near flawless in how much time he gave play structure a chance and was rewarded with unmatched production out of the pocket for his correct usage of that element of his game. We’re starting to see the maturity and experience slowly immerse itself into the game-day experience watching the kid. He’s learning, he’s responding to what he’s seen and he’s doing it calmly. He’s slowly turning into a cold-blooded killer. He may already be there.I’ve spent a lot of time the last two years analyzing Kansas City’s young quarterback. I’ve worked hard to pay attention the small details of his game. I try to have honest conversations every week about what I’m seeing. The acceleration of the improvements week to week, even on bigger stages is making it hard for me to contain my belief. I can’t see him failing. It won’t always be pretty, there are still rough waters ahead, but how quickly he learns, responds and translates it is unconscionable. Mistakes gets fixed, comfort is increasing, and nothing scares him. He just has “it.”
amn Larry, at least wait until Alex is in the room to defend himself.Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy provided an alternate take on the matter Friday.“Here’s the thing—I don’t think Pat just wants to pass all the time,” Bieniemy said. “He obviously loves to watch those guys run. I think that he’s just doing a good job of going through his progressions, doing what he’s been taught all week and just taking advantage of the advantageous situations that we’re putting him in. I think it’s just a testament to the kid. He studies a lot of tape. Obviously, there’s still a lot of room to improve, but we’re just going to continue chopping and continue moving in the right direction.”Duvernay-Tardif went on to explain that the problem isn’t necessarily in the run game, but more so that Mahomes chooses to pass at a higher frequency than Alex did. In that regard, Bieniemy is content with the decisions Mahomes is making.Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images“I’m always happy,” Bieniemy explained, “because one thing you don’t want to do—you don’t want any player going out there hesitating and not playing fast, so at the end of the day, whatever we decide to do, let’s go do it fast, let’s go play hard and regardless, we make a mistake or not Youth Kendall Fuller Jersey , it’s onto the next play.”But back to Hunt—the subject of the post. Where does that leave him?“That has been the dilemma for us right now, so maybe the running game doesn’t really reflect what we’re able to do on the field,” Duvernay-Tardif said. “I think a game like the Broncos is really where we’re going to be challenged to do good in the run game.”But the Denver Broncos on Monday night may not turn out to be just what the doctor ordered (I’ll be here all week). Through three contests, the Broncos are allowing a fourth-best 77.7 rushing yards per game, so despite the Chiefs’ intention to get the running game on track, it may not happen this week.Still, the Chiefs say Hunt is maintaining the right attitude.After a media opportunity last week in which Bieinemy told us Hunt is “running his ass off,” running backs coach Deland McCullough doubled down Friday by saying Hunt has been willing to do everything he can for the Chiefs.“[Hunt’s] been a great team guy in following along with the plan,” McCullough said. “He has individual things that he’d like to see happen along the way that he wants to see come to fruition. And what we’ve been doing is telling him to continue to trust the process. “Looking at the things he’s done well, the guy’s really been running hard, doing great in pass protection, his attention to detail is on point and continuing just to hammer away at it because those opportunities are going to come for him to get those big runs and when they do, he needs to make sure his details are tight, so he can exploit those.” All offseason, we wondered which star’s numbers would suffer between Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce and Sammy Watkins given there is only one football. Perhaps we were overlooking Hunt, as maybe in the Air Reid, the running back suffers.But if the Chiefs continue to win, that should be OK.Patrick Mahomes Week 4 Film Review: major improvements in managing pressure This is part three of a three-part weekly film analysis on the performance of Patrick Mahomes.Part one here, part two here.Feel for the pocket is an excellent trait for a quarterback. Feel for the readership is a good trait for a writer. Usually http://www.chiefsauthorizedshops.com/aut...unt-jersey , part three is about improvement and what needs improvement.But this week, I have absolutely no desire to write about areas of improvement for Patrick Mahomes, and I don’t think you have any desire to read it. There are a few, but the list keeps getting smaller and smaller and smaller. This week, it feels a little too picky. The performance on Monday Night Football was of the rarest kind. You don’t see many quarterbacks capable of what he did and you certainly don’t frequently see it done at 23 years old.What was so exceptional about the performance for me was clear, obvious growth in areas we’ve talked about in this article already in the past. There have been inconsistencies in how Mahomes manages the pocket. From last week:He has had to work through understanding the use of space in the pocket, knowing when to step up, knowing the timing for bailing out of it and how he will ultimately escape. It’s been up and done. His instincts are to run for depth to create, and he did it too frequently at the wrong times when there were easier options. Denver figured it out. If you read the quote from Von Miller in Pete’s excellent weekly article “The Re-Up,” the Broncos picked up on Mahomes’ instinctual desire to escape with depth out the back of the pocket. If you noticed that some of the pressures the Broncos dialed up against Mahomes right and deeper, it was to eliminate scrambling to his right and to try and catch him trying to get depth. How did Mahomes respond? He made drastic improvements from the pocket. And it’s the reason I’ve given up trying to be level-headed about the kid’s future.Something improvedThe timing of when he works out of structure is rapidly improving.We elaborated on this play and more yesterday. In the moments his team needed him the most, Mahomes showed grown-up poise and timing from the pocket for a perfectly executed escape. He wasn’t early to try to race to the edge with Miller closing; he calmly stepped up and then executed the scramble. The feel for timing is developing.There’s just a clear growing understanding of space. The leap this week was tremendous. He needed it the most this week, and he rose to the occasion. His eyes stay up through the chaos, he steps up to evade pressure and then exits at the right time to find Travis Kelce working to him on the scramble.All these plays keep happening in important moments.You’ve heard me say quarterbacks make their money on third down and in the red zone. Here’s another sign of well-executed escape—another step up into the work outside. He does a great job of maintaining the structure and then escaping with receivers working to him in the more congested red area. Also, a great throw on the run with little margin for error.It’s not just timing scrambles, it’s growth in when he should be working from the pocket. Kareem Hunt drops this, but the process to get it to Hunt is significant. The Chiefs are running a Yankee concept (post and a deep crosser working underneath it). No one is open. It could be very easy for Mahomes to want to create at this point, but he doesn’t. He steps into the pocket and delivers the ball in the face of pressure to a very open Hunt. I would’ve liked to see how many yards Hunt could have went for.We’ve talked about how great Mahomes has been in rhythm from the pocket, but when variables get added the results being not as stellar. Here, Mahomes wants to throw earlier Dee Ford Jersey , but he holds and hangs for an extra beat. There was no panic. He didn’t try to go back to the crutch of running around to create. He stayed and delivered a great ball to Kelce.Denver was challenging him with deep, front-side pressure. They wanted him to lean on old habits. He had the mental toughness to work through it where they didn’t want him to.Mahomes was challenged to grow by the opponent last week. They thought they could affect him and the offense with pressures like this. How did he respond? He just got better. Third down-and-6, and Denver is showing edge pressure from both sides, trying to make the kid process pre-snap. They bail out of backside pressure but bring three off the edge to the front side. Mahomes feels it, but instead of trying to outrun it, he slides away from the rush into space and delivers an excellent ball to Demetrius Harris for a first down that gets called back on a penalty.By the way, those last two plays were in the fourth quarter.When a quarterback scrambles, it initiates it not just for the offense but the defense as well. When you give the structure of the play every chance, it forces the defense to maintain their coverage integrity as well. The longer you wait, the better. Mahomes innately wants to create. He has the ability to do it and his old habits are akin to that urge. He looks anxious to it at times. He has displayed the rare ability, but if he can be more opportunistic with it, the game becomes that much more difficult for defenses.Mahomes was not as quick to create this week. He let it happen organically. He was near flawless in how much time he gave play structure a chance and was rewarded with unmatched production out of the pocket for his correct usage of that element of his game. We’re starting to see the maturity and experience slowly immerse itself into the game-day experience watching the kid. He’s learning, he’s responding to what he’s seen and he’s doing it calmly. He’s slowly turning into a cold-blooded killer. He may already be there.I’ve spent a lot of time the last two years analyzing Kansas City’s young quarterback. I’ve worked hard to pay attention the small details of his game. I try to have honest conversations every week about what I’m seeing. The acceleration of the improvements week to week, even on bigger stages is making it hard for me to contain my belief. I can’t see him failing. It won’t always be pretty, there are still rough waters ahead, but how quickly he learns, responds and translates it is unconscionable. Mistakes gets fixed, comfort is increasing, and nothing scares him. He just has “it.”