Fox announcer who will call Chiefs-Lions game says Patrick Mahomes is a ‘rock star’
Something interesting began happening on social media a little more than a year ago.
Many people began sharing videos before Chiefs games of quarterback Patrick Mahomes warming up. Pregame videos are nothing new, but Mahomes’ pregame throws frequently went viral and they remain popular.
“He’s so much fun to watch that I compare (Mahomes) in a football sense to the great home run hitters in baseball,” Fox Sports analyst Charles Davis said in a phone interview. “Whatever your era was, when that player came to town, you went to the ballpark to watch. You went early for batting practice to see that guy. If you were around and Babe Ruth was playing, you wanted to get there to see Babe Ruth at batting practice. You wanted to see Hank Aaron at batting practice, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, (Barry) Bonds. ...
“So you got there early to see those guys swinging the bat. I know people get to the football stadium early to see Patrick Mahomes warm up and throw it pregame. That’s who he is now. He’s that rock star that we all want to get a look at and see when he decides to show that arm off in pregame. Because to us, that’s special.”
Davis will get that chance Sunday when he calls the Chiefs-Lions game, which will be shown on WDAF (Fox 4), with Kevin Burkhardt.
Mahomes won last year’s NFL Most Valuable Player award and has 10 touchdowns and 1,195 passing yards through three games this season, but Davis is impressed with more than the stats.
“While we’re all wowed and dazzled and I hope we don’t take for granted what we see from him, but I just see a kid who has a thirst for continuing to get better and a thirst for chasing excellence,” Davis said. “And with the start that he’s had, human nature is to go, ‘Yeah, I kinda got this.’ And you don’t get that sense at all with him and that Kansas City team and the offense. You get the sense that ‘What we did this week that’s pretty darn good, but I think we can do a few more things next week.’
“He’s not even looking satisfied. And again it’s human nature when you’re playing well, you almost feel like I got it. And that’s really not him at all.”
Mahomes and the Chiefs offense are on a roll again this season. Kansas City is ranked second in yards per game and third in points scored. That’s why Davis believes the Lions don’t want to get in a shootout, even with Matthew Stafford at quarterback.
“But can you make this game muddy enough?” Davis asked. “Can you grit it up enough? Can your running game have an impact? The Ravens ran for 203 yards (last Sunday) between (Mark) Ingram and with Lamar Jackson and his sorties. Well, Matt Stafford’s not going to run like Lamar Jackson. But they want to run the football more, they want to be more aggressive doing it. They drafted a big offensive line they haven’t been able to cut loose. But can they run it well enough to take some time off the clock, advance the football and finally get Kerryon Johnson going?”
Johnson has just 126 yards in 48 carries (2.6 average), but Davis noted the Lions’ offensive line is stacked with big bodies that could cause the Chiefs problems.
In particular, Davis pointed out Taylor Decker is a former first-round pick who is 6-foot-7 and 318 pounds, while Graham Glasgow is 6-6, 310 pounds and Frank Ragnow is 6-5, 311 pounds.
“They like big people, they want to see if they can move the line of scrimmage a little bit as well as protecting Stafford,” Davis said. “That’s been really crazy for them. They have gone two straight games without giving up a sack.”
Detroit might try to follow one aspect of the Ravens’ plan, Davis said, and that’s to gamble a bit more.
Baltimore did some unconventional things in the 33-28 loss to the Chiefs, including going for a two-point conversion on the game’s first touchdown and attempting to convert four fourth-down plays.
“I think we’re going to see more and more of that through the year. Because if you’re dealing with a Kansas City offense that has a quarterback who is the best in the league and, in 20 starts, the least amount of points he and the offense have put up is 26, then you know kicking field goals won’t get you to your goal,” Davis said.
“So I wouldn’t be surprised to see more and more teams, maybe not quite to the extent of the Baltimore precedent, but if it’s close in some occasions, you may have some coaches that will go for more and try and score sixes rather than threes. Because they know they got to deal with that Kansas City offense, and I don’t care who you are on defense, you can’t count your defense to deal with that all game long.”
This story was originally published September 27, 2019 at 10:02 AM.