Sam Mellinger (and Chiefs coach Andy Reid) explain Patrick Mahomes’ interceptions

Blame the Royals for at least some of this, because if they didn’t stink so badly we wouldn’t be spending so much time obsessing over training-camp interceptions and whether Chiefs coach Andy Reid put Alex Smith on blast this week.

Point No. 1: It’s camp, you guys. Relax.

Point No. 2: He didn’t insult Smith. In fact, Reid is more likely to pass up his favorite cheeseburger than he is to insult Smith.

But this is still worth talking about, because Reid consistently projects a stubborn obliviousness of what is said and written about his team, but here are the first two sentences he spoke on Thursday when asked an open-ended question about quarterback Patrick Mahomes:

“I know people wrote about the interceptions,” he said. “I told you at the beginning of camp: I don’t care about all that stuff.”

Well, of course he cares about all of this stuff. He cares deeply about this, because Mahomes is his quarterback, hand-selected with the use of two first-round picks and the man who more than anyone else will determine whether Reid is a Super Bowl champion.

You know he cares about the interceptions, because he brought it up, which led to him saying it takes “intestinal fortitude” to test plays in camp, which led him to deride “one of these quarterbacks who checks it down every time,” which led lots of people in Kansas City and beyond to point and gasp that Reid had just kicked Smith in his noodle arm (that’s a joke) — and at some point can we maybe all agree to be reasonable?

This is all fascinating to watch, actually, at least from a detached, out-of-harm’s-way-from-the-car-crash type of vibe. And, honestly, wouldn’t you have taken the under on week two of training camp sparking the Is Patrick Mahomes Throwing Too Many Picks conversation?

Because for days and weeks and even months Chiefs fans have told themselves a lie. We all do this, in some way in our lives, whether it’s about diet or exercise or something more nefarious.

The fans’ lie goes something like this:

Patrick Mahomes will have his struggles and that’s OK because it’s part of his development.

Maybe you have told yourself this lie. Maybe someone you love has told it. Either way, if you are a Chiefs fan and know other Chiefs fans, you have almost certainly heard this lie.

If you disagree, imagine what would be said if Mahomes performed in a game the way he did in about an hour’s span of one training-camp practice this week.

Two interceptions, each caused by basic error, including one at the goal line. A third interception came on a free play, so we aren’t counting it.

The next day, he threw two more, or maybe it was three, but thankfully official statistics do not exist for things like training-camp practices.

Each interception can be explained. Once, Mahomes forced a throw despite a wide-open running lane into the end zone because, in his telling, he didn’t want to hear the defenders talking trash on him because they’re not allowed to tackle him. It’s an elementary mistake, even if that trash talk is real.

“I can’t resay it right now,” he said. “I curse a little too much, so I can’t say it. This is PG.”

Another time, Mahomes called the wrong play in the huddle, then made it worse by trying to force. The Chiefs ran lots of red-zone stuff the next day, and Mahomes threw two more interceptions in tight quarters, including one that Steven Nelson made sure to run all the way back to the opposite end zone.

It’s entirely possible that Mahomes has already thrown more interceptions in this camp than Smith did all of last year’s camp. If not, it’s factually accurate that he’s thrown nearly twice as many interceptions in this camp compared to Smith all of last season.

Which brings us back to the lie:

Because a lot of people who swore they would be OK with a few bumps are already going nervous a week before the first preseason game.

But there are reasons to remain reasonable here, and not just because we’re still more than a month away from real games.

At least some of this is by design. Interceptions are bad, and should be avoided, but like most coaches Reid has always used OTAs and training camp to load as much as possible on his offenses and particularly his quarterbacks.

He wants to stretch limits, and challenge comfort zones, which is smart because it’s the only way to know the former and expand the latter.

Mahomes will learn. Or, at least, that’s the bet. He’ll run it in a real game, and when he calls the wrong play in the huddle he’ll throw it away or take the sack or otherwise figure out how to produce a result that’s not a turnover.

That will happen, too. Reid and offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy are each fond of saying Mahomes never makes the same mistake twice, and they’re not being literal, because of course he’s going to make interceptions that look similar.

The Chiefs are going from a guy who led the league in lowest interception rate partly because of his caution to one who will lead the league in highlight throws partly because of his flare.

They had a nice and perfectly sensible Volvo, and traded it in for a souped-up Mustang with racing stripes on the side. They’ll have more fun, but they might run into a few more guardrails, too.

You can’t have the best of both worlds, is the point, and there is nothing yet to suggest that Mahomes isn’t worth living through a few scratches.

There’s a different tempo at these practices, a heightened anticipation of what might happen next. No-look passes, and throws released before a receiver goes into his cut. Where Smith seemed to go downfield only if he knew he could, Mahomes at times seems to go downfield except when he knows he can’t.

Shortly after his second interception on Thursday, Mahomes made perhaps his best throw of the week, a remarkable blend of talent and brains to beat a blitzing linebacker for a long touchdown.

The Chiefs’ bet is that we’ll see more of that as time goes on, and less of the wrong play-calls. Hopefully, we can all agree that the first week of August is not yet long enough for “as time goes on.”

This story was originally published August 2, 2018 at 10:06 PM.