Patriots quarterback Tom Brady sat his rookie season too, and then played really well his second year.
That’s about the extent of the similarities he sees between himself and Patrick Mahomes.
During his weekly spot on WEEI, Brady said the changes in the football landscape now make it hard to compare him taking over for Drew Bledsoe and Mahomes taking over for Alex Smith.
“Football was different then. I think now, in some ways, pro football is more glorified college football. Maybe the transition is a more similar game than what it used to be when I first started,” Brady said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. “I think football now, removing some of the physical elements of the game, it’s more of a space game, you see a lot of college plays more in the pro game than what I remember when I started. That’s kind of how things have went over the last bunch of years.”
The Chiefs are certainly running a different offense than Brady was or is, and Brady noted the Chiefs tailoring what they do to their platoon of skill position talent.
Brady’s boss was also effusive, for him, in his praise of Mahomes.
Asked what impressed him about the Chiefs quarterback, Bill Belichick replied: “Pretty much everything.”
“He gets the ball to all of his receivers quick, quick release, sees things quickly, can extend plays . . . makes good decisions, accurate, gets the ball out on time.”
Yes, that’s one way to put it.
Mahomes is 112-of-176 for 1,513 yards with 14 touchdowns and two interceptions in his first five starts this year, winning all five.
In Brady’s first five starts in 2001 after Bledsoe was injured, he was 99-of-159 for 1,023 yards, with seven touchdowns and four interceptions, going 3-2 along the way.