In American football, the greatest treasure guarded by NFL teams is usually in the playbook of plays that quarterbacks memorize. The idea is to always try to surprise the opposition, so the on-field laboratory of coaches and players is constantly being developed week in and week out.
Patrick Mahomes has revealed some of the crazy names they give their ideas. For example, Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid is in favor of letting the team have some of that creativity, although in the end he has the final say in giving the green light. “If you let them do it, the guys are more motivated. They can pitch me anything, but I have 51 percent of that vote,” Reid said. “They have to be perfect for Reid to like them,” Mahomes said. “We make up a lot of plays. The coaches start them and then we finish them.”
And what crazy names do those plays have? The Chiefs’ are pretty special. “They usually have something to do with the player or the city we play in. ‘Tom and Jerry’s,’ ‘Tampa Z Bagel Egg,’ ‘Montana Orange Discount’…we had one that was ‘Call Home,’ after Sammy Watkins because he liked aliens,” Mahomes said with a smile.
Mahomes’ favorite play: The Roadrunner
Mahomes is a student of the NFL and knows every opponent inside out. And he enjoys every play they come up with to hurt defenses. “One of my favorites, and one that we worked on all pre-season, was one where I turn, pretend I’m going to throw flat and pass it underneath to Clyde (Edwards-Helaire) for a towdown. I think we call it ‘Roadrunner’ because Clyde is short and very fast,” said Mahomes
Ferrari’ is another: “I take the snap going one way, I turn around and the defense has to react to me catching the ball and running one way and putting a pass in.” Other Chiefs favorites are called ‘Smoked Sausage’ or ‘Black Pearl’.
