In the pictured play, Mahomes and Kelce connect on a spectacular 4th and Goal play that is more concerning than it is amazing.
Picture 1 shows that 3 defenders are inside and Worthy gets a free release with only a single defender covering the outside edge of the endzone. If Worthy goes to the back corner and Hollywood goes to the flat, its a guarantee that one of them will be open.
Picture 2 shows Hollywood stops running and turns the route into a hitch, allowing the defender to catch up. Meanwhile, instead of breaking to the open corner of the endzone, Worthy flattens his route, allowing himself to be covered by the only defender in that area.
Mahomes chooses Kelce on a double move high point contested catch. But why? Why did Hollywood stop running? Why did Worthy flatten his route? Why is Rice jogging on a 4th and Goal?
Receiver problem or coaching problem?
17 comments
Just an impression but I haven’t seen mahomes or chiefs throw at the corner of the end zones much. Someone correct me
Nice breakdown. I say a little of both
Rice is jogging because he’s in the open spot of the zone and doesn’t want to run to where the defender is, worthy should’ve floated to the back corner but it’s still a tough pass, brown stops because he has the inside and is open for a touchdown, you can’t make a throw to the outside with a defender sitting on it.
Tough loss. We got a lot of things to clean up. I gotta take responsibility. I have to be better. We’re gonna work on that and get back out there.
Perhaps Hollywood is stopped because it makes no sense for him to bring his defender to the open part of the field that Worthy is headed toward?
This looks like a Pat problem, to be honest.
Brown has inside leverage, so if Pat puts it on him, it’s a TD.
Worthy is a little out of place, but if Pat pays one into the corner with some air under it, only Worthy can make the play.
Rice is slowing through the opening in the zone. Pat could rifle one in there, and there’s a good chance Rice scores, though he might get blown up trying to make the catch.
Kelce is the least open, and it looks like another case of Pat deciding where the ball is going regardless of how the play develops.
In the moment I noticed worthy breaking to the corner and I jumped up and screamed TD. Nope, tight window to triple covered Kelce
The entire play was designed to be a qb run which teams are stopping every time now.
Some of this is because a lot of the offense allows for option routes and why we end up in scenarios like this. It’s not on every play, but it one of the key aspects of Reid’s offense are the options for receivers to decide where they go within a space.
In general this can offer flexibility and creativity within structure but also create confusing play development and hesitation by the QB to see a play unfold. When you add in a receiver group who might struggle feeling a defense or understand leverage, or just not being able to know what the man next to them is running… you get plays like this.
Always comes back to coaching. Not to mention, it just feels like these guys aren’t playing as a team. Just dudes out there doing shit.
Maybe we should stop making every route an option route. Just give these guys freaking routes to run, maybe Pat will start trusting things more. We wouldn’t have to rely on the receiver and quarterback being in complete neurological synergy
Coaching. Let them run real routes
The problem is with our receivers. We only have 1 WR that has demonstrated the ability to catch a contested ball which is why Pat goes to Travis in these cases. Our receivers cannot body-out defenders and it kills us in the red zone.
Are we just going to completely disregard that you have no idea what their routes were in the huddle and every play is not a “run where is open” option for the receiver? Yes, sometimes receivers have the option to break off their route, but they do have routes they follow. This isn’t pick up touch football on the street. You are the definition of an arm chair QB.
The only one open is worthy and I don’t think Mahomes trusts him to make a toe tap corner end zone catch and get both feet in bounds
Probably because it’s the play call… if you just run wherever you want no matter the circumstances then mahomes will throw way more picks and incompletions