Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is already one of the most accomplished players at his position in NFL history. Not yet 30 years old, Mahomes has won three Super Bowls, three Super Bowl MVP Awards, two NFL MVP Awards, and is a two-time First Team All-Pro (and six-time Pro Bowl selection).
Mahomes’ head coach, Andy Reid, knows a thing or two about coaching all-time great quarterbacks. Now considered one of the greatest head coaches of all-time, Reid got his start in the NFL as an assistant for the Green Bay Packers. He was their tight ends coach from 1992-1996 and the quarterbacks coach from 1997-1998.
Of course, his stint as quarterbacks coach coincided with Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre‘s last two MVP seasons.
Former Green Bay Packers Quarterback Brett Favre Did Not Know What a Nickel Defense Was
Favre has become somewhat of a controversial figure over the last decade and a half thanks to a string of scandals in which he has allegedly been involved. But prior to that, he was one of the most beloved players in the NFL, and certainly among Packers fans.
One story that is still frequently told, even by the Hall of Fame quarterback himself, despite the allegations against him, is that when Favre first arrived in Green Bay via trade from the Atlanta Falcons in 1992, he did not know what a nickel defense was.
“Finally, I said, ‘I just gotta know.’ So I said, ‘Ty, I gotta ask you a question.’ And Ty was about as goofy as I was.
“He says, ‘What’s that?’
“I said, ‘What’s a nickel defense?’
“He gets real quiet. He says, ‘Are you serious?’
“‘Yeah, I’m serious.’
“He says, ‘Well, they basically take out a linebacker and bring in a DB.’
“I said, ‘That’s it?’
“He said, ‘That’s it.’
“I said, ‘Who gives a s–t?'”
Ty Detmer, who was one of the Packers’ other quarterbacks at the time, confirmed the story as true back in 2017. “He didn’t know,” Detmer said. “He was sincere in asking.”
It was surprising that Favre, whose father was a high school football coach, was clueless as to what such a common defensive formation was.
But what may even more surprising is the similar confession Mahomes made a few years ago.
Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes Says He Did Not Know How to Read Defenses Until 2019
Recently, a clip of a Mahomes interview from midway through the 2020 season resurfaced on X (formerly Twitter). In it, the Chiefs quarterback, who had already won a Super Bowl, MVP, and made three Pro Bowls, admitted that he did not know how to read defenses until his fourth season in the NFL.
“I didn’t understand how to read defenses until like halfway through last year,” Mahomes admitted. He explained that he did not really start playing quarterback until his Junior year of high school, which was approximately six or seven years before the video was filmed.
Based off of his comments, he did not really understand how to read defenses until midway through the 2019 season, which coincidentally is when he won his first Super Bowl.
Mahomes has often been compared to Favre because of the impossible throws both quarterbacks have been/were able to make in their careers. This surprising lack of understanding of a quintessential part of the quarterback position can be added to the list of similarities between the two.
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