[FULL SHOW] Will Patrick Mahomes Be The Same QB?

It's time to talk that talk, and we talk it like no one else. This is the stinking truth. Now, here's your host, Mark Schlerer. Hey, welcome to the Sync Truth Podcast alongside Mike Evans. I am Mark Schlart. Thank you so much for making us a part of your day. Make sure you subscribe on our YouTube channel. Also, you can download us wherever you get your podcasts. Apple, Spotify, also part of the Odyssey Radio Network. Mike, how are you, buddy? I'm good. I'm kind of curious how you're doing because I know with your very, very tight relationship that you have with the Shanahan family, Mike Shanahan, your surrogate father and all. I'm just kind of curious your reaction to the news about Kyle Shanahan who got into an accident a couple of weeks ago. I mean, it was bad. Severe concussion, broken hand, ribs, 40 stitches.

to the point where he's going to be somewhat limited here at the start of training camp. Yeah, obviously, myself and my wife, Lisa, are very tight with the Shanahan family, Mike and Peggy, Kyle's parents. And Mike is who I played for here in Denver. And so my wife was keeping track of Kyle through Peggy. And anyhow, I reached out to Kyle today just to check on him. And he sent me a picture. Holy Moses. He was just like, Lord have mercy. So I'm glad he's doing OK. He's doing much better now.

Obviously, that's scary, scary stuff. Anytime you get in an accident like that. Although I did reach out. I did reach out. This is classic Schlereth right here. This is Stink in a nutshell. Okay, here we go. Once I found out that he's okay, right? Once I was texting back and forth with Kyle and he's okay, then I reached out to their equipment manager, Jay Bird. So Jay Bird was my equipment manager when I started playing professional football with the Washington Redskins. So he's been in the league for 50 some odd years. And I told him, do me a favor.

Get one of those concussion caps they put over the helmets, put it in Kyle's locker with Shanahan across the forehead, and make sure you have a note from me that says you cannot go out to practice for the first three weeks of training camp unless you have this concussion prevention helmet on. So we'll see if Jay Bird gets that done for me and if Kyle actually wears that damn thing out. That would be funny. Right? That would be funny. Yeah. That would be funny. That's just me showing love to Kyle Shanahan. But he's doing good. He looks much better. But boy, what a brutal accident, man. That thing beats the living snot out of guy. Boy, did it really. Speaking of injuries, coming back from injuries, positive updates coming back from injuries.

Patrick Mahomes has been cleared for full participation at Chiefs training camp. We've already seen him out there. Andy Reid applying the obligatory coach speak breaks. Hey, you know, we're going to still monitor this and we're going to bring it along slowly. But not a surprise. It seems like we're going to expect to see Patrick Mahomes full go ready to go opening night against the Broncos Monday Night Football. Yeah, I think we all expected that. I don't think that's breaking news by any stretch of the imagination. We felt like Patrick Mahomes was going to be ready to go and that he would be lined up under center on Monday Night Football to open up the season. Although I will say this.

there has been this, I don't want to call it a precipitous decline, but there's just been this decline since 2022 with Patrick Mahomes. And part of it is the transition from being, you know, an offensive juggernaut early in his career to more defensive-based team and all those different things. But I will say here in Denver, there used to be a time where he was the boogeyman. I think it was 17 straight times the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos with Mahomes at the helm. I mean, it was just, I mean, it was just brutal. And it got to the point where we weren't even like,

We were playing them close, but it did feel like there was a little bit of ho-hum boredom that had set in. Like I had referred to it on our radio show is like a mouse or like a cat playing with a half dead mouse on the porch, you know, just batting it around. And that's what it felt like to me. Like the Kansas City Chiefs were like, OK, oh, the Broncos are really giving us a fight. All right, let's go ahead and just squash this uprising.

But I don't feel that way anymore. Like Patrick Mahomes is not here in Denver, at least not the boogeyman he once was. Now, I don't want to in a one score game, give him the ball with a minute and 30 left because I don't feel like that's smart. And I don't feel like like you're ever going to you're going to win that battle. Nine times out of 10, he's going to find a way to win that battle. But I do feel a lot more confidence where the Broncos sit right now as the reigning AFC West champions. And I do feel really good about them having the opportunity to repeat as the AFC West. 2022, he threw for over 5,000 yards, 41 touchdowns.

And then in the subsequent three years, the yardage has gone down each year. The touchdown passes have gone down. He's now living in the mid-20s when it comes to touchdowns. The interceptions are still into double digits, which is not where you expect to see the elite quarterbacks live. So is it fair, Mark, to say that Patrick Mahomes has reached a crossroads in his career where he kind of has to go and prove himself again?

Yeah, I'm not going to go that far. I think Patrick Mahomes is still one of the top two or three quarterbacks in the league, even with an off year last year. Really? Top two or three? Yeah. You don't think you're giving too much of a nod to what he's done in the past? You're laying his reputation cloud things? He did go to three straight world championship games. And listen, man, he is still...

at the end of the game, you have to plan. Like when you're playing Patrick Mahomes, you're sitting there thinking from a game planning standpoint, okay, one, we're going to have to be judicious with how many times we give him the ball in a normal game. You're going to get about 12 possessions. Can we squeeze that through run of the ball, possessing the game, possessing the ball, you know, game clock and all that stuff. Can we swing, squeeze that down to eight possessions? And then even if we do that, we still don't want to give him the ball last. Like there's still that feeling in the national football. Like I will tell you, I will tell you this though. Like, you know, and I've always felt this way. Great quarterbacks make like,

like great quarterbacks elevate everybody else's game, right? He's got to do that. And I still think, I look at their receiving core, I look at what they put together on the offensive side of the ball, and I still think a Stephon Diggs would be like a perfect before training camp signing. One year, Stephon Diggs deal to really take some of that pressure, especially in those third down conversions in the middle of the football field that has been where Travis Kelsey has, like, that's where he's won. That's where he's been the difference maker. Like Stephon Diggs last year with New England was phenomenal.

at conversions. Phenomenal. In the middle of the football field, run a little option routes, run a little, you know, whip routes, doing all the things, the dirty work stuff, catching the shallow crosses, catching the low crosses, you know, in traffic. He was great. And I feel like Kansas City needs that player on their roster. But see, I think you're making my case here that Mahomes has kind of reached the crossroads because for the first time, and I've heard it over the last couple of years, is the idea that, well, yeah, Mahomes' numbers are what they are, but he needs more help. You got to put better talent around him. But if we're talking about all-time great quarterbacks,

You never heard that about Peyton Manning. Never heard that about Tom Brady. Those guys, you could put pretty much anybody out there and those guys would not only make it work with those guys, they'd elevate these guys. Well, I'll give you Brady because Brady had in the two years he had Moss, I think was two years they had Moss, which was, you know, I mean, Randy Moss was one of the greatest players in the history of this league. They didn't win the world championship. Now they win 18-0, but they didn't win a Super Bowl championship with that. So Brady, yes.

But, I mean, Mahomes had Reggie Wayne and had, you know, Manning had. I mean, Manning had Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison. You know, when he came to Denver, he had Demarius Thomas. He had Wes Welker. He had, you know. Yeah, but you look at DT and Sanders and those guys. Look at those numbers when they were playing with Peyton Manning. And then look at their numbers when they were playing with some other quarterback. It was very clear. You can't. It was very clear the quarterback was elevating the players. Yeah. You can't. OK. Like, you can't put that in the same category as Tebow.

Like that, that was not, I wasn't specifically thinking about him. Well, I don't know. Well, that's where, that's where Peyton took over. That's true. The bar was low. Yes. Okay. So, but other than Brady, other than Brady, like, and he's the go for a reason. I get all those things. I get what you're saying. He did. I mean, he's one year removed from going to three straight Superbowls and doing it.

You know, where they had eliminated a lot of that offensive firepower that they had. And, you know, Andy Reid has never truly wanted to run the ball. True. So it'll be it'll be really, really interesting. But, you know, that said, Mahomes is back. The league is Mahomes is great for the league. And we all like I have so much respect for him. I want to hate his guts. I really do. But I don't because I have so much respect for the way he has played over the course of his career. We're here in Denver. And even while Patrick Mahomes was just beating the Broncos brains in year after year, I never really got the sense that Bronco fans had to really kind of really fight to sum it up any real.

hate for the guy you know he's just not that kind of guy but i i just will leave it at at this okay i'm not saying that if i'm an opposing team that i'd rather get justin fields than patrick mahomes okay he's still formidable but all i'm saying is that i think that mahomes is no longer the boogeyman and that shows that he's kind of at a bit of a crossroads can he get back to being the boogeyman or is this what he's going to be moving forward all right we should we shall see fans and Seahawks fans, you understand that this whole season is just a, why even bother? Because the Rams are going to win the Super Bowl. That's what everybody tells me. Yeah, it's already been scripted. And now Aaron Donald, boy, Sean McVay isn't even hiding it. Like this notion that, you know, hey, I don't know if Aaron Donald's going to come back. You know, I'm concentrating on the guys that are here right now. We'll see. He's like openly talking about, you know, the regiment that Aaron Donald is on and how if anybody can come back, it's Aaron Donald. So you still think it's a matter of when, not if Aaron Donald comes back to the Rams. 100%. Like there's no question, there hasn't been any question in my mind for ever since that deal went down with Miles Garrett.

that Aaron Donald was coming back. And there's still no question in my mind that Aaron Donald can walk in the league after taking two years off at 35 years old and still be in the best defensive tackle in football. There's no question in my mind that he puts fear into the offensive. Like there's not an offensive lineman in the National Football League that is that isn't on pennant knee praying that Aaron Donald decides, you know what? I've had enough. I'm going to stay out of the league because he is that formidable. He is that difficult to block. He is that good. And not only Mike, not only is it the skill set, you know, the strength, the speed and the quickness, the leverage with which he plays. It's also the intelligence with which he plays.

I mean, if he gets double team, man, he will eat up that double team so linebackers can flow free. And he does it exceptionally well. Like there is nothing that this guy doesn't do that isn't elite. He just he's just a freak show. So in my mind, he can walk back on the football field week one, you know, go through some patty cake practices in no pads.

Step on the football field and still be the best defensive tackle in football at age 35. Have you missed two years of football? I mean, I got enough respect for what you guys do in the trenches to be skeptical about that. It's that easy to come back and not only play, but dominate it to be the best in the league. No, no, it's not that easy. It's exceptionally hard. Yeah. But you're talking about an alien from a different planet. You're talking about the Predator.

You know, you know, that movie. Yeah. Yeah. Like that. Pea shiver it a little bit. Right. I can go with total invisibility. Get to the chopper. Yeah. Get to the chopper. Yeah. Yeah. Like he is is one of those dudes. We used to say he's like about the Dallas Cowboys back in the day and back in the day. Man, who's Larry Allen? Oh.

We just be like, you watch dudes get the Larry Allen flu. Right. Like, dude, like we would do this all the time. I remember Trevor Price was a young player for us, you know, really good player, probably. Oh, yeah. And we would just come out of film room and like we're playing whoever we're playing and be like, oh, dude, dude, we're just watching the Cowboys play against this defense.

what Larry Allen is doing to players right now. So cruel. Right. It was just like, Oh my God, we just call Larry Allen the landlord because he owned the space between center and tackle. He just like, that was, you're just paying rent. Yeah. And he is like, he is, I mean, he is just dispensing freaking justice and guys that get the Larry Allen flu. Like guys all of a sudden with, Hey, I'm tapping out of this game. Like that's Aaron Donald, man. You get the Aaron Donald flu when you play against him because he is that good. And, and I have like, again, I know a lot of people have pushed back on this with me and been like, well, he's been out for two years. I,

don't give a flying, you know, you know what? I don't. He is that dominant player. He will wreak havoc on players in this league. Well, it will probably not surprise you, Mark, that Jerry Judy finds himself involved in a little controversy. He was doing a TikTok live stream, TikTok video in which he was asked who he thinks or who he wants to be the Browns starting quarterback. And he put up four fingers. Allegedly. Allegedly. And if you watch it, there's a bit of a glitch in the middle of the video that makes you think, all right, what was that? Was it doctor? Exactly. And that's what Jerry Judy said.

was the case that, hey, that thing got doctored because immediately people saw the four fingers and they immediately said Deshaun Watson. He followed up by saying, sorry, you're trying to get me. You're not going to get me. That's not what I said. I got respect for both quarterbacks. That's not my decision. It's the coach's decision. So if you're Jerry Judy, you're an offensive player on that offense right now. Who are you rooting for?

Watson or Shador Sanders? You're rooting for the guy that gets you the ball the most in training camp. And listen, man, I've been one that has said, man, I think that Watson will win that competition. But I'm not so sure. I really, I'm just not so sure anymore. I just don't know. Like, we talk about Aaron Donald coming back, and there's no question in my mind that Aaron Donald's going to come back. And Deshaun Watson, for a time, you remember when they were talking about trading him and people were throwing around, you know, four first rounders. Not a problem. We give up four. Five. Five first rounders. And, man, he was one of the best young quarterbacks.

in football. And then his career fell apart with the whole massage thing and all the things that went down in regards to that. And then he had multiple injuries. He just has never been the same guy. And I will tell you, for me, some people use the football field as an escape.

They can get away from whatever their problems are. That wasn't that's not how I'm wired, man. If things weren't great at home, if things weren't like if I hadn't taken care of my responsibilities in business, I've got the kind of mentality that I just that would affect me even going into a game. So I wanted to have my ducks in a row. I want to have studied. I know I know that I'm going to do everything I can leave no stone unturned to be the best player I am. But I also have to have things right at home. I can't.

I'm not an escapism guy. I'm not. Hey, man, I got all these legal troubles or all these marital issues. I got all these other issues. But once I get on the football field, I can throw all those things away and they don't affect me. It's not how I'm wired. And obviously, I don't think that's how he's wired. So it'll be interesting to see how he comes back, not only from the mental anguish that he created, and it's his own fault. You created it, right? It's your dumb ass decisions that created these things, you know, but also some of the physical issues that he has had. So we'll see. This is going to be a really interesting competition. I happen to believe and I've had my tete-a-tete with Jerry Judy in the past and, you know, and thought he was a very average or below average player.

unbelievable talent, low average player. But I happen to side with Jerry Judy on this. I think it was one of those things that somebody put out there that, you know, kind of doctored it and put the four fingers up. And so I'll buy his excuse or I'll buy his explanation. Backing you up, the last time that Deshaun Watson was a legitimate, bona fide NFL quarterback was 2020. So it's been a while. It's been a while. But I guess, are you confident? We're talking about Cleveland. Let's face it. Sorry, Browns fans, but there's a reason you're one of the more dysfunctional franchises in football and I've been for a long time.

Are you confident that this will be a true quarterback competition? Best man gets the job because with Watson in the final year of a $230 million guarantee contract, the financial incentive is to play him and get some ROI. You confident that they'll operate that way in Cleveland? I am confident that they're going to operate that way in Cleveland because he's just so far for a move and they've already paid him the lion's share of everything he's going to make. He's still got a ton of money that he's owed, but you owe him that whether he plays or not. And he has missed so much time over the last several years that I really do believe it's going to become

one of those, hey, man, we're going to do what's best for the franchise. And, you know, if you really look at it, what is best for the franchise? Is it bringing Deshaun Watson back out there or is it having that fresh blood of Shadour Sanders? And, you know, I had said this coming out in the draft, man, Shadour's got some first-round talent. The way he throws the football, the touch, and that's the biggest thing. You know, people complain about his arm talent. You know, I don't put much merit into arm talent, your ability to throw it 80 yards. Like, you never throw it 80 yards in a game. Nobody cares. It's his accuracy, his ability to layer the football that I think is elite. I think it's as good as just about anybody when it comes to throwing the football.

You know, and again, it's it's have you developed as a quarterback? Do you know the offense? Have you, you know, all those things as a young player, you're still learning and doing all those things. And can you can you have that effect? But when it comes to who'd be the most popular guy? I mean, Shadour's already proven that he's a jersey selling, you know, like people love Shadour out there. He's got a huge fan base. I am totally rooting for Shadour because of the story and because you brought up Tim Tebow earlier. I've never seen a more popular, more polarizing sports figure for somebody who really isn't that good.

And yet it creates so much intensity on both sides. And so if Shador is kind of like Tebow in that regard, sign me up because I love the show. I love the show. And if he can prove he can play, great. But until then, sign me up for the show. I want to go. I want to go see the circus. Well, yeah, I will tell you, man, like I said, he's a guy that is like either he's one of those guys, those unique athletes like Tebow. You know, there's a there's and I learned this in a radio mentor of mine when I first retired.

told me this. And it's always been one of those things that resonated with me. You want 50% of the people to love you, 50% of the people to hate you. Because if you've got that, if that's the equation, you know what? 100% of people are going to watch you or listen to you. And for Shadour Sanders or for Tebow, there was that contingent of fans that absolutely loved him and thought that he was great for the game. And there was a contingent of fans that, hey, man, I'm sure he's a great guy, but he's not a very good quarterback, right? That's where I live. Like the guy can't play. I love him. He's a great kid, but he can't play. And so there was this polarizing aspect to Tebow. And I think there's very much the same for Shadour. And listen, man, like you said, what a great storyline.

What an unbelievable storyline because there is a faction of this population that absolutely loves him and thinks he's the greatest thing ever. And then there's a faction of people that don't think he can play. And I'm here for it. I am. Sign me up. Yep. I'm 100% with you. Hey, for everybody involved in the Stink Truth Podcast, I am Mark Slurthy. He is Mike Evans. Thank you so much for making us a part of your day on YouTube at Stinkin' Truth. Make sure you subscribe. Our numbers are growing crazy. So thank you so much for doing that. And also download us, Apple, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts. Until next time, we appreciate you guys. And hey, when we come back.

On Wednesday, I believe, we will do a fully Broncos podcast as well. So everything you need to know about the Broncos, because we live here in Denver, that's coming as well. So make sure you stay tuned for that. For everybody involved, we thank you.