Tom Brady: The Chiefs “have a great offensive identity,” regardless of the numbers

The Kansas City Chiefs are off to an 8-0 start and extended their winning streak from last season to 14 games with their overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night. However, their offense wasn't as elite as we're usually used to, ranking 10th in both yards and points per game.

Patrick Mahomes in particular hasn't put up the best stats either. He ranks 14th in the NFL in passing yards (1,942) and has thrown just 11 touchdowns, while he is on pace to throw the most interceptions (he has played nine to eight games) and the lowest passer rating (90.1 ) of his career.

Despite whatever offensive concerns some may have about the Chiefs, Tom Brady isn't hitting the panic button. In fact, during an appearance on The Herd, he dismissed the idea that the Chiefs' offense had no identity, calling them a great situational team.

“I actually think they have a great offensive identity,” Brady said. “Look, the game is about winning. We're talking points, yards, penalties and defensive stops. To me, do you have more points than the other team at the end of the game? This is the maturity of a great team and a great organization. Some had a lot of offensive strengths, but some years we were more in the middle of the field – third down and two minutes (practice).”

Many metrics support Brady's claim that the Chiefs' offense works well depending on the situation. They rank first in the league in third-down conversion percentage (53.2%). They lead the league in possession in the second half, suggesting they dictate play in crucial moments and know how to prevent potential turnovers before they happen. Of course, these traits helped KC go 6-0 in games by one point.

They're also the reason Brady believes Mahomes is still playing well this year, even if his individual stats may not say so.

“When you have Patrick Mahomes and it’s a one-score game, everyone always bets on the Chiefs,” Brady said. “Now can anyone elude the Chiefs (and build a bigger lead)? I don't know because this defense is playing so well. But I don't think Patrick Mahomes is a worse player because he doesn't have 25.” It's just that he doesn't currently play with players who can do that from the receiver position.

“Patrick's job is, and I covered him a few weeks ago when I said, that the quarterback's job is to manage all the variables of the game and the season – injuries, whether the rhythm of the offense – and then ultimately go out there .” and make the plays that put you in a position to win. That's what winners do.

Beyond Mahomes, Brady credited the Chiefs' consistency in performing well in crucial moments.

“He’s got Andy Reid with him, who’s the greatest coach in NFL history, he’s one of the Mount Rushmore coaches,” Brady said. “So you have this consistency of this organization, from the owner, general manager, coach, quarterback and then to me, a defensive coordinator in (Steve Spagnuolo), that the way the defense plays puts them in a position to, every single one week to win.” “

Tom Brady describes what impresses him about the Chiefs

Kansas City's defense has arguably been its strongest unit this season. It ranks fifth in yards allowed and fourth in scoring defense this year after the Chiefs clinched their second straight Super Bowl title with a stifling playoff performance last season.

However, the Chiefs made a big move to improve their offense before the trade deadline, signing standout wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. After a quiet first game with the Chiefs, Hopkins seemed more comfortable alongside Mahomes against the Buccaneers. In Monday's win, he had eight receptions on nine targets for 86 yards and two touchdowns.

Hopkins' strong performance apparently prompted him to make a bold comparison on social media, where he posted a picture of Brady and Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss together from their record-breaking 2007 season with the New England Patriots (Hopkins' post has since been published) . deleted). With Moss scoring an NFL-record 23 touchdowns in his first season with Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl winner explained how things worked out easily between him and the Hall of Fame receiver and how that reflects on Mahomes and Hopkins could apply.

“The reality is that a great receiver, any receiver who is a veteran, knows what a week of practice looks like. They know how to play all the routes on offense,” Brady said. “Now they may not know exactly where to line up because everyone has their variations of words and descriptive words that they use to get people in line, organize the protections and then call routes. Some people use number systems. Some people use words that people have to remember. Some people use a single word that tells everyone what to do.

“Kansas City does this in countless different ways. Then when DeAndre can really understand that, he'll say, 'Oh, okay, that's what I used to call that clip in Tennessee, it was like this, or…' In Houston it was like that. It's like that in KC, but I still know how to run the route. “So you have these experienced players who know the routes of attack. When he played for Tennessee it was the same rules, it's ultimately just the how. Once he's out there, he's confident in what he's got and he's going to look like DeAndre Hopkins always did – that is, him has good quickness, he has a great catch radius, he has that ability in a spot situation to make those catches and certainly as a target in the red zone.

Tom Brady on building DeAndre Hopkins' chemistry with Patrick Mahomes

Signing Hopkins was much needed for the Chiefs with top wide receiver Rashee Rice out this year, leaving struggling first-round rookie Xavier Worthy to perform well before signing Hopkins. Brady noted that he almost always needed time to develop some chemistry with rookie wide receivers, which was not the case with the newly acquired veteran wide receivers he played with.

“A rookie player has so much to learn,” Brady said. “Whereas when you get someone like DeAndre, you say, 'Hey DeAndre, run a slant,' and it looks like a slant. It looks great. It's liquid, it's smooth. You can plan it. With a newbie, there is a bit of a learning curve.

“There are so many things to learn that you're never going to get the kind of production you can get with a veteran in a short amount of time with a rookie, unless they're just a really special rookie, and I had some of them.” To me, these guys are anomalies rather than the norm.

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