Patrick Mahomes has no Honor

[fiestavike]

Does it bother anyone else the way pretty much all athletes today flop and sell and game the system? Mahomes is not particularly dishonorable...no more than any other modern athlete, but nonetheless as a neutral who only saw the end of the game, I found his selling of the unnecessary roughing call at the end of the game so dishonorable and unmanly as to be just an absolute embarrassment. It has become so ubiquitous that you couldn't even go against it by cheering for the other team, whose players undoubtedly do the same thing, but it has marred sports so terribly. Is there no character or sportsmanship remaining at all? This is part of the reason that I find myself growing more and more disinterested and uninvested in all sports. I'm so glad I didn't have a real interest in seeing the Bengals win that game. It is not worth allowing my passions to be stirred up over this stuff. I can observe it neutrally and just marvel at what a crap show the NFL has become.

[Foreman44]

I read something on Burroughs that questioned my thoughts on his character or actions, but can’t be to major as I can’t recall what. A Parkinson’s moment. Lol

[MossCarterJefferson]

Screw Mahomes, I hope Eagles murder the Chiefs

[Texas Vike]

Does it bother anyone else the way pretty much all athletes today flop and sell and game the system? Mahomes is not particularly dishonorable...no more than any other modern athlete, but nonetheless as a neutral who only saw the end of the game, I found his selling of the unnecessary roughing call at the end of the game so dishonorable and unmanly as to be just an absolute embarrassment. It has become so ubiquitous that you couldn't even go against it by cheering for the other team, whose players undoubtedly do the same thing, but it has marred sports so terribly. Is there no character or sportsmanship remaining at all? This is part of the reason that I find myself growing more and more disinterested and uninvested in all sports. I'm so glad I didn't have a real interest in seeing the Bengals win that game. It is not worth allowing my passions to be stirred up over this stuff. I can observe it neutrally and just marvel at what a crap show the NFL has become.

I understand the sentiment, but it also strikes me as a bit naive to think this is something new. Using clever tactics, feigning, and strategies based on deceit have all been a part of "man's" arsenal since time immemorial. Read some ancient Greek and Roman history and you'll find no shortage of it. It's a survival strategy in the greater natural world: the ink of cuttlefish, camouflage, and orchids (who have strategies to convince bees to pollinate their flowers). Then again, Dante reserved the lowest rings of hell for sinners of fraud, so it's certainly a fraught practice.

I find it hilarious that my buddy who loves watching the expert actors who flop for penalty kicks in soccer has a hissy fit every time a punter feigns contact in American Football. I don't view Mahomes as any less honorable for exaggerating on that penultimate play. That's just smart and I would hope that a Vikings QB would know to do that too. I don't love that the game was so heavily influenced by what appeared to be numerous calls in favor of the Chiefs. It was odd, but I don't think there's any deep conspiracy going on either. Refs are humans; we make mistakes; we can be influenced by the opinion of the multitude. That's part of the home field advantage.

[VikingLord]

Does it bother anyone else the way pretty much all athletes today flop and sell and game the system? Mahomes is not particularly dishonorable...no more than any other modern athlete, but nonetheless as a neutral who only saw the end of the game, I found his selling of the unnecessary roughing call at the end of the game so dishonorable and unmanly as to be just an absolute embarrassment. It has become so ubiquitous that you couldn't even go against it by cheering for the other team, whose players undoubtedly do the same thing, but it has marred sports so terribly. Is there no character or sportsmanship remaining at all? This is part of the reason that I find myself growing more and more disinterested and uninvested in all sports. I'm so glad I didn't have a real interest in seeing the Bengals win that game. It is not worth allowing my passions to be stirred up over this stuff. I can observe it neutrally and just marvel at what a crap show the NFL has become.

This stuff has been going on in all sports for a long time. In fact, about the only team sport where you don't see it is probably hockey (or at least I haven't seen much of it in that sport). In soccer it reached the point where if someone flops they get the yellow card. Key & Peele did a great comedy skit on flopping in soccer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07mBfR8erMY

With that said, the Bengals LB has to smarter there and avoid that contact. QB's in the NFL are generally protected. Star QBs are definitely protected. Mahomes was going out of bounds and there was no benefit to touching him. Did Mahomes sell it? Absolutely. Did he have to sell it to draw the flag? Probably not.

One other comment on your comment - there are some pros who will never sell anything. They'll play it fair and square and take a big hit and jump up if they can. Jalen Hurts strikes me as someone like that, and so is JJ. For every pathetic flopper in the league there are more guys who will put it on the line time and time and sell nothing. As frustrating as it is to watch the floppers, its the guys who play it honestly and give it their all that make it worth watching for me.

[IIsweet]

Wowww..... TexasVike and VikingLord... you both wrote outstanding responses IMO.
I just don't see Mahomes as a flopper. Maybe because I think that he is among the GOAT's already. When he is running that hard and has an Edge rusher coming that hard as well, it does not take a lot to knock him into tomorrow. These are 2 big men and moving fast in the same direction. A push at an angle when in stride easily launches a player. Ossai had played a great game, but unfortunately will be forever remembered for that 1 play.

[Texas Vike]

Wowww..... TexasVike and VikingLord... you both wrote outstanding responses IMO.
I just don't see Mahomes as a flopper. Maybe because I think that he is among the GOAT's already. When he is running that hard and has an Edge rusher coming that hard as well, it does not take a lot to knock him into tomorrow. These are 2 big men and moving fast in the same direction. A push at an angle when in stride easily launches a player. Ossai had played a great game, but unfortunately will be forever remembered for that 1 play.

Thanks.

Also: if you go back and watch the video (the angle from behind, specifically) you can see that Mahomes' feet get tangled up by the hit, which is what seems to cause him to fall. I don't think he actually flopped as much as it may have appeared from the side angle.

[IIsweet]

Wowww..... TexasVike and VikingLord... you both wrote outstanding responses IMO.
I just don't see Mahomes as a flopper. Maybe because I think that he is among the GOAT's already. When he is running that hard and has an Edge rusher coming that hard as well, it does not take a lot to knock him into tomorrow. These are 2 big men and moving fast in the same direction. A push at an angle when in stride easily launches a player. Ossai had played a great game, but unfortunately will be forever remembered for that 1 play.

Thanks.

Also: if you go back and watch the video (the angle from behind, specifically) you can see that Mahomes' feet get tangled up by the hit, which is what seems to cause him to fall. I don't think he actually flopped as much as it may have appeared from the side angle.

Great Call. Btw, Ossai hyperextended his knee on that play. That was brutal looking. Tough play for the kid but the guts of MAhomes running on that high ankle sprain. I heard Andy Reid talking about Mahomes yesterday, and he just says that that kid has big time guts.

[chicagopurple]

this is an absurd accusation. The defensive play and Mahomes were way out of bounds. The moment a play is off the field he is no longer in the game. Hitting him at that point Has No Honor. The defender basically committed assault, could have caused serious injury since the side lines are full of equipment and non players that can all cause injury, and was just plain stupid in hitting him. Why do you think the defender was crying on bench? Because he knew he screwed up, screwed his whole team over, and made himself a complete tool on national television. To suggest that it was the targets fault is ludicrous and really sounds like sour grapes from us Vike fans who are stuck in the annual role of chronic losers and wannabes who own QB will never even be a shadow of Mahomes.