Q&A: Mina Kimes on Mahomes
Some KU stuff too!!!
Mina Kimes is ESPN’s MVP. You may have seen her on programs like NFL Live—where she’s an absolute tour de force!!—as well as Around the Horn and Sportscenter. She is also one of ESPN’s best writers and reporters, having broken the Jared Porter story and profiled some of the biggest QBs in football.
Before the college basketball season, I reached out to Mina about having her on Streak Talk to talk college hoops. She politely declined to do exactly that, but offered to talk about Mahomes instead. Given that the Streak Talk readership’s Venn diagram of KU/Chiefs fandom is just a circle, now felt like the right time.
You can watch Mina practically anywhere on ESPN and follow her @minakimes. She rules. I forgot to ask her about how Slanted and Enchanted is positioned behind her desk at home, but maybe we can cover that in Part 2.
It’s been a ride with Mahomes this season. But, like Bill Barnwell wrote, the elite quarterbacks haven’t been as good this season as they have been in years past. So how do you size up Mahomes year?
MINA KIMES: There was a point during this season when that was true. But the pendulum has started to swing back towards the elite quarterbacks. So that’s Mahomes, Josh Allen coming off of this great game, Rodgers, and Brady too. With Mahomes, there was a bit of an overreaction because of the turnovers, and a lot of which were out of his control. But it did feel like, a lot at times, him and the whole whole offense were forcing it downfield against two-deep shells.
The last game against Pittsburgh1 , it was interesting to watch him from start to finish, just taking what was available to him and letting the team run the ball. They returned to the screen game, which has always been a highlight of Andy Reid’s offense. To me, they look like the most dominant team in the league.
He looks comfortable, he's moving well, he looks like he’s not forcing it anymore. People will point to the competition during the win streak. And I think that's relevant, especially getting to play the Raiders twice with their defense. But I think they look like the same bulldozer that they’ve been since he entered the NFL.
Patrick gets labeled “the Gen Z QB” a lot. Does that resonate with you, and why?
MINA KIMES: Patrick has done a great job of compartmentalizing anything off the field from his presence to his identity. He’s done a lot of great work in the community. And last year I was really impressed by how he took the lead in the players’ movement for social justice. He didn't have to do that, you know?
I really admire that about him. Going back to the Gen Z thing, in some ways, stylistically, that's really true. His personality is very low-key and he is beloved by his teammates. he reminds me a lot of Steph Curry, in terms of influencing younger quarterbacks in ways that make some people nervous. Like, “These quarterbacks shouldn't be trying these throws!” You heard the same thing about Steph Curry. And I would say also growing up in locker rooms, it's probably a big part of how they've both been really good at managing their personal lives and their leadership skills as well. So there’s a lot of parallels there.
You’ve been watching and writing about Mahomes since early in his career. How would you summarize the experience so far?
MINA KIMES: Before his breakout season, his first full season as the starter, I thought that I would never see a quarterback with the talent of Aaron Rodgers. And he changed that.
What’s stuck out to me is the experience of watching someone who is just capable of doing things in the field I've never seen before. It’s been a really interesting case study when it comes to team building. When you find that quarterback, and that coach, what can you do to sustain a dynasty? That’s something the Chiefs have been up against. We're talking about a team that had back to back Super Bowl appearances, I think they will make it back this year as well2. The concerns remain—can you do everything possible to capitalize on that talent? As someone who is an observer of the league and who thinks a lot about team building and roster construction, it's been interesting to watch.
Also, I just love watching him play. It’s one of the great joys of football.
You just predicted a Super Bowl. They started the season so slowly and I think a lot of fans hit the panic button.
MINA KIMES: I’ve never abandoned the Chiefs bandwagon. They were my pick before the season. They were my pick when they were losing, and they remain my pick. There have been adjustments made by both the coordinators and the coach, but honestly just the reduction of mistakes is the biggest thing. And then, defensively. We know what the upside looks like there, defensively. That’s been another big change, going from being one of the bottom five defenses in the NFL. Since the trade deadline, when they traded for Ingram, it's completely flipped them around. And it’s a mixture of factors. Getting Frank Clark back and being able to move Chris Jones inside brought so much to the pass rush.
Spagnuolo is just a very, very good defensive coordinator. I don’t think that this is the best defense in the NFL, but right now it looks like a top 10 unit and a top 10 defense. Something I've said a lot of our shows is this defense looks better to me than the year they won the Super Bowl. A top 10 defense paired with Patrick Mahomes? I’ll take that every time.
KELLY FLAMETHROWER
aHAHHAHAHAHAHA hook it directly to my veins
Kelly has been awesome all year for the Hornets. After floating around somewhat aimlessly for a minute, he’s found his role in Charlotte as a first-off-the-bench nuke. Given Hornets coach James Borrego’s tendency to play hot lineups no matter who is in them, this has created a number of Oubre scoring sprees this season. The latest is the best one yet, as they pile on Detroit here. Sidenote: I’ve never been closer to the NBA than I am right now.
BOARD MEN GET PAID (IN PROPRIETARY NIL CRYTPO)
In the pregame buildup to Monday night’s conference opener, my first mistake was watching crunch time of Griz/Cavs. Anything involving Ja Morant right now is pure magic, and to shift from that to a sequence where KU missed 20 straight shots, well… it leaves a mark.
Anyway! It was a rock fight but a good win, I guess? The rebound numbers off the bench were 🤯🤯🤯—Dave had 15 in 23 minutes, and Jalen had 15 in 26 minutes. That doesn’t happen a lot!
What a stat there!
Also… this picture!
Lastly
I interviewed Joe Montana for GQ!
This convo took place last week after the Pittsburgh game but before the Cincy game
Let’s goooooooooo
Love the steph mahomes comp. Mina is best NFL analyst. Thanks for joining the streakers