But Bayless argued that Mahomes’ refusal to label Brady the undisputed GOAT could serve as a motivation for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback. And Bayless, therefore, wonders whether the Kansas City Chiefs are playing with fire before the Super Bowl LV.
“I interpret all three of these instances as shots at Brady, because I believe he will interpret them as shots,” said Bayless. “Perhaps he is (Michael) Jordan in the sense that he oversees the photos as personal. Because Jordan would invent disdain.
“… To me, Tom Brady doesn’t look like a murderer. He doesn’t look like a tough quarterback who will take revenge on you. He looks like the lame cliché father from the street or next door. So it comes in a different package. But what I’ve learned over many years from watching Brady closely is that you better be careful what you say before the games, because the slightest perceived neglect will become massive in your mind at the start of the game. And you better be careful with this guy, because he can be a force of nature in games of this magnitude – like a championship game or certainly a Super Bowl – if he decides that you have little or no respect for him. “
More power for Brady if he somehow sees Mahomes’ apparent compliment in a negative light and uses it to his advantage. Few athletes in American sports history have been as competitive as Brady, and this has worked well for him throughout his illustrious NFL career.
Still, it seems like an example of criticizing and reading a lot about the semantics of what Mahomes said, especially since there is really no other evidence to suggest that Chiefs QB has anything but the utmost respect for his 43-year-old counterpart.
It is hard to imagine that Mahomes is suddenly playing mind games on the bigger stage, although Bayless is evidently believing that theory.
“I really love Patrick Mahomes, all of his talent. I think he’s a good boy. But he is becoming an arrogant boy for me, ”said Bayless. “And I don’t know why, in several references I heard, he said, ‘He’s one of the best, if not the best.’ Because, let’s go. We know who is the best. “
See, we said that preparing for the Super Bowl can get weird.
Miniature photo via Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports Images