NEWSLETTER
Earlier this season, a foolish rookie tackle thought it wise to hang onto Chicago Bears linebacker/monster Khalil Mack longer than absolutely necessary.
Mack quickly let first rounder Tristan Wirfs know that he’d made a bade decision:
KHALIL MACK’S STRENGTH IS ABSURD 😤 @FiftyDeuce @ChicagoBears pic.twitter.com/dP7xIWrpVg
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) October 9, 2020
That’s 320 pounds of meat getting flipped over by one of Mack’s hulky arms.
It should be no surprise to you that Mack has made a career of unbelievable feats of strength like that, going all the way back to college. Today, ESPN’s Harry Lyles added another chapter – several, actually – to the Legend of Khalil Mack in a piece you’ll want to read.
Here’s just one taste of what you’re in for:
The most impressive thing Mack did in [former Buffalo quarterback Joe] Licata’s eyes, though, was something he couldn’t even see in real time. It wasn’t until Licata went to the film room and saw what he knew he felt.
“It was in practice,” Licata said. “It’s my sophomore year, his senior year. And I just remember stepping up in the pocket and feeling pressure. I got the ball off, but I just remember feeling uncomfortable in the pocket. I go back and I watch the film, and I’m watching it with one of our other quarterbacks in the film room scrolling through, and I noticed that Khalil was one-on-one with our tackle who was 315 pounds, and he one-arm jacked him. He went flying in the air, and he was about to hit me. … As the guy is in midair, Khalil grabs him with one hand and puts him back on the ground, and I threw the football.
“He was a couple rooms over in the linebacker room, and I called him in and was like, ‘What is this!?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, I just didn’t want him to hit you.'”
My God. Mack threw the 315-pound lineman into the air AND THEN HAD TO GRAB HIM AND PUT HIM DOWN WITH ONE HAND TO PREVENT THE GUY FROM HITTING THE QUARTERBACK.
Khalil Mack is a legend. Has been from the start.
