Although very talented, Kyler Murray still has areas to work on
Full disclosure before I continue with this article. I’m highly critical of Kyler Murray but that doesn’t mean I hate him. This article is my take and mine only. I do ask if you read this, read it to the end, and Kliff is not getting through this unscathed.
Now that we got that out of the way, I usually spend most of my time studying the defense, I do so by looking at where the weaknesses and tells are. On the opposite side, offenses are tasked with attacking where the defense is weakest.
A couple of weeks ago the Cardinals were able to move the ball on the Seahawks, unfortunately, they failed to capitalize on their redzone trips. That’s been the story this year.
I used to make light of the Deandre Hopkins situation mostly because the Cardinals won 2 games without Hopkins and Kyler. His ability to win on 50/50 balls and high point the ball helps in a way where he can throw it deep to Hopkins, knowing he will go up and get it. We know how gifted he is in doing that and we all saw it firsthand in 2020 on the “Hail Murray” play.
Two plays that Kyler obviously trusts his big-time receiver to make. Being “that guy” also means there are other deficiencies with this offense and due to this Kyler’s ability to grow as a QB has been hampered.
The Seattle film did not look pretty. I’m gonna pull examples from that game as well as last year’s. Before I do so I’m gonna share some words from a person I look up to and respect, you may know him or may not, but here’s Brett Kollmann on his take.
For reference, this is the play he’s talking about.
Rondale was wide open alongside an over route by Ertz, but he throws to AJ Green who ends up being tackled immediately. I want to show another view other than the All-22, so here I’m gonna show the broadcast view.
On the broadcast view you can see that Rondale was open, you couldn’t see Ertz open off-screen. This was on 3rd and 6, which could’ve moved the sticks to get inside the 20 (in the first quarter as well). Unfortunately, the decision was to get the 1st and this was the following play.
There’s not much to it, it was an underthrown ball that would’ve picked up a 1st down. The criticism could be that going for it on 4th down was a bad decision, but as you have seen by the angles Kyler just underthrew it to an open receiver. I don’t know why. That’s not the norm for Kyler, but my point was the play before was a guaranteed 1st down if targeted properly, but that highlights the issue at hand which is that Kyler can’t see those routes.
Doing research last year I found examples of timing routes that opened up receivers, intermediate, and deep slants where a receiver like Ertz and Kirk come wide open. The timing of those routes unfortunately makes those windows incredibly small. Kyler holds the ball longer than intended because of that, resulting in Kyler bailing the pocket, or getting sacked.
The window is there but his feet aren’t set to make the throw. Kyler’s bad tendency to bail from the pocket leads to missing out on this perfectly timed route and open window in order to make the throw.
Here’s the sideline view this is a similar mesh call involving the tight end this time, opening the route for a wide-open Kirk.
On this play he never looks downfield for the underneath dig route by Rondale Moore because he couldn’t see, he focuses on all the action happening to his right. That leads to him bailing the pocket. He also has that wide-open lane to step into or run through as well. He does this a handful of times but because he’s so gifted with his legs, he was used to just outrunning everyone on the field. Keep in mind Kyler Murray has won his whole life, and these are things he has always relied upon. Those are the tools that also made him such a great prospect coming from OU.
His height isn’t something you can fix obviously ,but unfortunately, other parts of his game seem to take a dip even when the vision isn’t a problem.
On this throw even if the pocket is collapsing around him, he has Rondale pulling away for what could be a big gain, instead of throwing his man open in stride, he underthrows it, giving the DB a chance to make a play.
This is another mesh call. He’s at the top of his drop and he had the ability to throw to either receiver with space ahead of them. Once again he can’t see it, the pocket collapses around him and unfortunately takes a sack.
This one completely confuses me, they go 4 wide on a 3 by 1 set, Rondale Moore becomes open for a split second and realizes that Kyler can’t see him, he continues his route across the middle, and Kyler gets sacked. I know this is faulted on the O-Line, but in today’s league, every offense needs to get the timing down. Part of that is making the throw on time, in the top of the 3/5 step drops.
I’ve constantly been urging for the Cardinals to employ more action under center. They responded by doubling down on what didn’t work last season. To be fair I notice more motion pre-snap, but under center formations are nonexistent.
Kyler is 5″10, being closer to the line of scrimmage can hamper his vision even more, but there are ways to get him wide open in space if they employ running plays from under center.
Whether Kyler isn’t comfortable being under center isn’t the issue, running plays from shotgun has a huge tell 99 percent of the time. The defense shifts to the opposite side of where the running back is lined up, giving them a better angle at defending the run.
This is not something that can be a tell under center. Even though a tell of the direction where the run is going is where are the TE’s lined up, many inside-zone running schemes give RB’s options for cut back lanes or pressing a gap to suck a defender in.
It is not true that operating under center can leave you vulnerable to pressure, so long as the Cardinals can dedicate themselves to running from under center, they can throw a defense off to open up big plays. That is how the hard play action becomes so effective.
Unfortunately, as I mentioned they aren’t interested. Whether it’s Kliff or Kyler, Kliff can make that call now that Kyler is locked up, I could understand before not being able to force Kyler under center, but he’s locked up on a huge contract, there is no excuse.
Here’s the full video to get a better understanding.
My last thing is the Cardinals are in a division that has faced Russell Wilson. Given that, this division already knows how to defend a smaller QB. Allocate resources to the boundary, create a wall up front with bodies, and play super contain on the edge.
This is Year 4, the counter punch needs to happen for this offense to prevail this year. At least the Cardinals finally signed what I’ve been pounding for in a tall fast receiver (Robbie Anderson). This offense will never hit its full potential. Kyler also needs to settle more, in order for his accuracy to come back to its elite form.
