NFL analyst believes problems in Arizona do not stem from Kyler Murray
When one talks about Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals, there are currently two main topics. One topic centers around the quarterback's hopes of landing a big new contract, while the other is Arizona's end-of-season form. The two don't necessarily go together, but many Cardinals fans are still hurting from last season's disappointments.
What do the Cardinals need to do to fix their infamous late-season implosions? One NFL analyst believes he has the answer. Speaking to Mike Florio on Pro Football Talk, Peter King outlined how the philosophy needs to return to what it was supposed to be in 2019. Here's how he put it:
“In my opinion, Kliff Kingsbury walked in there and I will never forget, in his rookie year, in 2019, he said to me, 'We're gonna have one of the best running games in the league.' And he said, 'Our running game is our priority.' That was the word he used: 'our priority.' And so my only point about this is that I think this has to be a [big] year."
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Let’s run it back! Hollywood to the desert… Y’all welcome my boy! @Primetime_jet 🔥🥋🚀
He went on to say that the team needs a strong committee at running back:
"And look, they lost Chase Edmonds to Miami. They need to develop along with James Connor, who's not been the most durable guy in his career either. They need to develop a two or even three-headed running game."
I wanna win Super Bowls with the Cardinals, AZ is home. twitter.com/NFLonCBS/statu…
King also said there was "nothing wrong" with winning in an ugly fashion:
"There's nothing wrong with winning a few games 19 to 16. There's nothing wrong with killing the clock, eating clock, and winning the game because you run the ball great."
He continued, calling on the coach to lean on the running game more when mid-season rolls around:
"If I were Kliff Kingsbury, I would be looking in the middle part of my schedule calendar to make sure that we are preaching to our team, 'run it, run it, run it, we want to have 35 runs every game minimum with our team.'"
He wrapped up his points by clarifying that he doesn't want to see Kyler Murray become a pocket quarterback, but he wants Kliff Kingsbury to take better care of him earlier in the year:
"And I know you've got an exciting electric quarterback, and you don't want to make Kyler Murray, into some sedentary pocket guy. I'm not saying to do that. I'm saying, please, for his sake and the sake of exciting football in December and January, let's take better care of Kyler Murray in the first three months of this season.”
Kyler Murray's career in the desert
Kyler Murray is entering his fourth season with the Arizona Cardinals. According to Pro Football Reference, his abilities and win totals have improved every season. In 2019, the quarterback was drafted first overall. In his rookie season, he went 5-10-1. In 2020, he went 8-8. In 2021, he went 9-5 and took his team to the playoffs for the first time.
While his winning totals have climbed, his play has also appeared to improve. In 2019, he completed 64.4 percent of his throws. In 2020, he completed 67.2 percent of his throws. In 2021, he completed a career-high 69.2 percent of his throws.
Additionally, his average number of touchdowns per game has increased. In 2019, he averaged 1.25 touchdowns per game. In 2020, he averaged 1.625 touchdowns per game. In 2021, he averaged 1.71 touchdowns per game. Will Murray be able to continue improving in year four?