Kyler Murray draws comparison to 'a great boxer' from Sean McVay

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ROD-BOT

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Kyler Murray draws comparison to 'a great boxer' from Sean McVay

Lamar Jackson is the only quarterback to carry the ball more often than Kyler Murray this season, but no quarterback has more rushing yards than the Cardinals’ signal-caller. Murray has rushed for 650 yards on 97 attempts, scoring 10 touchdowns on the ground.

Given the importance of the quarterback position, it’s always risky for a passer to tuck the ball and run, but when you’re as electric and elusive as Murray is, it’s a weapon. What makes it less risky for Murray to carry the ball as much as he has is his ability to avoid hits.

Sure, he’s been popped a few times, but rarely does a defender get a clean shot on the former No. 1 overall pick. That attribute of Murray’s game has caught the attention of Sean McVay, who compared him to a great boxer.

“What I’m so impressed with is his ability to slip punches,” McVay said Wednesday. “Usually you see guys that run the football and carry as much as him, they’re taking a lot of shots. He just has such a great way about being able to slip those punches, almost like a great boxer. You never saw Floyd Mayweather really get caught. That’s kind of how I look at him, but then he’s got the speed and athleticism like (Michael) Vick to be able to run away from you. You see some of the runs that he’s making against All-Pro-type of players and he’s running away, separating. Sometimes you’re watching and you’re saying, ‘Holy, this is a joke, man. I can’t believe we got to freaking defend this guy.’ But as a fan of the game, this guy’s awesome. Not looking forward to having to play him twice a year, but I do know that our defense is excited about the challenge. He’s a great player. He’s a great quarterback.”

Murray is listed on the injury report with a shoulder issue, which limited him in practice Wednesday. He hasn’t missed a game yet this season, though, nor did he miss any time last year, either.

And even when Murray isn’t taking off and running, he succeeds from the pocket. That has also left McVay impressed, recognizing his intelligence in the pocket and as a quarterback overall.

“When you watch him, the one thing that stands out is this guy’s playing the quarterback position at a high level,” he said. “He can stand in there, he can recognize coverage, he can progress through things. When he ends up breaking contains, he’s keeping his eyes down the field. And then when he is activated as a runner, he’s a great quarterback that has amazing running skills.”

The Rams beat Murray and the Cardinals twice last season, but this is a much-improved team from the one L.A. played last year – and that has a lot to do with Murray.
 

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Aaron Donald: LA Knows How To Handle QBs Like Kyler Murray

By this time, it’s no question that the Los Angeles Rams currently have one of the best defenses in the league and it’s hugely because of two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald. They’re currently in second spot of the NFC West standings with a 7-4 record which has been made possible by their outstanding defense all-season long so far.

On Week 13, they’re set to face an offensive powerhouse in the Arizona Cardinals led by a young Kyler Murray who, like Donald, has been handling things so far this season on his end of the field.

Ahead of their much-anticipated face-off, Donald believes his Rams line has what it takes to contain a fiery QB like Murray.

“Well, he’s a good football player that can do a lot,” Donald said (via NBC Sports). “Obviously, you play a lot of quarterbacks in this league that’s mobile, but he’s definitely has a lot more quick twitch and can do things. So, you’ve got to just rush, have gap contain, don’t get up field, don’t leave rush lanes open to the point where you can step up and have a choice of running or passing. We know what to do, because we play a lot of mobile quarterbacks. We’ve got two of them, we’ve got him and Russell Wilson in our division. So, we kind of know how to handle it, we’ve just got to make sure that we rush the right way pretty much and are gap sound.”


Past the halfway mark of the season, the Murray-led Cardinals have come out as top 10 in the league in terms of offense. They’re breathing down the neck of the Rams in the NFC West division with a 6-5 record prior to Sunday’s crucial match-up. Murray and the rest of the Cardinals are looking to bounce back from two straight losses but they have to go past a huge wall this Sunday spearheaded by no less than Aaron Donald.
 

Tano

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All we need to do is tackle him hard once and bruise his shoulder a little where he is hurting and he won't be able to do a thing against us.
 

Reddog99

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I'm pumped for this game. Hopkins vs Ramsey is going to be fun to watch along with how our DL rushes and contains Murray. I can see this one go either way honestly. I'm not sure if Fitz is playing so I wonder if Williams will be on Kirk? Sucks but I have to work Sunday so I'll be keeping a close eye on the game day thread.
 

Neil039

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Eliminate TO's and the normal defense shows up and Big Brother puts little brother in his place once again.