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Kyler Murray's clapping has now become a greater concern than his poor preseason performances
Murray and the NFL are still trying to figure each other out
www.cbssports.com
Kyler Murray's clapping has now become a greater concern than his poor preseason performances
Kyler Murray didn't exactly look like a No. 1 overall pick during the Arizona Cardinals' 33-26 loss to the Oakland Raiders in their second preseason gameon Thursday.
While that's hardly anything to write home about, one could simply throw their hands in the air and say, "Well, it's just preseason." What is a bit concerning (or at least something to monitor throughout the rest of the preseason and throughout Murray's rookie season), is the fact that the quarterback was called for two false starts in his short time on the field.
Murray was called for the infractions due to him clapping for the snap. As Josh Weinfuss of ESPN relays, Murray said officials told him that his clap was "too abrupt" and "not smooth enough as far as bringing my hands together."
Last season, quarterbacks were flagged for false starts just eight times, so this is a pretty rare occurrence.
This was apparently on the mind of the Cardinals prior to the start of Thursday's contest as ESPN cameras caught head coach Kliff Kingsbury talking to officials and seemingly explaining the hand clapping of Murray.
View: https://twitter.com/kococarson/status/1162159960123412480?s=21
A clap out of the shotgun is legal for a quarterback, but Murray is entering a gray area with how sudden those movements become. Per league rules: "A player who is in position to receive the snap in shotgun formation is permitted to shift his feet prior to the snap, but any quick and abrupt movement that draws a reaction from the defense is a False Start."
"To me, it's like any other hard count," Murray said of his clapping after the game. "It's the defense's job to watch the ball. So it really doesn't make sense to me, but we're trying to fix things out right now."
Kingsbury did note that the team has been in contact with the league about how his offense is orchestrated and believes repetition will smooth things over with all sides.
"It's the first time for certain officials to see it," Kingsbury said. "We've been in contact with the league and have had great conversations on it. We're going to work through that and make sure everybody is on the same page. We want to be on the same page with them, and make sure we're doing things that they deem legal."
Aside from the false start penalties, Murray struggled mightily. The rookie went 3-for-8 for just 12 passing yards on the night despite getting four offensive possesions for the Cardinals. Those four drives totaled 15 players, traveled negative 13 yards, and resulted in three punts. Murray was also taken down in the end zone for a safety in his final moment on the field for the game.
Yuck.
While Kingsbury and the Cardinals are being forthcoming with their offensive style, Arizona may run into a few speed bumps as various officials across the league have yet to put them under the microscope.
And soon enough, those false starts could be called in regular-season games.
