GLENDALE, Ariz. — Arizona Cardinals second-year coach Kliff Kingsbury doesn’t enjoy watching his star quarterback, Kyler Murray, tuck the football and take off toward a hole in the offensive line, regardless if there are either swaths of grass or paydirt in front of him.
When Murray takes off, which has been happening more often in the first two games of this season than the first two of last season, Kingsbury is usually standing on the sideline muttering the same phrase over and over: “Get down.”
Sometimes Murray will — either on his own, with a picture-perfect baseball slide, or with the help of a defender seething to get their hands on the reigning rookie of the year.
Other times, Murray won’t, just weaving, cutting and juking his way to the end zone.
It’s not until the day after the game that Kingsbury will sit in his office at the Cardinals’ training facility in Tempe, turn on the film and soak in what unfolded in front of him the day before. Regardless of how many times Kingsbury has seen Murray take off and do his thing with his feet, he’s never surprised.
“I’ve watched that since he was 15 years old,” Kingsbury said. “He is one of the most dangerous people probably in the league when he’s in the open field like that, and he is as elusive as anybody, and that’s a weapon. He’s just got to be able to protect himself, which he does a good job of.”