After first-round selection Marvin Harrison saw just three targets and made one catch for 4 yards in Arizona’s 34-28 loss at Buffalo, Kyler Murray vowed to correct their chemistry with more reps.
“Nothing changes. We got the utmost confidence in what we’re capable of,” Murray said Wednesday. “I’ll never lose confidence in Marv. His first game, we got to continue to get better and we will.”
But former general manager Mike Lombardi doesn’t see Murray getting better. As the Cardinals prepare to host the Rams on Sunday (4:05 p.m. ET, FOX), Lombardi said Murray can’t throw the ball down the field. And since Pete Carroll began scheming against Murray’s other strengths, defensive coordinators generally follow the same recipe every week.
“When you play Kyler Murray, your two defensive ends cannot run past the quarterback,” Lombardi said Thursday on the GM Shuffle podcast. “They have to stay inside out on the quarterback. They have to force him to step up in the pocket. Then your two defensive tackles have to push the pocket back. And this offensive line for Arizona, and I’m going to be polite, is not very good.”
Murray’s Week 1 start was a tale of two halves. He led Arizona to a 17-10 halftime lead, hitting 16 of 19 (84.2 percent) for 131 yards and a touchdown over the first two quarters. After intermission, Buffalo held him to just 31 yards on 5 of 12 passing (41.7 percent). Overall, the Cardinals averaged just 5.2 yards per pass attempt.
Lombardi said even had the Cardinals been able to neutralize Greg Rousseau and Von Miller, Murray still has yet to prove he can pass the ball effectively from the pocket when defenses rush him correctly.
“He doesn’t have an answer for it,” Lombardi explained. “He can’t see down the field. Harrison wasn’t really open if you watch the tape. There wasn’t separation.
“I think the biggest issue in Arizona is if this quarterback doesn’t get out of the pocket and start running around, they don’t have any plays in their playbook. They can run the ball in Arizona, they just don’t have enough plays at quarterback from the pocket. It’s a liability.”
Murray and the Cardinals are catching an injury-decimated Los Angeles club just one week into the season. The Rams this week placed three starters — wide receiver Puka Nacua and offensive linemen Steve Avila and Joe Noteboom – on injured reserve. The Rams will also be without tackle Alaric Jackson for a second straight game as he serves a two-game suspension for violation of the Personal Conduct Policy.