Game day threads are dominated by finger pointing. Pick your poison, they’re blaming Keim, Kingsbury or Murray. In fact some posters blame all of them. There are legitimate concerns about all 3.
Perhaps the true solution isn’t that simple. Perhaps it’s a problem of synergy. My thought began with a simple question, can Murray be a playoff winning QB in the NFL? Honestly I’m not sure, but with every passing game I’m becoming certain of a couple of things. He can’t do it in this offense. He can’t do it with this roster. This is not meant to absolve Murray of failure. Clearly he’s failed, as have the other two. What I’m saying is more complex. The pieces of this puzzle don’t fit together to form a picture of success.
Let’s take Keim & Murray. Keim appears unable to build a sufficiently protective O-line. He’s tried with guys like Hudson, but he was a poor choice, as were Beachum & Garcia. At least it’s not his main priority. You may recall KC spent last summer retooling their O-line to make certain Mahomes had better protection. They actually sacrificed one of their major offensive weapons to make the cap work so they could achieve their goal. It’s been at least partially successful. On the other hand, when in Seattle, Wilson was at least somewhat successful with one of the worst O-lines in the league, so a great QB can win with a weak line. Keim did get Brown for Murray, but apparently wasted a draft pick on a second TE, who is not even really a target Murray considers. I would say Keim has failed to discern one of Murray’s primary needs to be successful. Clearly Murray could do better with this line, but his lack of pocket presence and toughness precludes that, so he needs a line. Keim could stay but would need a philosophical adjustment. I’d guess he needs to use Kugler more in his linemen evaluations. The Cards need to make the O-line a bigger priority in cap allocation.
Then there’s Keim & Kingsbury. Forget BPA. The TE selection is a perfect example of the problem. It made little sense as a second TE is clearly not a major impact aspect of this offensive scheme. Then there’s letting a speed back, Edmonds leave, and not replacing him. He was a big threat as part of this offense. There are also significant questions as to the line depth Keim accepted. He’s simply fails to fully understand the offense. That’s frightening. Again this seems like a communication problem to me. Is Kingsbury even involved in setting up the draft board? I can’t imagine him letting this choice be placed that highly with Ertz having signed a multi-year contract. Again coaches have to at least have a voice in personnel decisions
Then there’s Kingsbury & Murray. Oddly despite Murray being Kingsbury’s dream QB, they seem to be the most mismatched relationship. People keep talking about Murray being great at playground football. For my money Murray would be better off in a highly structured environment. He needs discipline. Kingsbury seems to prefer chaos. There seems to be no structured 2 minute drill plan. Likewise every trip to the red zone bears no resemblance to previous trips beyond the frequency of first down delayed handoffs. Confusion reigns. Most teams have “go to” plays. Sometimes Kingsbury seems so tied to his play chart that he appears to be making all the calls on the fly rather than having a cohesive plan to attack for specific distances. Shouldn’t he anticipate more? In a 2 minute drill shouldn’t everyone be on the same page? On third down why aren’t all receivers crossing the line-to-make on downs requiring less than 7 yards? Of course other teams will notice if you run the same play repeatedly. However, there should be a set of key plays, practiced so often no one could possibly be confused about their role. I have to wonder what practice looks like for these game segments. Slowly developing plays, like behind-the-line passes and deep handoff should be taken out of the playbook for 2 minute drills & the red zone. The emphasis should be on plays with little chance of negative results. Even incomplete passes are better when time’s short,than slowly developing plays. Those passes at least stop the clock and don’t move the ball further from the first down. Non-productive rookies, like McBride, don’t belong in either process. If Murray won’t throw to them, what’s the point?
If the first drive is scripted, why is Ertz never targeted? Why are back never kept in to buy Murray time? Williams is an excellent protector, but never used that way. Why are rollouts and 2 man games never used? I’d even take a flea flicker. The Cards rarely use stacked receivers or rubs to confuse the defense, why? All these things don’t require Murray to be able to read the defense. Kingsbury doesn’t seem to focus on Murray’s strengths. Rarely do patterns result in open receivers. Rarely are plays called that slow the rush. This offense is not varied or creative.
Then there’s the time issue. Plays come in slowly, likely caused by overthinking. TOs are frivolously wasted. In the past when they’ve had leads, they’ve struggled to run clock. They rarely take 3 points and don’t seem to understand the importance of having something to show for a long drive. Kingsbury needs to feed Murray’s ego more and give him a sense of accomplishment, not continuous failure. In the end it seems like Kingsbury does the same thing over and over, expecting different results.
I can see Keim improving with better direction and focus. Better communication is needed all around. I can see Murray improving with better structure and discipline. I’m less inclined to think Kingsbury can easily change, so that’s the part of the puzzle I’d discard. Time may prove more change than just Kingsbury is needed, but that’s where I’d start. Maybe it’s all about synergy.
Perhaps the true solution isn’t that simple. Perhaps it’s a problem of synergy. My thought began with a simple question, can Murray be a playoff winning QB in the NFL? Honestly I’m not sure, but with every passing game I’m becoming certain of a couple of things. He can’t do it in this offense. He can’t do it with this roster. This is not meant to absolve Murray of failure. Clearly he’s failed, as have the other two. What I’m saying is more complex. The pieces of this puzzle don’t fit together to form a picture of success.
Let’s take Keim & Murray. Keim appears unable to build a sufficiently protective O-line. He’s tried with guys like Hudson, but he was a poor choice, as were Beachum & Garcia. At least it’s not his main priority. You may recall KC spent last summer retooling their O-line to make certain Mahomes had better protection. They actually sacrificed one of their major offensive weapons to make the cap work so they could achieve their goal. It’s been at least partially successful. On the other hand, when in Seattle, Wilson was at least somewhat successful with one of the worst O-lines in the league, so a great QB can win with a weak line. Keim did get Brown for Murray, but apparently wasted a draft pick on a second TE, who is not even really a target Murray considers. I would say Keim has failed to discern one of Murray’s primary needs to be successful. Clearly Murray could do better with this line, but his lack of pocket presence and toughness precludes that, so he needs a line. Keim could stay but would need a philosophical adjustment. I’d guess he needs to use Kugler more in his linemen evaluations. The Cards need to make the O-line a bigger priority in cap allocation.
Then there’s Keim & Kingsbury. Forget BPA. The TE selection is a perfect example of the problem. It made little sense as a second TE is clearly not a major impact aspect of this offensive scheme. Then there’s letting a speed back, Edmonds leave, and not replacing him. He was a big threat as part of this offense. There are also significant questions as to the line depth Keim accepted. He’s simply fails to fully understand the offense. That’s frightening. Again this seems like a communication problem to me. Is Kingsbury even involved in setting up the draft board? I can’t imagine him letting this choice be placed that highly with Ertz having signed a multi-year contract. Again coaches have to at least have a voice in personnel decisions
Then there’s Kingsbury & Murray. Oddly despite Murray being Kingsbury’s dream QB, they seem to be the most mismatched relationship. People keep talking about Murray being great at playground football. For my money Murray would be better off in a highly structured environment. He needs discipline. Kingsbury seems to prefer chaos. There seems to be no structured 2 minute drill plan. Likewise every trip to the red zone bears no resemblance to previous trips beyond the frequency of first down delayed handoffs. Confusion reigns. Most teams have “go to” plays. Sometimes Kingsbury seems so tied to his play chart that he appears to be making all the calls on the fly rather than having a cohesive plan to attack for specific distances. Shouldn’t he anticipate more? In a 2 minute drill shouldn’t everyone be on the same page? On third down why aren’t all receivers crossing the line-to-make on downs requiring less than 7 yards? Of course other teams will notice if you run the same play repeatedly. However, there should be a set of key plays, practiced so often no one could possibly be confused about their role. I have to wonder what practice looks like for these game segments. Slowly developing plays, like behind-the-line passes and deep handoff should be taken out of the playbook for 2 minute drills & the red zone. The emphasis should be on plays with little chance of negative results. Even incomplete passes are better when time’s short,than slowly developing plays. Those passes at least stop the clock and don’t move the ball further from the first down. Non-productive rookies, like McBride, don’t belong in either process. If Murray won’t throw to them, what’s the point?
If the first drive is scripted, why is Ertz never targeted? Why are back never kept in to buy Murray time? Williams is an excellent protector, but never used that way. Why are rollouts and 2 man games never used? I’d even take a flea flicker. The Cards rarely use stacked receivers or rubs to confuse the defense, why? All these things don’t require Murray to be able to read the defense. Kingsbury doesn’t seem to focus on Murray’s strengths. Rarely do patterns result in open receivers. Rarely are plays called that slow the rush. This offense is not varied or creative.
Then there’s the time issue. Plays come in slowly, likely caused by overthinking. TOs are frivolously wasted. In the past when they’ve had leads, they’ve struggled to run clock. They rarely take 3 points and don’t seem to understand the importance of having something to show for a long drive. Kingsbury needs to feed Murray’s ego more and give him a sense of accomplishment, not continuous failure. In the end it seems like Kingsbury does the same thing over and over, expecting different results.
I can see Keim improving with better direction and focus. Better communication is needed all around. I can see Murray improving with better structure and discipline. I’m less inclined to think Kingsbury can easily change, so that’s the part of the puzzle I’d discard. Time may prove more change than just Kingsbury is needed, but that’s where I’d start. Maybe it’s all about synergy.
