I'd never make it as an NFL quarterback. I cringe watching Russell Wilson press conferences. I could never pretend to be as buttoned-up as Tom Brady. Posturing makes me sick. I'm a George Carlin type of guy. Oh, and I'm 5'10 and about to drive thru the Chick-Fil-A line.
Unfortunately for every new quarterback in the NFL, Peyton Manning's career as "The Sherrif" set a new standard. You're a CEO, not just a player. Judgement is at a premium, and for a second, I questioned Kyler Murray's.
"We got a lot of receivers in Texas," Murray said in a Wednesday press conference when asked about his offseason routine. "Obviously a lot of great athletes come from Texas, so I don't really have an issue getting people to come catch." He sounded tone-deaf, given the reports we kept getting about other quarterbacks around the league.
Daniel Jones was getting together with teammates a week ago. Dwayne Haskins was working with teammates in May. Drew Lock and his teammates were reportedly running the entire Broncos offense last week. Garoppolo, Goff, Ryan and Brady were among former Super Bowl-attending quarterbacks organizing team activities earlier this month in an effort to hit the ground running in 2020.
Did Murray just, like, not read the news?
$40,000 bucks, 20 booked flights and hotels, and two team-building outings later, he did apparently get the memo.
Phew!
Of course Kyler Murray's flying 20 teammates into Dallas for a Sunday-Wednesday training session. He gets it. He always has. That's why his aforementioned comments were so startling. We knew he got it when he had the sense to choose football over baseball, and when he refused to be a "predictions guy" yesterday.
"I don't like to speak on what I'm gonna do beforehand," Murray insisted when asked about how much better he'll be next season. "I just like to go out and play my game and let my game speak for itself."
Now, he's letting his pocketbook speak for his judgement.
Suddenly, there's hardly a question Murray hasn't answered. Size? Who cares. Arm strength? Top half of the league. Accuracy? 64% completion rate works. Maturity?
Now, he just has to win.
A little offseason chemistry building should help, even if it does cost two of my cars.