“I think the leadership and just how much he puts into the job has really been impressive to me,” said Petzing. “I think, as you said, as an outsider you see the great throws, even the great check downs, the great plays. But, I think just the way he carries himself in and outside the building and asking questions. He is calling me early in the morning, late at night, shooting me a text in the off season. He lives for this game, and I think his teammates feel that. He’s very demanding of them, very demanding of himself. I think that’s been really impressive.”
I’m betting that’s been eye opening for Petzing given that Kyler Murray wasn’t exactly known as the hardest worker or most motivated guy (one of the few guys who ever had a contract clause presented which added an independent study requirement mandating four hours of game-film study per week–although it was later rescinded after a firestorm of publicity–the damage was done).
Jason Smith: “As embarrassing as this is – and it is – here is our franchise guy who doesn’t work hard enough… That’s why this story makes me mad. Kyler Murray gave an interview with the New York Times last year and said he doesn’t feel like he needs to watch a lot of game film because he’s blessed with the natural ability to see what’s going to happen on the field and he can go on from there, so I ‘don’t need to watch film’… But that’s NOT that, do you know what this is? It’s ‘I DON’T FEEL LIKE I SHOULD HAVE TO DO THIS! I DON’T WANT TO DO IT SO I’M NOT GOING TO! I’M NOT GONNA GO TO THE LENGTHS TO BE THE BEST PLAYER I CAN BE!’ It’s just being lazy. That’s all he’s doing, he’s being lazy. Watch film and do what other great quarterbacks like Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, and Tom Brady do all the time? ‘NAHHHH, I DON’T NEED TO DO THAT, MAN, I’M GOOD ENOUGH JUST AS IT IS WITH MY OWN PHYSICAL SKILLS!’ That’s what pisses me off because the one thing I hate is people who are lazy. When I see someone like Kyler Murray be like ‘Yeah, I don’t need to watch this’… Dude, everybody watches film, it’s how you get better. ‘NO, I DON’T NEED TO, I JUST NEED TO DO MY OWN THING ON THE FIELD!’ I mean, c’mon, really? That’s what makes me upset about this story. Kyler Murray is just an athlete who feels like ‘I don’t need to worry about anything else, I just need to go out and do my own thing.’ You’re a quarterback, man, you’re responsible for your team, you’re responsible for the players that you lead, you’re responsible for ALL of it. Why do you think there was kind of a frosty reception this offseason when you were at odds with the Cardinals? People know who works hard and who doesn’t, and Kyler Murray does not. The Cardinals giving him that money knowing that this is what they needed to do to make sure he’s prepared for it? It doesn’t make any sense and it pisses me off about this story because I hate when lazy people succeed.”
Murray got off on playing Call of Duty more than he did playing professional football.
[Cimini] "I was talking to someone, one of Kyler’s former teammates and he basically warned off the Jets about him. I said, ‘‘You know the Jets might be going after Kyler in a month or two.’’ He goes, ‘‘No, no, no, the Jets don’t want to do that. You don’t want Kyler Murray as your quarterback.’’
I hope to see Sam LaPorta go crazy with him
