Cardinals QB Kyler Murray is taking the Bruce Lee mantra to heart: 'Be water'

Of all the opinions, analysis and chatter in the wake of Kyler’s Murray‘s performance on Sunday against the Rams, this simple quote from his postgame news conference stood out.

It spoke to more than his state of mind. It spoke to his state of being.

“I’m not really worried about the past or the future,” he said. “Just trying to be where my feet are.”

There were reams of data to dissect Murray’s 17-of-21 passing performance for 266 yards and three TDs in the Arizona Cardinals’ 41-10 beatdown of Los Angeles.

• Murray joined Kurt Warner as the only players in franchise history to finish a game with a perfect passer rating of 158.3.
• He became the second player (Cincinnati’s Ken Anderson) in NFL history with at least 250 passing yards, 50 rushing yards and a 158.3 passer rating in a game — a performance that prompted the Pro Football Hall of Fame to display his game-worn jersey.
• Pro Football Focus gave him a 96.9 grade for Week 2.
• He has the second highest adjusted QB rating in the NFL at 91.3.
• And as far as efficiency ratings go, this chart tells the tale.

There were some discrepancies in the data depending on the models, the methodology, and the rigor, bias or ignorance of the data collection process, but almost all of that data agreed on one thing: Murray’s performance was elite.

On a more esoteric level, it was sublime. It was inspiring. It stretched the imagination in ways that only great performance artists can do.

That’s what the data couldn’t collect: the mindset of the man in the moment. For that information, fans had to rely solely on their eyes, their emotions, and the best analysts on the topic: Murray’s teammates and coaches.

“I’ve got all the nicknames for him: Houdini, Superman, all that,” running back James Conner said. “When he’s rolling like that, he’s one of the best in the game. They couldn’t do nothing with him. He was just in his bag there. He was in a zone for sure.”

Murray engineered so many memorable moments on Sunday.

There was the low-five with coach Jonathan Gannon after a TD pass to Elijah Higgins — a moment captured in the image at the top of this page.

There was the Steph Curry homage on the same play when Murray turned away from the pass before it had been completed — so certain that the act would reach fruition that he raised his hand to celebrate while the ball was still in the air.

There was the perfect back-of-the-end-zone pass to Marvin Harrison Jr.

There was the high-point pass into double coverage, thrown to the only place where tight end Trey McBride could catch it inbounds and the Rams defenders could not.

There was that ridiculous scramble to his left to complete a pass to Harrison down the left sideline on a broken play.

“Those plays weren’t forced at all — kind of just happened — and that’s how it should be,” Murray said. “If they do happen, they happen, but again, I’m not looking for those things to happen. I’m just trying to go through my reads.

“The defense dictates where the ball goes a lot of the times, unless you want to force it around to people. I’m just trying to play good quarterback play and deliver the ball to where it’s supposed to go.”

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When Murray used that same explanation after a loss in Buffalo, the reception was far different. He was criticized for not getting the ball to Harrison more. He was criticized for not seeing Harrison “wide open” for a walk-in touchdown. He was criticized — again — for his height and his supposed inability to make the big play with the game on the line.

Of course, those sentiments lacked context. And of course those sentiments irked Murray.

“As a human, we all have emotions and feelings,” he said. “But if I’m ever irritated by anything, it’s usually 24 hours and then it’s over.”

That statement, as much as anything he said, offered a window into Murray’s approach. So did Murray’s most recently released video on his YouTube page. It opens with Murray in his pool and a well-known voice over from martial artist Bruce Lee:

“I said empty your mind. Be formless. Shapeless. Like water.”

Murray has been under the microscope since high school. He went 43-0 as a starter. He won three straight Texas state championships. He was the ninth overall selection in the 2018 MLB Draft, he won the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma, and he was the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

While he would never say that he is immune to media and fan scrutiny or criticism, he picked up and honed many coping mechanisms over the years.

“I’ve been doing this a long time,” he said. “I don’t really allow that to affect what goes on inside the building or mentally with me or anything like that. I’m worried about what’s going on here and what we’re trying to accomplish. 

“Ever since I was young, I was always taught to never allow anybody [who had] anything bad to say about you [affect you]. Treat everybody how you want to be treated. Just be a good person, and that’s just what I try to do. That’s what I live by. If people say whatever they say, it is what it is. I know who I am.”

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After that stellar Week-2 performance, Murray is absorbing the other end of the media and fan experience: hype.

Some betting sites have listed him among the favorites to win the NFL MVP award or the comeback player of the year award. Others are predicting that the Cardinals are going to be a playoff team with some suggesting they will be in the NFC Championship Game.

My gameball goes to a guy who is no longer yours to kick around… @gmfb pic.twitter.com/V78SkQ43V4

— Kyle Brandt (@KyleBrandt) September 16, 2024

We’ve been down this road before. Murray was in the MVP conversation when the Cardinals began the 2021 season 7-0 — the first time that had happened in 47 years; when they were still in St. Louis. 

That didn’t end well. Arizona lost seven of its final 11 games including, coincidentally, a 34-11 Rams beatdown in the first round of the playoffs.

Two regular season games is not a large sample to draw any meaningful conclusions for this season. This week’s game against the Lions could alter the perspective again.

“We did enough to win round two, but [the players] know on a Monday, [whether we] lose by 40, win by 40, it’s the same process, man,” coach Jonathan Gannon said. “How are we going to get better from the tape? And then we move on and on to Detroit.”

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The difference between this season and 2021, however, goes back to what Murray said during OTAs when he noted how much wisdom he had accumulated through the first five seasons of his career. That wisdom includes the perspective he gained from the ACL injury that shelved him for nearly 14 games between the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

“It was refreshing in a sense,” he said. “Not to say I was never missing the game or not embracing this opportunity that I have [before], but when you get hurt, it just kind of gives you that different perspective. You have to go through it to really understand what it is.”

“It just made me go even harder. I was already going harder, but now, when the game’s taken away from you, you get it.”

Those changes in his approach are subtle, they are often mental or even spiritual, and Murray often keeps those feelings to himself unless prompted.

“In terms of the way he carries himself, prepares, all those things, I think he’s been the same guy really since I’ve walked in the building,” offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said. “But I think certainly the more he does something, the more comfortable he feels at it.

“There’s that knowing-without-thinking [aspect]. I think that’s only going to continue and get better as he continues to play quarterback in the system.”

There are plenty of external factors that will impact Murray’s success this season. Despite that perfect passer rating on Sunday, he knows that the NFL is an imperfect game in which there is always room for improvement.

But he doesn’t need media or fans to analyze for him those areas that need work. He knows.

He doesn’t ask others, including his agent, to speak on his behalf. More and more, he is providing keen insight when asked about his process.

And when the ball goes in the air for the first time on Sunday, he will try to achieve that simple goal of just being where his feet are.

“You just simplify, man, just simplify it,” he said. “I would tell that to any quarterback.

“Don’t make it more than what it is. Just go out there and simplify the game. ‘What am I supposed to do on this play?’ And then go out there and execute.”

Top photo via Getty Images: Kyler Murray celebrates with coach Jonathan Gannon after a first-half TD against the Los Angeles Rams at State Farm Stadium on Sunday.

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