Cardinals RT Kelvin Beachum on Kyler Murray: ‘I turn into a spectator’
Sep 21, 2020, 11:29 AM | Updated: 11:55 am
If you think Kyler Murray is fast on TV, imagine how it feels being his teammate.
Arizona Cardinals starting right tackle Kelvin Beachum joined the Doug & Wolf show on Arizona Sports Monday morning to discuss the young quarterback, who rushed for 67 yards and two touchdowns against the Washington Football Team Sunday.
“Man when he gets out in space, it’s amazing to watch,” Beachum said.
“When I need to block, I’m blocking, and then when he’s downfield and making guys miss, I turn into a spectator,” he added.
Murray is on pace to set the single-season rushing record for a quarterback, which is currently held by the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson (1,206 yards).
“You have to account for Kyler in the zone game, no matter the backs you have in the back field,” Beachum said. “Kliff and the staff do a phenomenal job of presenting some challenges with putting some guys in motion, whether it’s Christian (Kirk), Larry (Fitzgerald) or D-Hop (DeAndre Hopkins). Those types of things you have to account for as a defense and you also have to account for the quarterback being able to pull it and run the ball as well.
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“As offensive linemen, we say this every week, we’ve just got to do our job.”
The Cardinals not only have a speedy quarterback, but are running an up-tempo offense as well. Fast attacks on offense forces defenses to adjust on the fly and also wears them down quickly, a tactic head coach Kliff Kingsbury used while coaching college and has brought with him to Arizona.
“It’s been body blows after body blows and when you have some of those deep shots that we had … to take a shot like that and then literally get right back on the ball and do another play, it’s hard for the defense,” Beachum said.
Up-tempo is no walk in the park for Beachum, a nine-year NFL veteran, either.
“It’s fascinating to be a part of,” he said. “I’ve played in offenses where it’s kind of up-tempo but this is like warp speed.”
Though the team is sitting at 2-0 and are facing three 0-2 teams in the coming weeks, Beachum said there’s still more work to be done and it’s no time to rest easy.
“We’ve got to continue to press the tempo and I think there’s still room for improvement in that facet of our game,” he said. “To pick up the tempo even more and stay on schedule.”
