As the Minnesota Vikings continue to be an issue, and with one loss now in the books, the blame rightly centers on quarterback Kyler Murray and head coach Kevin O'Connell. In some sense the blame scale can tilt O'Connell's way, as Murray clearly needed first-team reps in OTAs and training camp he didn't get.
That said, Murray is flat-out missing or not even attempting throws that appear to be there for the taking. Flimsy analysis will say that's because he's too short and can't see things, while better breakdown of the film, like Tyler Forness of A to Z Sports does, easily questions why Murray is not letting it rip on open throws he should be seeing and trusting the look of.
With all of that in mind, no wonder Justin Jefferson is frustrated as another season of his career evaporates under lackluster quarterback play.
At this stage of his career, for better or worse, Murray is what he is as a quarterback, and it's not going to change. It is up to O'Connell to shape an offense that fits his hand-picked quarterback's strengths, and that is not really happening.
A meaningful critique of Kyler Murray has finally arrived
During appearances on a talk show or two, Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner has offered bits of brief analysis of Murray's performance amid the Vikings' offensive struggles. He channeled that into a deeper breakdown in a new video on his YouTube channel, focused on the Week 8 game against the Detroit Lions.
Warner started with the deep ball to Jordan Addison on the third play of the game. As soon as Addison won against Lions' cornerback D.J. Reed, Murray should've let the throw go.
Instead, he hesitates and hitches before the throw falls short of the ideal spot, and Reed is able to recover.
“Let that thing go. We need to let it go right now,” Warner said. “One hitch, lay this thing to the back pylon. Instead, we take 2-3 hitches… and ultimately it leads to a throw that’s short.”
“Missed opportunity right here for a possible touchdown."
Warner went on to mention some general issues he has with the "pure progression" elements of O'Connell's offense, which are at times exacerbating the issues Murray is having.
A number of the plays he highlighted revolved around missed opportunities involving Jefferson, as expected.
As Warner said, it's easy to look back at tape and find all the things Murray isn't doing in the heat of the moment on the field when it's not that simple. But a lot of what he highlighted also feels like fairly basic things an eight-year veteran should be able to do.
That said, core elements of the Vikings' offense were completely new to Murray when he arrived. That's why he needed, and lightly lamented not getting, as many practice reps as possible during OTAs.
Then, with a follow-up of not splitting first-team reps with J.J. McCarthy at the start of camp, maybe some of the issues Warner pointed to wouldn't be happening halfway into the season.
For all the rightful criticism of Murray, Warner did highlight a couple of good things from the Lions' game too. The full breakdown, about 27 minutes long, is well worth watching for the Hall of Famer's detailed, nuanced, not screaming, unabashed criticism for the sake of it, perspective.
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