Kyler Murray TDs? 'Stats' pointless in Arizona Cardinals training camp | Opinion

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What if I told you Kyler Murray was 5 for 16 during 11-on-11 work at Arizona Cardinals’ training camp on July 24, and he was picked off four times? Oh, and what if I added that he was also sacked five times and fumbled twice?

Would you immediately rush to judgment and take him off your fantasy football wish list? Maybe you might throw your arms up in disgust and bellow, "Well, there goes our 2025 season!” Perhaps you’ll take to social media and start calling Murray a bunch of evil names.

Calm down. Relax.

I’m just trying to make a point. Murray looked completely fine to me at State Farm Stadium.

As for his “stats” on July 24 specifically, I couldn’t exactly tell you because typically, I never keep “stats” during training camp. The one and only time I remember doing that was during Murray’s rookie year in 2019. He was the story of camp that year, the incoming No. 1 overall draft pick and Heisman Trophy winner, the handpicked new starting QB by the new incoming head coach, Kliff Kingsbury.

Murray was, and still is, kind of a big deal. Besides, Cardinals fans and NFL fans in general are curious about everything, and most enjoy consuming every bit of viable information and juicy nuggets they can get.

But does keeping “stats” and then reporting them daily during training camp serve a useful purpose?

“No, that’s a waste of time,” Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said.

I brought up that question and others to Gannon before Arizona’s workouts on July 24 because of something former NFL great J.J. Watt, a one-time player for the Cardinals from 2021-22, wrote about the subject earlier in the day on X.

“Training Camp 'stats' are insane and ridiculous,” Watt, a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year during his time with the Houston Texans, wrote.

“Used to think it was always just people joking, but now seeing them seriously reported.

“You have no idea what the purpose of that period is, what the goals are, what the context is, etc.

“It could be a strictly 3rd & Long blitz period where every play is skewed to the defense's advantage. Coaches could be asking the QB to focus specifically on one route concept. DLine may be focusing only on bull rushes one day or just speed rushes for one period.

“More importantly, practice is for practicing. You’re supposed to fail. You’re supposed to try new things, see what works and what doesn’t work, etc. If you only do what works, you’ll never grow, adapt, change.

“The entire point of training camp is to build and grow towards the season so that you perform your best when the real games start.”

Watt is spot on. About basically everything.

Tracking “stats” and then reporting them during training camp is a failed exercise. It can not only be misinterpreted but also entirely misleading without knowing the full interworking of each play, every concept, the reasons behind it, and what the coaching staff is specifically evaluating.

And when it comes to breaking down the film from each day’s total practice sessions and evaluating and critiquing everything that took place, something Gannon and his staff do multiple times, it sounds exhausting.

And it has nothing really to do with “stats.”

“It’s our job, so we spend the time that is needed to be right and evaluate it,” Gannon said.

He then offered insight into how the Cardinals examine the good, the bad and the ugly during each day in training camp:

“It’s extremely detailed,” Gannon said. “Right when we get off the grass, all three phases (offense, defense, special teams) are watching the tape together and that’s the first wave. Then we (watch again) while one group is lifting and one group is doing recovery, that flipflops every day. Then we have a psyche meeting in the locker room and go have walk-through.

“We get back to the hotel and nobody eats, and we watch the tape again. And then you make the (video) cutups because you’ve got to get ready to correct the tape that just happened with the players. Sometimes, you might not get through all of it with them, but you get through a lot of it.

“Then when the players leave and go work on their health bucket and go to bed, we probably watch it two, three, four more times. Then you go to bed and then you wake up and you probably watch it again a couple more times. And the funny thing is – I will say this – the more you watch it, the more you see.”

So no, don’t ask me to tell you exactly how Kyler Murray is throwing the football in training camp. Don’t bother worrying about precisely how many passes Marvin Harrison Jr. might have dropped or how many sacks new edge rusher Josh Sweat could have had if defensive players were allowed to hit the quarterback.

The Cardinals are the only folks who know exactly how the real evaluations are going. As for me, I’ll wait to start keeping “stats” when the 2025 regular season begins on Sept. 7 at the New Orleans Saints.

Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. on Roc and Manuch with Jimmy B on ESPN 620 (KTAR-AM).