DC Matt Burke says Texans are facing fearless scrambler in Kyler Murray

Matt Burke spent one season with the Arizona Cardinals last year as a defensive line coach. The exposure was enough to determine the type of profile Kyler Murray brings as a quarterback.

Naturally “fast” and “quick” are among the superlatives Burke would use regarding Murray when meeting with reporters Nov. 16, but the Arizona signal caller brings more to a dropback than speed.

“I would say he’s not afraid to sort of — give ground to gain ground type of thing. Some guys don’t want to bail.”

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— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) November 14, 2023

Burke referenced a third down scramble Murray had against the Atlanta Falcons in a 25-23 win.

Said Burke: “I mean, he went back 20 yards back just to go 10 yards forward. Just sort of when you think you’re rushing high enough, you think you’re rushing at a certain point — he’ll still be going.”

What Burke noticed from his year with the Cardinals is how fearless Murray was on scrambles.

“I think probably even more than a lot of them — there’s just — he’s not afraid to — like it doesn’t bother him,” said Burke. “There’s no clock for him. It doesn’t bother him to hold on to it to keep going, to keep going, to keep going. Some guys after a point, it’s maybe like, ‘Ah, I got to press or get rid of the ball — throw it.’ Like there’s no clock.”

Coach DeMeco Ryans was the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers the past two seasons and faced the Cardinals four times. Ryans has the concept of “covering twice and rushing twice,” according to Burke.

“That’s what we’re talking about with him, I think,” Burke said. “He’s probably the quintessential definition of extending plays and they’re going to go for a long time, and we have to play through that whole window. Yeah, it’ll be fun.”