Cardinals eye quarterback Murray with NFL Draft top pick

NEW YORK -- Quarterback Kyler Murray, the Heisman Trophy winner as American football's top collegiate player, is expected to be selected Thursday by the Arizona Cardinals with the top pick in the NFL Draft.

The three-day event to allocate new talent to NFL clubs begins Thursday night in Nashville, Tennessee, with the Cardinals selecting first thanks to last season's NFL-worst 3-13 record.

While the Cardinals have been silent about their plans, quarterbacks have been selected with the number one pick in 15 of the past 21 NFL Drafts and Murray has the talent to entice Arizona to continue that trend.

Murray, whose maternal grandmother was born in South Korea, completed 260 of 377 passes for 4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns with only seven interceptions last season for Oklahoma, which reached the national championship playoffs.

He also ran 140 times for 1,001 yards and 12 touchdowns, bringing the run-pass threat that has made several NFL quarterbacks a tough challenge for defensive units in recent years.

Murray, 21, was also a college baseball star outfielder for the Sooners baseball team who announced in February he was giving up any ideas of a baseball career to focus on his NFL effort.

The Oakland A's had taken Murray with the ninth pick in last year's Major League Baseball Draft but he walked away from their offer of $4.33 million (3.84 million euros) for the chance at more than $30 million as a top NFL Draft pick.

"Football has been my love and passion my entire life," Murray tweeted. "I was raised to play QB, and I very much look forward to dedicating 100% of myself to being the best QB possible and winning NFL championships."

Murray's draft status has been dogged by questions over whether he is physically big enough to forge a successful career in the NFL.

At 5ft 10in (1.77m), Murray is relatively short for a quarterback, a factor which has reportedly weighed on some teams deliberations.

"I've never been the biggest guy on the field, I'm always the smallest guy on the field," said Murray. "I've said it multiple times: I feel I'm the most impactful guy on the field and the best player on the field at all times.

"That's just the confidence I have in myself and my teammates have in me. I've always had to play at this height. Everybody's trying to make it out to be something, but at the same time, I just go out there and play the game I love."

Should the Cardinals select someone else, the other highest-regarded prospects are defensive tackle Quinnen Williams of Alabama and defensive end Nick Bosa of Ohio State.

Bosa's preparations for the draft meanwhile has been the subject of a social media controversy, with the defender wiping his Twitter account of a series of posts which criticised former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and others which praised President Donald Trump.

The San Francisco 49ers are set to select second overall, followed in order by the New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants, Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos.

The reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots receive the 32nd and last pick in the first round.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Former NFL star player kills 3-yr-old daughter in accident: media

Former NFL star player Todd Heap hit and killed his 3-year-old daughter on Friday while he was moving his truck in his driveway at his Arizona home, media reported.

The unidentified girl was hit at about 4 p.m. in Mesa, Arizona. Rescue workers took the girl to the hospital where she died, an ABC affiliate reported.

Heap was not impaired and there was no suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident, police told ABC 15 Arizona.

The Pro Bowl tight end played 12 seasons in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals. Heap, a popular player with the Ravens during his 10 years in Baltimore, remains the team's all-time touchdown leader with 41.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Panthers pulverise Cardinals, to meet Broncos in Super Bowl

The Carolina Panthers, led by all-around quarterback Cam Newton and a defense that forced seven turnovers, mauled the Arizona Cardinals 49-15 in Charlotte on Sunday to set up a Super Bowl 50 clash against the Denver Broncos.

Newton ran for two scores, soaring above defenders at the goal line, and threw for two others to set off a victory party at Bank of America Stadium by reaching the Feb. 7 National Football League championship game outside San Francisco.

Earlier, Denver and veteran quarterback Peyton Manning edged last year's champion New England Patriots and their signal caller Tom Brady 20-18 for the AFC title.

Carolina scored the first three times they touched the ball in racing out to a 17-0 lead and led 24-7 at halftime, taking advantage of four turnovers against a shaky Arizona attack.

Three more interceptions of beleaguered quarterback Carson Palmer and cool execution by Newton in the second half turned the title game into a rout.

Newton completed 19 of 28 passes for 335 yards and added 47 yards on 10 rushes.

Palmer, pressured continually by the Carolina pass rush, threw four interceptions and fumbled twice to provide the Panthers with six turnovers. Patrick Peterson fumbled a punt return in the second quarter for Arizona's other giveaway.

(Editing by Andrew Both)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Cardinals oust Packers after exchange of amazing plays

LOS ANGELES -- In one of the most dramatic finishes in NFL playoff history, the Arizona Cardinals outlasted the Green Bay Packers 26-20 in overtime Saturday to advance in the post-season.

Arizona will face the winner of Sunday's Carolina-Seattle game on January 24 in the National Conference final to determine a berth in Super Bowl 50 next month.

A back-and-forth thriller featuring one astonishing play after another at the finish was not decided until Carson Palmer threw his third touchdown pass of the game, a five-yard "shovel pass" up the middle to Larry Fitzgerald a minute into extra time.

A scrambling Palmer earlier eluded Green Bay defenders to find an unguarded Fitzgerald on a 75-yard pass play that set up the winning score, but only after the Packers forced overtime with two of the most amazing plays ever made.

Trailing 20-13 in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter, the Packers needed 20 yards merely to keep the ball on a fourth-down play when Aaron Rodgers hurled a long pass downfield and unlikely hero Jeff Janis caught it for a 60-yard gain to sustain Green Bay's slim hopes.

Janis, who had only four career catches before Saturday, then followed with another miraculous grab for an equalizer touchdown.

Rodgers launched a desperate pass into the end zone at double-covered Janis, who leaped into the air and pulled down the ball for a stunning TD with no time left on the clock.

Kicker Mason Crosby followed with an extra point to level the score at 20-20.

Overtime produced drama even before it started as the first attempted coin flip failed, forcing a repeat that ended up giving Arizona the ball and setting up their response to Rodgers' miracle.

Palmer completed 25-of-41 passes for 349 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown pass to Michael Floyd to open the scoring and a 9-yard TD toss to Floyd with 3:44 remaining in the fourth quarter to give Arizona a 17-13 lead.

Rodgers, who went 24-for-44 for 261 yards that included an earlier 8-yard touchdown throw to Janis, failed on a fourth-down pass and the Packers surrendered the ball deep in their territory, setting up a Cardinals' field goal that produced a 20-13 lead and set the stage for the closing spectacle.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com