Following the first meeting between the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner was asked about defending Kyler Murray, Arizona's athletic rookie quarterback.
"Yeah man, he's like a little squirrel back there, you know what I mean?" Buckner responded. "Just a little squirrel running everywhere and everything. Next time we go against him, we've got to do a better job of containing him and keeping him in the pocket."
Buckner, bye the way, doesn't seem to mean the comparison to a squirrel as an insult. It's just a way to express what it is like to go against someone so quick and elusive.
The rematch between the two teams takes place on Sunday, and that "little squirrel" will be running around the Levi's Stadium field. Once again, Buckner and the rest of his teammates will be tasked with catching him.
Buckner joined team reporter Keiana Martin on Thursday's installment of 49ers Live, and was asked about Murray.
"The little squirrel, yes he is," Buckner said. "He's a playmaker. He can hurt you with his feet or obviously with his arm. He has a cannon. A guy like that, you've really got to try and just really overwhelm him with pressure and having guys in his face in the pass game.
"Really, what got away from us the first game was the run game, especially with having (Kenyan) Drake back there for his first game. What did he rush for? About 100 yards? (110)
"We need to do a better job up front, as a collective group, of containing the run, making sure they can't get all those gadget plays and get everything going that they want. We've got to get them off schedule, and [Murray is] really good when things are going his way."
