Underneath every innocent post about San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy leading the NFL in some category, there are a handful of comments referencing his supporting cast.
People find it difficult to admit that two things can be certain at the same time. Any quarterback would be lucky to play with the 49ers’ skill players and have Kyle Shanah play, let alone the best left tackle in the sport.
Maybe the Niners haven’t been televised enough this season because there are three or four plays where Purdy makes a “wow” play and saves the offensive line after taking pressure off or hits a receiver 35+ yards downfield. area
ESPN examined every playoff team to debunk the biggest myth about them making the playoffs, and the 49ers talked about adding to Purdy’s YAC stats:
Myth: Brock Purdy’s numbers are inflated by the Niners’ postseason hitting ability .
Why it’s a myth: Yes, the 49ers have great running ability. And yes, Shanahan does a great job of drawing plays that maximize it. But Purdy doesn’t rely on it much more than other quarterbacks. The 49ers are sixth in the league in receiving yards (4,577) and fourth in catches (2,189). They get 47.8% of their receiving yards after the catch. By comparison, the Chiefs get 61.1% of their receiving yards after the catch. Is Patrick Mahomes a system quarterback? QBR is a statistic that directly measures a quarterback’s contribution to games that help the team win, and Purdy’s 72.8 was the highest in the NFL this season. He also finished seventh in yards per pass attempt at 8.0. He may be a good fit in Shanahan’s offense, but calling Purdy a system quarterback understates his accomplishments.
I appreciate extreme examples involving Mahomes because sometimes that’s the only way to get the point across.
It may surprise the casual viewer that Purdy has the third-highest completion percentage in the middle of the field. Purdy attempts more than a quarter of his passes between 10 and 19 yards. If he picked up yards on short throws, that would be one thing. But he throws the ball past the first marker faster than most NFL quarterbacks.
Purdy, on the other hand, ranks 22nd in the NFL in 0-9 yard attempts and 32nd in completion percentage behind the line of scrimmage. Brock tries to throw the ball down.
But you can’t say that to someone who has already made up his mind about Purdy, because he can’t separate his game from the situation he’s in..
