QB Brock Purdy Thread

Originally posted by Afrikan:
Wait, all the sudden Purdy is a deep ball specialist?

Why the heck do yall think we lost the Super Bowl? Why have good defenses played us a certain way since? Chiefs were daring Brock to throw it deep.. knowning he wouldn't, or there would be no chemistry with said receivers because we never/rarely hit teams over the top. The two passes that we attempted were pathetic.

We got shut down v KC bc our WRs sucked at getting separation

Deebo got hard countered

KS pivoted to Pearsall and Aiyuk as his new WR core but injuries have f**ked those plans

Originally posted by Afrikan:
Wait, all the sudden Purdy is a deep ball specialist?

Why the heck do yall think we lost the Super Bowl? Why have good defenses played us a certain way since? Chiefs were daring Brock to throw it deep.. knowning he wouldn't, or there would be no chemistry with said receivers because we never/rarely hit teams over the top. The two passes that we attempted were pathetic.

We lost the Superbowl because Purdy gave our team THREE leads in the 4th quarter and overtime and the defense was unable to hold them.

Hope that clears it up for you.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
23.7 PPG in 2024 but splitting hairs on that. I just really do think it's significant when you consider last year it was the offensive stars decimated with injury, a still terrible defense, and Jake Moody missing a million field goals.

No Trent, no CMC, no BA, along with various other OL dings. But despite all that, the Purdy-led offense still ranked significantly higher and Brock himself was higher in EPA.

2024 offense finished 4th in the NFL. When Brock started, we averaged roughly 400 yds of offense per game without any stars except Kittle, vs 360 this year with Mac. We are 11th on total offense this year.

The overall argument isn't that Mac is bad or anything, it's just that Purdy is so much better than him, a lot more than many want to give him credit for.

My ppg number is for Brock's 15 games as the starter, minus the defensive TD Warner scored, so I'm pretty sure it's correct. It is splitting hairs though as you said, and you're correct to point out Moody's missed field goals. That would bump it up another 1.8 ppg. I would point out you did say we need to not rely on field goals.

In terms of support around the QB, I don't really see an argument that it's been stronger this season than last. Obviously we missed CMC for the bulk of the year and that's a huge loss, but you still had Aiyuk for ~ 7 games, Deebo and Kittle for all but a couple of games, a healthy Jennings, and Pearsall for the back 2/3 of the year. Kittle's missed half of Mac's starts, Jennings has missed a couple games and played through injury, Pearsall's been there for two games… and maybe most importantly, we were a top 10 running team last year (4.7 ypc) and are at the bottom of the league this season (3.5 ypc). That's going to be a big factor in the 2 ppg (assuming 100 percent field goal success) and yardage differences, especially in this offense.

All that sad, it's true that Brock's EPA/db was higher. EPA is a team stat though. To put it simply, it's a better version of passer rating. As a team overall, our offense (and defense) has been a tick better this season by EPA/p. Mac is a couple points higher in passer rating, and their total QBR is identical.

The overarching point I'd make here is that Brock isn't 'so much better' than Mac. He's marginally better, and I think anyone expecting a large jump when he takes back over is probably going to be disappointed. And that's assuming he's healthy enough to play well. On the plus side, outside of getting the starting QB back, we'll hopefully get healthier at the skill positions around the QB (Pearsall ready to return as an example).

Originally posted by Cisco0623:

Originally posted by CatchMaster80:
The 49ers don't have any deep threat receivers that are active right now. Pearsall is probably their best and he was getting deep in the first 2 games before he got injured. The receivers they have now are more suited for the short and intermediate game. That's why Kyle is calling those plays. Plus it allows a less than mobile QB to get rid of the ball quicker instead of waiting for guys to get open downfield.

The fact is Mac is an accurate deep ball thrower. He showed that at Alabama when he had fast receivers. With his limited mobility that's even worse with his knee issues it makes no sense to try and throw deep very often. With Purdy still hurt they can't afford to have him get racked while trying to extend plays. We saw Kyle jump on him about that.

I noticed last game Brady pointed out he had Robinson deep and either didn't see it or simply chose not to take it, and said Mac hasn't really threated deep the last few games. The replay showed Brady wasn't lying. This is why I called Mac a better Jimmy G, but... over the 3 years playing we've seen Purdy become more hesitant to go deep as well so I wonder if its a system thing/o-line thing etc?

I can't recall the last time a deep threat panned out for this regime? Is Cowing still hurt? Will he ever be a thing? He looked so fast early on, but has never stayed healthy.

That's something that fans and announcers don't know. We can see open receivers on the telecast but we don't know what play was called and where the QB is looking. He also has to be aware of the pass rush so it's not that easy to spot the open receiver. I've seen even the best QBs not throw to guys that were wide open. Again I don't know if it's because they didn't see them or maybe they were just focused on the target that was called for in the huddle.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
23.7 PPG in 2024 but splitting hairs on that. I just really do think it's significant when you consider last year it was the offensive stars decimated with injury, a still terrible defense, and Jake Moody missing a million field goals.

No Trent, no CMC, no BA, along with various other OL dings. But despite all that, the Purdy-led offense still ranked significantly higher and Brock himself was higher in EPA.

2024 offense finished 4th in the NFL. When Brock started, we averaged roughly 400 yds of offense per game without any stars except Kittle, vs 360 this year with Mac. We are 11th on total offense this year.

The overall argument isn't that Mac is bad or anything, it's just that Purdy is so much better than him, a lot more than many want to give him credit for.

100% agree. The short term memory of people and/or the never liking Brock in the first place is maddening.

Originally posted by SmokeyJoe:
My ppg number is for Brock's 15 games as the starter, minus the defensive TD Warner scored, so I'm pretty sure it's correct. It is splitting hairs though as you said, and you're correct to point out Moody's missed field goals. That would bump it up another 1.8 ppg. I would point out you did say we need to not rely on field goals.

In terms of support around the QB, I don't really see an argument that it's been stronger this season than last. Obviously we missed CMC for the bulk of the year and that's a huge loss, but you still had Aiyuk for ~ 7 games, Deebo and Kittle for all but a couple of games, a healthy Jennings, and Pearsall for the back 2/3 of the year. Kittle's missed half of Mac's starts, Jennings has missed a couple games and played through injury, Pearsall's been there for two games… and maybe most importantly, we were a top 10 running team last year (4.7 ypc) and are at the bottom of the league this season (3.5 ypc). That's going to be a big factor in the 2 ppg (assuming 100 percent field goal success) and yardage differences, especially in this offense.

All that sad, it's true that Brock's EPA/db was higher. EPA is a team stat though. To put it simply, it's a better version of passer rating. As a team overall, our offense (and defense) has been a tick better this season by EPA/p. Mac is a couple points higher in passer rating, and their total QBR is identical.

The overarching point I'd make here is that Brock isn't 'so much better' than Mac. He's marginally better, and I think anyone expecting a large jump when he takes back over is probably going to be disappointed. And that's assuming he's healthy enough to play well. On the plus side, outside of getting the starting QB back, we'll hopefully get healthier at the skill positions around the QB (Pearsall ready to return as an example).

If we are comparing Brock last year to Mac this year (which Brock still compares favorably to), doesnt that say all that needs to be said? Brock had a worse situation last year, a year that many consider to be a down year, and it STILL was better than Mac this year.

So what is the argument here? I totally disagree with you when you say Brock is "marginally better." Its frankly ridiculous and a casual take that I expect the Nick Wrights of the world to make.

Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:
If we are comparing Brock last year to Mac this year (which Brock still compares favorably to), doesnt that say all that needs to be said? Brock had a worse situation last year, a year that many consider to be a down year, and it STILL was better than Mac this year.

So what is the argument here? I totally disagree with you when you say Brock is "marginally better." Its frankly ridiculous and a casual take that I expect the Nick Wrights of the world to make.

Maybe re-read the post.

Not really concerned you of all people think it's a casual take, lol. You are brining nothing of substance to the conversation.

Originally posted by SmokeyJoe:

Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:
If we are comparing Brock last year to Mac this year (which Brock still compares favorably to), doesnt that say all that needs to be said? Brock had a worse situation last year, a year that many consider to be a down year, and it STILL was better than Mac this year.

So what is the argument here? I totally disagree with you when you say Brock is "marginally better." Its frankly ridiculous and a casual take that I expect the Nick Wrights of the world to make.

Maybe re-read the post.

Not really concerned you of all people think it's a casual take, lol. You are brining nothing of substance to the conversation.

Would you like me to repeat OTC's message? Because I can.

Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:
If we are comparing Brock last year to Mac this year (which Brock still compares favorably to), doesnt that say all that needs to be said? Brock had a worse situation last year, a year that many consider to be a down year, and it STILL was better than Mac this year.

So what is the argument here? I totally disagree with you when you say Brock is "marginally better." Its frankly ridiculous and a casual take that I expect the Nick Wrights of the world to make.

All of this.

It is best not to pay attention to ppl who cannot grasp common sense but only emotions of the moment. It's the times we live in. Where instant gratification/social media has overtaken the human brain. We are prime for the AI take over and lots will gladly give themselves over to the machine.

Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:
Would you like me to repeat OTC's message? Because I can.

I responded to his post on a point by point basis. I'll wait for his response seeing as we're perfectly capable of having a reasonable back and forth.

Originally posted by SmokeyJoe:

Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:
Would you like me to repeat OTC's message? Because I can.

I responded to his post on a point by point basis. I'll wait for his response seeing as we're perfectly capable of having a reasonable back and forth.

There was nothing unreasonable about what I said to you. You just got offended when I said it was a casual take.

You mention that our running game was much better last year, but fail to mention how much not having a pass catching running back hurt the QB. Mccaffrey is averaging SEVENTY receiving yards per game this year. That is TEN TIMES more than Mason averaged, and is probably one of the main reasons Mason is no longer here. Mccaffrey's receiving out of the backfield is largely an extension of the running game.

Also, you both failed to acknowledge that we were missing Trent Williams for a large portion of last season too. That also affects the QB, and yet he still played better than Mac has this year.

Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:
There was nothing unreasonable about what I said to you. You just got offended when I said it was a casual take.

You mention that our running game was much better last year, but fail to mention how much not having a pass catching running back hurt the QB. Mccaffrey is averaging SEVENTY receiving yards per game this year. That is TEN TIMES more than Mason averaged, and is probably one of the main reasons Mason is no longer here. Mccaffrey's receiving out of the backfield is largely an extension of the running game.

Also, you both failed to acknowledge that we were missing Trent Williams for a large portion of last season too. That also affects the QB, and yet he still played better than Mac has this year.

I directly acknowledged CMC's absence when I compared their situation. I also pointed out the fact that our WR and TE situation was stronger than it has been for Mac's starts. Mac's been out there with a gutted WR group and no run game. He's had Kittle for 4 starts, Pearsall for two, Jennings has missed time and played injured… and the team can't run the ball. It's all there in the post.

As far as Trent he missed 1/3 of Brock's starts. A big loss obviously, but it's hard to quantify the actual effect on the offense and he was there for the bulk of his games. We still ran the ball well… Brock still had the one of the longest times in the league from snap to release (in part due to his mobility).

Again, no one is saying Mac is bad. He's a good game manager.

Purdy is a playmaker that simply offers more that defenses have to defend against.

The chart a few weeks back showing how often they throw to first reads was nice evidence. Purdy will take the shot to whoever is open deepest first, regardless of whether they're the first read.

Tbh I think both can do better at not locking in to the extremes. Purdy wants big plays. Mac just wants to get the ball out. Somewhere in the middle is the optimal area.

Originally posted by SteveWallacesHelmet:

Originally posted by Afrikan:
Wait, all the sudden Purdy is a deep ball specialist?

Why the heck do yall think we lost the Super Bowl? Why have good defenses played us a certain way since? Chiefs were daring Brock to throw it deep.. knowning he wouldn't, or there would be no chemistry with said receivers because we never/rarely hit teams over the top. The two passes that we attempted were pathetic.

We lost the Superbowl because Purdy gave our team THREE leads in the 4th quarter and overtime and the defense was unable to hold them.

Hope that clears it up for you.

Would have been a 4th lead if Burford and McKivitz decided to block Jones on the most critical play.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
Again, no one is saying Mac is bad. He's a good game manager.

Purdy is a playmaker that simply offers more that defenses have to defend against.

The chart a few weeks back showing how often they throw to first reads was nice evidence. Purdy will take the shot to whoever is open deepest first, regardless of whether they're the first read.

Tbh I think both can do better at not locking in to the extremes. Purdy wants big plays. Mac just wants to get the ball out. Somewhere in the middle is the optimal area.

I never thought you were saying Mac is bad fyi. I'm arguing that I don't think there's a lot of evidence to expect that we are going to be making a substantial jump in offensive production when he's reinserted into the lineup… and again, that's if he's healthy. We can debate who had the better situation between 2024 and 2025, but it was at least similar from an injury perspective. 2023 doesn't factor for me considering the QB was surrounded by all pros at the skill positions and that isn't going to be the case this season, regardless of who the QB is.