I had the chance to sit down with NBC's Chris Simms yesterday, and he was nice enough to share some of the conversations he's had with his good friend Kyle Shanahan about Brock Purdy.
"The things [Kyle] Shanahan has told me about this guy, he's always looking to get better and adjust and tweak and evaluate himself to fix the things that might be an issue on a weekly basis. He's not perfect, but there's enough talent there and a love for the game and a knowledge that Shanahan and the 49ers go 'Wait, we see something here. We can work with this guy.' Definitely."
That perked up my ears, so I asked Chris if he believed Kyle was convinced that Brock was going to be their guy going forward.
"I do. I don't think Kyle would have any issue with me sharing that. Now again, it doesn't mean crap. I know Kyle believes in him. I know that. Yes, he's told me. I think he sees a lot of specialness about the guy. But just because he sees that - if we get into Week 5 and he's throwing interceptions and doing dumb stuff, we know one thing about the Shanahans and Kyle Shanahan, too. He ain't afraid to make a tough decision and do what he's gotta do and go to somebody else. Rip the band-aid off and go, 'Okay, I know the public might get on me but I gotta do this to make it happen.' And that's where Sam Darnold comes into the conversation."
I'm not so sure I agree with that last point. From what we've seen so far, Kyle will stick with a quarterback as long as the team is winning games - regardless of that quarterback's play.
Also, Chris pulled an Ian Rapoport and skipped over Trey Lance entirely. I don't think that was an accident. Lance is an afterthought with this organization.
Beyond that, Brock has certainly checked a lot of the boxes for a franchise quarterback thus far:
He's poised
He recognizes his role as a leader of the team
He can extend plays outside of the structure of the offense
He puts in the work off the field
I'm still not quite sure his arm is (or will be after surgery) strong enough to make all the throws on the field, but there's also a legitimate argument to be made that with Shanahan calling the plays that won't be a major issue.
Here are the time codes for the entire interview. I hope you watch the whole thing, but I would recommend at least one stop at 10:20.
- What's to like about Brock Purdy (2:18)
- Why Brock's success wasn't just a result of Kyle Shanahan's system (3:42)
- Don't compare what we saw with Purdy to Jimmy G. in 2017 (4:57)
- What Kyle Shanahan told Chris about Brock Purdy (8:12)
- Why do people think Sam Darnold is any good? (10:20)
- Shanahan has screwed up the QB spot since he arrived (14:53)
- Why has Trey Lance been written off while Darnold gets chance after chance? (15:41)
- Do you believe the story the 49ers are trying to sell you with Trey Lance's throwing motion being fixed? (19:39)
- One mechanical aspect that Lance could have fixed this offseason (24:03)
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