Despite the Brandon Aiyuk trade saga hogging all the headlines, the San Francisco 49ers continue their preparations for the upcoming season. The 49ers look to bounce back after a disappointing Super Bowl loss last season to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. On that note, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan paid extra attention to the progress of his franchise quarterback, Brock Purdy.
While Purdy threw seven interceptions at training camp, Shanahan was quick to note Purdy's progress throughout the offseason. After all, the third-year QB had just come back from major surgery on his throwing arm last season, and even then, he set a franchise record of 4,280 passing yards in a single season.
In an interview with Tom Tolbert and Kerry Crowley, the 49ers head coach said, “I think that's been the cool thing about Brock's career in a year-and-a-half, that even after his first year, a lot of people outside of here, they would have so much questions about him.”
“Him taking over a talented team, going undefeated in the games he played in until the Philly game that he got hurt in,” Shanahan added. “But when you watch those seven games, you saw him make plays scrambling. You saw him make some plays down the field. You saw him very accurate. He protected the ball, had a very good touchdown/interception ratio.”
Brock Purdy's progress with the 49ers
The coach had more to say about Brock Purdy's development as QB1.
After mentioning the quarterback's run of big games, Shanahan said, “There's so many things that you've seen Brock do that I don't think there's an area where anyone's like, ‘He hasn't thrown the deep ball well. Oh, he hasn't been able to perform after a bad game. He hasn't made plays scrambling.' He's kind of done all that in a year and a half.”
Still, as with every good player in any sport, there is always room for improvement, and Kyle Shanahan would be the first to admit it. The only thing left for a quarterback of Purdy's skill is to achieve consistently excellent play, no matter the stakes. Consistency should lead to perfection, or at least something close to it. Once Brock Purdy reaches this level, he should be able to make big plays without thinking and grab every opportunity the defense gives him.
“He has done that stuff, but nobody's perfect,” Shanahan said, capping off the interview. “That's why we're always trying to train him to be perfect, and that's why he probably gets annoyed with us because we're not going to stop until he is. But that's kind of what's cool and [why it's] fun to coach Brock because he's pretty much that way with himself.”
Can Brock Purdy's 49ers finally claim Super Bowl glory? Fans will have to see for themselves as the 49ers open their preseason against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
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