Brock Purdy continues to prove that he is a legitimate NFL quarterback, racking up victories and setting franchise passing records. Yet, some remain unconvinced, refusing to admit that the second-year player is a good quarterback. Instead, they believe Purdy is a product of an offensive system heavily favoring signal-callers.
"That's pretty ridiculous," head coach Shanahan said this week when asked to respond to those pundits. "You just got to watch the tape. I mean, he plays at a high level every time he's been out there. And he's done it in a lot of different situations versus a lot of different defenses, on the road, at home, in playoff games, when injured.
"You can't do all that stuff [if you're a system quarterback]. He's been out there too long. It's on tape."
Purdy's recent performance against the Arizona Cardinals was nothing short of spectacular. He completed 20 of 21 pass attempts for 283 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, setting a new franchise record for the highest completion percentage (95.2) in a single game. Purdy is poised to become the first 49ers quarterback to pass for over 4,000 yards in a single season since Jeff Garcia did so in 2000.
General manager John Lynch took the opportunity on Friday morning to address Purdy's critics.
"Brock Purdy has shown himself to be a really good quarterback, and he's shown it every week," Lynch said on KNBR's "Murph and Mac" show. "I mean, it's been very consistent. And I don't even think we need to defend that because you look at the numbers, you talk to people who know football, he's for real. We've got a ton of belief in him. We're better with him. And you see it every day.
"It's not like just a flash-in-the-pan thing. It's consistency. He's a machine, and I think he's continuing to get better, and that's an exciting thing for us. He handles everything so well. What a godsend he was to this organization. And just his approach, the way he goes about things, trying to get a little bit better each day, the preparation he does, it's hard to hang with our head coach and our offensive system."
Purdy, the last overall pick in the 2022 draft, has completed 81 of 112 attempts (72.3 percent) for 1,019 yards with five touchdowns through his four starts this season. He has also added 24 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 12 carries.
Thanks partly to the quarterback's efficient play, the 49ers remain one of only two undefeated teams in the NFL (alongside the Eagles).
"He just throws it to the right place," Lynch continued. "And I think that's why all our weapons—first of all, it helps when you're having success—they're not complaining because they know the ball is going where it's supposed to go. He's not playing favorites. We're not trying to dial up. We're saying, 'Okay, here's the play. Take it where the coverage dictates.'
"And Brock, 99 times out of 100, is going to take it the right place. And he's doing a tremendous job of that, so I can't say enough about him. And as for the pundits, the haters, let them keep hating. We'll keep rolling with him."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.
