Originally posted by Goatie:
Originally posted by Waterbear:
Originally posted by Furlow:
Originally posted by Waterbear:
Idk about you guys but I've been smiling from ear to ear all day. This kid is exactly what this offense needed. 4… nearly 5 touchdowns in his first postseason start. He creates, he targets downfield, he can escape the pocket, he protects the footbal… he does it all. Our future is incredibly bright.
So no "open competition" with Lance next year for you?
When people were saying that a Jimmy G Super Bowl win would warrant his return to the 49ers on a long-term contract... I repeatedly said something like this:
I said that it was possible that Jimmy could prove to me that he should be the long-term starter without winning a playoff game and conversely, Jimmy could prove to me that we should stay the course with Trey Lance, even after winning the Super Bowl. This stance I've realized is vastly different from most posters because most would assume you would have to play great to win playoff games, especially a super bowl win. My stance is that this team is a unicorn, we have a top 3 coaching staff, we know we without throwing the ball, and that we have a history of relying on great defensive play to win in the postseason. It's not inconceivable for this team to win a Super Bowl with subpar QB play... and its entirely possible the team around Jimmy could have a bad game and tarnish a great effort from him individually.
I'm not bringing up Jimmy to hate on him, I bring him up because it's the exact same standard I have towards Purdy. I think it's important to isolate a player's impact to the team, at the best of your ability. A lot of fans get caught up in wins and losses, but they ignore other context that's crucial to understanding a QBs individual value to the team. Whoever gives us the best chance to win now and in the future is who I want as the starter.
To me, what Purdy is doing right now is exceeding MY standard. And that standard is to play at such a high level that I'm willing to risk losing more playing time for Trey knowing how much I believe in his potential. Everything we all hoped Trey could add to this offense, Purdy is doing to perfection. I would still keep Trey knowing how awful we are at keeping QBs healthy in this regime and I still believe in Trey, no shame in saying that.
TLDR, I'm at the point where I'm okay with no competition next season due to Purdy's play. I don't see the problem with a competition, but I feel like Purdy's playing so well, it's hard to argue he shouldn't be named the outright starter.
That is a reasonable post.
Purdy is playing better than anyone has in Kyle's system at the 49ers.
The question is what happens to Trey?
First, Purdy might regress but the odds of that are slim.
Second, Purdy might get injured. That is a real possibility given the nature of the NFL and QB injuries. He has been injured once and maybe that could happen again soon or might not happen for years. This is a random thing and can happen at any time so the team has to be prepared with a good back up.
Third, so who is the best back up?
Injuries aside we have Johnson, JG and Lance on the roster atm. If JG were to stay he is the best back up on prior performance. He won 70% of his games this year and 67% over his time here of games played. Lance is not up to JGs standard of play as of today and will not get there before next season starts.
The question is of course, will JG stay or go elsewhere. Odds are he is gone. The likelihood of him getting a big money offer somewhere else is high. He was playing the best football of his career until his foot got stomped. There are a lot of teams QB hungry at the moment. Of course there is also a chance JG would be happy to stay for back up money. Some people do not understand that he is a rich man earning well over $100,000,000 in his time here. A rich man who does not need to earn more money in his life will make decision based on what makes them happy over just making more money. To think a guy of JG's wealth and character would make a decision based just on making more money is really trapped in a "poor man's" mindset. FO and Kyle would be more than happy for JG to stick around as a back up if they could get him at a good price. So there is an avenue where he stays but this is low odds.
The move would result in seamless transitions if Purdy went down.
With Lance it would not be seamless but would involve changing the scheme to suit his style and level of play. Trey might have improved his game between when he starts running around again and the start of next season but it is hard to see that happening where he will be, at least at first, trying to get back to the level of mobility to where he was when he got injured.
It is quite possible he will be more frightened when he comes back due to his injury. He may note change direction as well and be more a statue in the pocket. It may take a season or two to lose that fear.
All the time Purdy is getting more and more experience.
Overall, I do not think Lance will be the best back up for Purdy or the team.
He is not going to get the reps to develop and is a bit of a lame duck.
The scouts could be looking around for a new low draft or free agent QB to start next year. Who knows? That might be the best option for Purdy's back up.
Even if you don't think Trey's a better fit as a backup for the 49ers in 2023-2024, it's hard to argue that we should trade him now. We would save no cap space by trading him now, and with how often our QBs get injured, we could really benefit to have him on the roster to improve his value in case of an injury.
Also, if Jimmy is as good as many on here believe he is, I don't see why he would stay as the backup next year when, unlike last season, teams wouldn't have to trade for him and he should be healthy for TC.
To me, it just sounds hypocritical to say Jimmy's so much better than Lance and yet Jimmy wouldn't want a starting role. I don't get it.
[ Edited by Waterbear on Jan 16, 2023 at 3:52 PM ]