49ers Training Camp Day 8 breakdown: Quarterbacks

Day 8 of the San Francisco 49ers training camp is officially over, as it was the longest practice that the team ran, consisting of 13 periods, rather than the usual 12, with the final session lasting nearly 23 minutes in a heavy scrimmage day.

The offense and defense each had their moments, as the quarterbacks compiled a second consecutive day of good collective performances, while the defensive line rebounded with a number of pressures and at least five sacks.

What was the context behind Brock Purdy, Trey Lance, and Sam Darnold's days on Tuesday?

11-on-11s: 1st Period

Brock Purdy (QB1)

Brock Purdy is sacked by Clelin Ferrell on a play where he held onto the ball too long before dumping it off to Charlie Woerner over the middle. Has to get this ball out sooner to the checkdown or throw it away.

Sam Darnold(QB2)

Sam Darnold hits Brandon Aiyuk on a checkdown, which appeared to be his last read. Darnold processed the combination of routes a little slower, leading to a longer process before reaching his checkdown. While Darnold has good arm talent, his processing has been slower compared to the other quarterbacks at times, and that was evident on this play.

Brandon Allen(QB3)

Brandon Allen hits Danny Gray on a nice 20-yard pass on an in-breaker, placing the ball over Jalen Graham with Tre Swilling close in coverage.

Brock Purdy (QB1)

Brock Purdy hits Christian McCaffrey on a play-action screen to the slot for a solid gain.

Trey Lance(QB2)

Trey Lance hits Brayden Willis on a play-action ball to the right side, with the tight end gaining good separation for an easy completion.

Brock Purdy(QB1)

Brock Purdy hits George Kittle for a 35-yard deep pass down the left sideline. The ball was underthrown, as Kittle had a step on Dre Greenlaw with no safety help, but had to turn around and catch the pass over the defender for a great play.
Brock Purdy misses low over the middle to Jauan Jennings, with Fred Warner close in coverage.
Brock Purdy throws a deep 30-yard incompletion to Deebo Samuel, running the same slot fade that Kittle did two plays before. Samuel had a step on Isaiah Oliver, but not as much separation as Kittle, and the ball was underthrown again. Talanoa Hufanga read Purdy's eyes well, and broke to the sideline, nearly intercepting the ball, although it would've likely been broken up by Oliver had the safety not been there, given the underthrow. Both passes were thrown with good anticipation, but hung in the air too long, causing the underthrows.

Sam Darnold(QB2)

Sam Darnold hits Ray-Ray McCloud on a 10-yard out-route. Good ball from Darnold.
Sam Darnold hits Deebo Samuel on 10-yard slant, with a good amount of yards after the catch, given the openness of the receiver.
Sam Darnold hits Brandon Aiyuk on a screen pass.

Brandon Allen(QB3)

Brandon Allen hits Charlie Woerner on a short curl for about four yards.
Brandon Allen hits Jordan Mason on a screen pass to the left. He was nearly sacked before throwing the screen pass, as Taco Charlton quickly beat Leroy Watson on the play.
Brandon Allen hits Chris Conley on a five-yard slant in close coverage.

Brock Purdy(QB1)

Brock Purdy hits Christian McCaffrey on a four-yard out, working against Isaiah Oliver and getting good yards after the catch on the play.
Brock Purdy throws an incompletion to George Kittle, giving him a 50-50 ball against Ambry Thomas on an eight-yard out-route, which the cornerback broke up in a nice play.

Trey Lance(QB2)

Trey Lance throws a short incompletion to Jordan Mason. It appeared Mason was running the same route that McCaffrey had two throws ago, but didn't flatten out his route enough, moving more upfield, causing a miscommunication with Lance, as the ball hit him with one hand, but the running back didn't look to enclose on the play with his second hand.
Trey Lance hits Jauan Jennings on a quick 5-7 yard throw on a good ball with pressure coming, as Marcelino McCrary-Ball was on a blitz. This was a good throw as well because Lance had to identify his checkdown over the middle quickly and throw off-balance for a solid completion.

Move The Ball: Period 1

Brock Purdy(QB1)

1st & 10: Jordan Mason rushes up the middle for a solid gain.
2nd & Medium: Brock Purdy hits George Kittle on a short throw, facing pressure from Arik Armstead up the middle, who nearly got the sack
3rd & Short: Brock Purdy throws a checkdown to George Kittle, who was the last read in the progression
Next Play: False start
3rd & Medium/Long: Brock Purdy's pass intended for Deebo Samuel is broken up on an 8-10 yard comeback, with Deommodore Lenoir breaking it up. Thought the ball could've been aimed at the chest area to allow Samuel to corral it in and have a firmer grip, but solid placement still. Just a good play from Lenoir to fight the hands at the catch point.

Sam Darnold(QB2)

1st & 10: Tyrion Davis-Price runs for a short gain. A holding penalty was called on the play.
1st & 20: Sam Darnold hits Ray-Ray McCloud for a screen pass going six yards.
2nd & 14: Sam Darnold is sacked, and nearly throws an interception to D'Shawn Jamison after the play, who had a good break on the ball, although the sack nullified the ending regardless.
3rd & 20: Sam Darnold hits Danny Gray for 6 yards on another screen pass.

Trey Lance(QB3)

1st & 10: Ronald Awatt's run is stuffed by a combination of Myles Hartsfield and Taco Charlton for a loss.
2nd & 11: Trey Lance hits Willie Snead on a 7-yard out.
3rd & 4: Trey Lance hits Ronnie Bell on a 12-15 yard out, throwing it with good anticipation. I thought the placement was a little off on the throw, as Lance threw the dart at the inner shoulder, rather than leading the receiver to the sideline, but the ball was fired with good velocity and Bell was able to turn around for the catch before the defender arrived.

Brock Purdy(QB1)

1st & 10: Brock Purdy is sacked by Clelin Ferrell, who was a free rusher on a blitz from the other side. Purdy threw a pick-six to Tashaun Gipson after the play, which was a weird one as the players stopped following the sack, but the quarterback still tried threading the needle, to no avail.
2nd & Long: Christian McCaffrey gets a solid run to the left side for a short gain, as Oren Burks was there in cleanup.
3rd & Medium/Long: Brock Purdy hits Deebo Samuel on a five-yard throw to the right side, with Isaiah Oliver in coverage.
Next Play: Ray-Ray McCloud runs a reverse end-around for a solid gain.

Trey Lance(QB3)

1st & 10: Trey Lance hits Jauaan Jennings for a 25-yard crosser with a good ball over safety Qwuantrezz Knight
1st & 10: Trey Lance is sacked by Kerry Hyder
3rd & 4: Ronald Awatt's run is stuffed, as Jalen Graham was in on the tackle.

Sam Darnold(QB2)

1st & 10: Sam Darnold hits a play-action to Troy Fumagalli on a regular short pass, although he did good getting out of the pocket.
2nd & Medium: Khalan Laborn rushes to his right side.
3rd & Medium: Sam Darnold hits Dazz Newsome for a 5-yard throw over the play.
1st & 10: Sam Darnold hits Brayden Willis on a six-yard pass on a good route from the tight end.

Move The Ball: Period 2

Brock Purdy(QB1)

1st & 10: Brock Purdy hits Brandon Aiyuk for a 25-yard gain on a good in-breaking ball, with the wideout catching the pass over Deommodore Lenoir close in coverage.
1st & 10: Christian McCaffrey has a solid run to the right side.
2nd & Medium: Brock Purdy hits Brandon Aiyuk on a 10-yard slant from the slot. This was an impressive play by Purdy, who noticed the blitz coming from Talanoa Hufanga on the right side, checked the play the line of scrimmage, and identified the correct pre-snap read, as Aiyuk was placed up against Oren Burks as a result.
1st & 10: Christian McCaffrey's run is stuffed at the line of scrimmage by Javon Hargrave and Drake Jackson.
2nd & 10: Brock Purdy hits Christian McCaffrey on a checkdown, who eventually gets the first down.
1st & 10: Brock Purdy hits Deebo Samuel on well-placed ball near the right sideline for a 12-yard touchdown over Charvarius Ward. Great catch from Samuel, who mossed Ward and kept two feet in bounds on the fade.

Sam Darnold(QB2)

1st & 10: Sam Darnold hits Willie Snead for a 6-7 yard out-route.
2nd & 3: Jordan Mason runs up the middle for a short gain.
3rd & Short: Jordan Mason rushes to the right for a solid gain and the first down.
1st & 10: Jordan Mason rushes to the left and cuts back for a short gain.
2nd & 7: Jordan Mason runs up the middle on a six-yard gain on a play with good blocking from the offensive line.
3rd & 1: Jordan Mason rushes up the gut for a first-down conversion
1st & 10: Sam Darnold throws the ball away on a play-action pass, as Kerry Hyder was in his face as he began his rollout. This was Darnold's lone incompletion of the day.
2nd & 10: Sam Darnold hits Ray-Ray McCloud on an out-route for a short gain. Could've been a sack by Kevin Given, but it wasn't ruled one by officials.
Final Play: Jake Moody drills a medium-length field goal(approximately 40 yards?).

Brock Purdy(QB1)

1st & 10: Brock Purdy hits Brandon Aiyuk over the middle for an 8-yard gain.
2nd & 2: Christian McCaffrey has a great run to the right side, potentially breaking it all the way for a score, although he stopped.
1st & 10: Brock Purdy is sacked by Marlon Davidson, completing a pass after the sack was over.
2nd & 19: Brock Purdy hits Christian McCaffrey on a short checkdown.
3rd & 15: Brock Purdy throws an incompletion to Brandon Aiyuk on a 20-yard out-route that was off the hands of the receiver as he laid out for a drop. Thought this ball could've been thrown better, as there was room to lead Aiyuk to the sideline, but it was a solid throw and Aiyuk should've probably caught the pass. Lone missed play from the top wideout.
4th & 15: Zane Gonzalez is good on a 44-yard field goal.

Trey Lance(QB2)

1st & 10: Tyrion Davis-Price rushes for a short gain.
2nd & Medium: Tyrion Davis-Price rushes for another short gain.
3rd & 4: Trey Lance hits Ronnie Bell on a 15-yard pass over the middle on a play-action pass. Bell was wide open coming across, making it an easy find and throw for Lance to move the sticks.
1st & 10: Trey Lance scrambles for four yards after finding nobody open.
2nd & 6: Trey Lance throws an incompletion to Tyrion Davis-Price, throwing the ball at his feet on a short pass after rolling out of the pocket. I thought Lance should've hit the checkdown when going through his progressions initially, but he was looking for the deeper throws too long, and then was flushed out of the pocket, making a poor throw after that.
3rd & 6: Trey Lance hits Isaiah Winstead on a 13-yard out-route to move the chains. It was a good catch from Winstead.
1st & Goal: Ty Davis-Price runs the ball up the middle for a short gain.
2nd & Goal: Trey Lance throws an incompletion intended for Brayden Willis, with Tayler Hawkins tight in coverage and breaking the pass up. Solid ball from Lance, who was trying to fit into a tight window, but a nice play from Hawkins to converge for the pass breakup.

Brandon Allen(QB3)

1st & 10: Run play for nothing.
2nd & 10: Brandon Allen's pass is broken up by Marcelino McCrary-Ball, who laid out Jack Colleto in the flat, knocking the ball out of his hands.
3rd & 10: Brandon Allen is sacked by A.J. Parker, who was a free rusher on a blitz, throwing behind Ray-Ray McCloud on an incompletion after the sack.
1st & 10: Jordan Mason rushes for 0 yards.
2nd & 10: Brandon Allen hits Ray-Ray McCloud on a screen for a short 6-8 yard gain.
3rd & 2: Brandon Allen looks for Troy Fumagalli on a deep shot, with Marcelino McCrary-Ball getting called for a pass interference on the contest 25 yards downfield.
Last play: Jake Moody nearly misses from 63 yards out, hitting on target, but missing short.

Final Stats

Brock Purdy: 12/17, 1 TD, 3 sacks
Trey Lance: 8/11, 1 sack
Sam Darnold: 11/12, 1 sack, 1 throwaway

Overall Grade

It was a solid day overall for the quarterbacks in an extremely long practice, which allowed each player to earn much more reps than regularly scheduled. That could continue Saturday for Lance and Darnold, is Purdy should have a scheduled off-day as a part of his throwing program.

Trey Lance earns a "B+" on the day, as he connected on a variety of throws across the field, hitting downfield shots and shorter throws for a successful day. There were some plays where I could nag about a small aspect, like the placement, but passes were still completed at a high rate. Thought he had just one negative play: the miss to Davis-Price, and was good outside of that.

Sam Darnold earns a "B" for being highly efficient with his pass attempts, hitting 11/12 throws, with his lone incompletion serving as a throwaway. The reason he doesn't get a higher grade is because of the length of his throws, as only two passes traveled over 10 air yards on the day, with the quarterback hitting a variety of checkdowns, screens, and shorter passes, albeit with good accuracy. Additionally, I felt Darnold processed a little slower on a few plays, which could cost him in real game action, leaving him at a 'B' on the day.

Brock Purdy earns a "B-/B", as he had a slow start, underthrowing two passes and taking a bad sack, but bounced back with the best move-the-ball session of any quarterback with his touchdown pass to Deebo Samuel. Purdy's arm strength has returned as a question on deeper passes, as the balls take longer in the air to reach his target, making the plays harder to complete, despite having good anticipation on each throw. Purdy also had a pick-six, although that came after a sack on a weird play, hence why it didn't count in my grading.

Stay tuned for the next practice, Friday, and the quarterback report that will ensue!

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