Mike McCarthy isn’t buying the take that Brock Purdy is just benefitting from his situation.
The San Francisco 49ers’ second-year quarterback has been nothing short of impressive since taking over behind center last season. His performance this season has suggested that last year’s success hardly was a fluke, helping guide the Niners to a 4-0 record.
McCarthy is set to face Purdy for the second time Sunday when the Cowboys travel to San Francisco. After watching film on Purdy again, Dallas’ coach came away impressed.
“First of all, he’s totally engaged in the offense,” McCarthy said Friday in his weekly appearance on Shan & RJ. “He looks like he’s been running it for a few years. Ball is out on time, he does a really good job of getting through his progressions. The numbers speak for themselves, healthy run game, a lot of (Christian) McCaffrey, and I think he does a really good job of spreading the ball around.”
Purdy is facing some of the same criticism Jimmy Garoppolo did when he was San Francisco’s quarterback. The 49ers have a run-heavy offense, one that doesn’t always rely on shots deep downfield in order to move the ball.
It helps that they have arguably the most dynamic running back in the game in McCaffrey, as well as an impressive arsenal of pass-catchers that includes Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk.
That has resulted in Purdy getting slapped with the dreaded “system QB” label in some circles – a narrative McCarthy isn’t buying.
“The reality of sports and the relationship between players and coaches, coaches are supposed to ask the players what they do best, and they fit it into the realm of the offense and defense,” McCarthy said. “I think it’s definitely a potential slight to the young man, but it’s not like he’s running a very basic system. He runs a system that’s high-octane as far as the movements and what they ask him to do.
“The ability to play that fast, there are just a lot of hidden variables that should be more appreciated for the position of quarterback. So I never really cared for the system quarterback (label), because it doesn’t tell the whole story.”