Brian Mitchell spent 14 years in the league and Doc Walker nine, with a four-year span between the latter’s retirement and the former’s debut – so they saw a good quarter-century of NFL QB play as players, and have seen close to that as media members.
That’s a lot of snaps, a lot of signal-callers, and a lot of observation, so if anyone knows, it’s probably them…but when DO you know if and when a quarterback is really any good?
“I remember last year when Brock Purdy rolled in and a lot of people questioned him – and every time I would tell people, ‘listen, after four weeks, if he keeps doing it, he's for real, it's him,’” BMitch said. “And he was still doing it; he got hurt in that playoff game, but he’s back and doing it again.”
So yeah, you can probably surmise Purdy is pretty good. But as it relates now to DC and Sam Howell, how do we know if what we’re watching is the real deal, if some pundits can’t even do that?
“This is where I get confused – there are people in this town that praise Sam but still question (Purdy),” Brian said. “I think at this point he's proven that he's a more consistent IQ quarterback. I understand blocking and all this, but sometimes, we have to not look at things with burgundy and gold glasses, we have to look at facts – and he’s proven himself enough right now to play himself into the Top 5 quarterbacks in the NFL, and the MVP conversation.”
Like Howell, Purdy was a three-year starter (and then some) at a Power 5 program and a Day 3 pick, of course being Mr. Irrelevant in 2022. And there’s no question that the ’22 and ’23 Niners are a far better team on all levels than the ’23 Commanders, as even Doc had to point out to Brian.
But, because Purdy and Howell have so much in common, at least in generalities, fans wonder ‘why can’t we get a guy like that,’
“Winning that game in Philly, most people would have crapped in their pants the moment the guy said, get in there,” Doc said of Purdy. “Sam has shown out, and Purdy has done the same at a higher level with a better set-up, but somebody’s got to make that decision, and I just hope that we don't retard the guy's growth. It'd be a sin to do anything to make him go backwards.”
Brian took a look at the stats of some of the best QBs in the league this year, and there’s a knock or a missing stat or something to bring them all down. But, he says, you see the consistency and what it takes to succeed in the league, and seeing Purdy in that list with all the issues the Niners have had shows how good he really is.
Can Howell be that good eventually? Yes, but it has to come from tough love.
“We cannot judge one guy so harshly and not the other. I've always had this mindset where I don't care how much I like you – when I judge you based off of your job, I'm gonna judge you based off of your job, period,” BMitch said. “I’m not gonna give you a pass because I like you; the person that likes you won’t tell you the 100 percent truth.”
“You're a professional and you're providing a service as a pro, not a fan, and a lot of people in these positions have not earned that right. They've been given that through friendship,” Doc replied. “You know why the quarterback position is so poorly coached? Because there’s not enough people qualified to actually do it. Your head coach isn’t your buddy, but sports is contaminated with bad hires.”
That led to a discussion of how the tough love has to start at the top of the front office and trickle down to the coaches and then the players – and you can take a listen to all of that above!