Is it Purdy or The System?
Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
San Francisco, California (PSF) - The first round of the NFL playoffs is now over and we are headed to the divisional round. One of the teams that looked astonishing in their Wildcard game was the San Francisco 49ers led by surprising rookie quarterback Brock Purdy.
Purdy has taken the league by storm since he took over after Jimmy Garoppolo went down with what looked to be a season ending injury. Brock Purdy has been everything the 49ers have been looking for in a quarterback for a few years now. When you analyze quarterbacks in the game of football, you look for talent and jaw dropping potential. It’s safe to say the last quarterback picked in this past years draft leading his team to a Super Bowl would be quite the shock..
Since Brock Purdy has taken over for the 49ers, it has been something straight out of a movie. After winning his first career playoff game, the media is starting to talk about this as a Cinderella story. I think we need to slow the roll on this a little bit, so the question needs to be asked. Is it Brock Purdy carrying this talented 49ers team or is it the outstanding roster and system itself?
I think it is a little bit of both because when you look at San Francisco’s roster there is an insane amount of All-Pro players on that roster. Let’s start with his offensive weapons, he has Deebo Samuel, who was setting records last season and is one of the most versatile players in today’s game. One of his other receivers is Brandon Aiyuk, who was a first round pick just three years ago and has established himself as one of the best route runners in the league. Now his tight end is George Kittle, who I think all fans can agree on is a top 5 tight end in the league, but Kittle brings a lot more to the position with his outstanding blocking. The 49ers also made an in season trade with the Carolina Panthers to receive Christian McCaffrey, who has been one of, if not the best running back in the NFL the past few years.
That is an arsenal of weapons that most teams have had a rough time trying to stop these last few weeks. This isn’t a knock on Purdy, because he still has to play good and make the correct throws for this offense to work which he has having a passer rating of 107.3 since taking over. To compare him to one of the greatest of all time is quite a stretch but he has still proven a lot given where he was drafted.
Brock Purdy and the 49ers have a divisional round date with the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday. The Cowboys defense is no joke being led by Defensive Player of the Year candidate Micah Parsons and a ball hawking secondary with Trevon Diggs. Dallas’s defense also led the league in takeaways during the regular season with 32. This will be a real test for the rookie quarterback and we could possibly have a new narrative around him after Sunday night.