George Kittle and Kyle Shanahan discuss Brock Purdy’s first touchdown pass.
Even though the team prevailed, they could make jokes about it afterwards, but Shanahan’s annoyance was still evident.
An NFL coach would be the only one to concentrate on the few plays that went wrong in a 34-3 rout of a playoff club.The decision made by 49ers quarterback Kyle Shanahan to throw across the field to open the game did not sit well with him:
Since he performed his part so effectively, I can honestly state this. That was perhaps one of his poorest choices made throughout his time here. I needed some time to go past it. He got my gratitude for the touchdown. However, that was a poor choice.
Shanahan appears to be a strict father who has given his best son a pep talk based on his facial expressions:
It may seem pointless, but Purdy’s perceived—and on this particular throw—rashness has elevated the 49ers offence to a previously unheard-of level. Against a Jaguars defence that has given up the fewest explosive plays all season, the offence produced eight explosive plays.
George Kittle was not in queue for that pass, which fell into Brandon Aiyuk’s lap. While guiding the media through the play, Kittle stated that the first thought that entered his head was. The iconic playoff interception made by Brett Favre while he was a Minnesota Viking:
“Unless it works, it’s one of the biggest no-nos. It’s interesting because while Brandon and I are sprinting across the field and I am running a corner, Brock is nodding in agreement for us to return. “I was trying to sell it to the defence,” Brock stated to me during our conversation. You guys should keep running, I wanted.
Kittle chuckled and added, “Brock, I apologise.” Both Brandon and I were duped by it. I didn’t get it. Hopefully, there is another person there who isn’t a defensive player, I was thinking.
It wasn’t an isolated situation where Purdy used his movement to gain time and set up a play for his skill players to get open. This season, he has done it several times, frequently more than once in a single game.
I questioned Kittle about how the 49ers offence benefits from a scurrying quarterback. He stated the following:
“Plays can progress a little bit longer when the quarterback has some running ability, trusts in his legs, and can outpace opponents. There’s always a little bit more you can do than just drop throw something in three, five, or seven steps.
Playing defence and covering guys for five seconds is quite difficult. It is, in fact. particularly if the quarterback is off to the side and there isn’t much pressure. That’s when you receive passed interference or illegal contact. Or it’s difficult to guard guys for that long when you’re playing man coverage.
It lets our skilled workers work a little bit longer and become more accessible.
The following quarterbacks in the NFL had a higher “big-time throw” percentage heading into Week 10 than Purdy, likely due to their tendency to scramble when given 2.5 seconds or more to throw: Tua Tagovailoa, Matthew Stafford, Jalen Hurts, Trevor Lawrence, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Russell Wilson.
You should put your name on that list. Moreover, only Lamar, Joe Burrow, Kirk Cousins, and Geno Smith had an adjusted completion % greater than Purdy within the same time period.
Brock realised he’d gotten away with one. He stated, “the smart thing would have been to throw it away,” and then added, “I’m not particularly proud of that one,” at his postgame media availability. I have to use the ball wisely.
The NFL season is ten weeks old now. Purdy is this person. He takes chances. He will take a chance. This season, if at all, you won’t witness Brock fling his body across the air like that again. But the 49ers will keep scoring because he will keep giving their wide receivers opportunities to make plays.
