QB Brock Purdy Press Conference

QB Brock Purdy

Press Conference – January 19, 2023

San Francisco 49ers

When you look at the Cowboys defense, particularly their defensive front, what kind of pops out at you?

“Yeah, I feel like they’re just talented across the board, up front. I think they’re well coached, you can tell with their scheme and everything that they do, there’s definitely a plan that they have and they go at it and all five of their guys, four of their guys, whoever’s on the field, they pay attention to detail in the pass rush, which I feel like is a good challenge for us. I feel like we’ve played a handful of teams that, do a good job and are well coached up front, but these guys are probably one of the best at it and it will be one of the best challenges that we’ve seen.”

What have the last seven weeks been like for you and how have you kind of stayed grounded through it all?

“Yeah, it’s been football, man. I don’t try to make it more than it is. I’m a faith-based guy, so that’s how I stay grounded. I don’t look at football like it’s literally everything. It’s do or die or anything like that. It’s a game and it’s my job for sure and I take it very seriously, but at the end of the day, I know that I’m not defined by the wins or losses as a person, like that’s not who I am. I’m not just a quarterback. I wasn’t born to just to be a quarterback and play football, and that’s it. Like I have a life and everything like that. And I remember that, but at the same time, man, I’m a competitor. I love to compete. I want to win at all costs and so, I’ve been enjoying that as well, so that’s where I’m at. That’s how I stay grounded with it all, but I’m definitely thankful and blessed to be here.”

Along those lines, there’s a story that after the game you went to a restaurant and received an ovation in the restaurant, did that occur?

“Yeah, I don’t know if the whole restaurant stood up and clapped or anything, but there’s definitely people that recognized my family and I walk in.”

What’s that like?

“Yeah, it’s cool. For me, I just want to enjoy my family and friends after a game. I’m not trying to go out into the public, like I’m seeking a celebration or anything for my performance or anything like that. It’s cool that The Faithful is awesome across the board and out in public they want to show their appreciation for their players, so I’m very thankful for that. It’s cool for my family and I to see that and yeah, just see the support, it’s pretty cool, but it’s not what I look for or anything like that. It is what it is.”

Brock a lot of notice for head coach Kyle Shanahan’s playcalling, it’s like a weekly thing that people talk about, but aside from that, if you don’t have 11 guys doing the right thing, what you call and how you design it doesn’t mean a lot. I’m curious to your observation on what makes Kyle so good at getting you to execute the plays that he calls on a weekly basis, what do you see from what your standpoint is?

“Yeah, I feel like he expects a lot out of us, the way his offense rolls, everything ties together. Even though we’re running the ball, the receivers have to do their part outside on the edge. Quarterback has to do his job and carry out his fakes. It’s takes all 11 guys to do just one play, whether that’s a run or pass, he pays attention to detail on every little thing. He’s the one that’s installing the plays every single day, which is pretty cool to have your head ball coach be the one that teaches you what you’re running. And so we know that, he holds us at that standard. We all hold each other at that standard as well. And everyone just has to do their part in order for us to be successful and to set up plays down the road in the game, so that’s how we look at it. Every little thing matters. It’s not like he’s just calling a play. We can go out there and just be better than someone across from us. It’s man, he’s calling this play to open up this or that, and the receivers know, that fullback knows it, the tackles know it, everyone knows it, and we just have to do our job and do our part to be successful. It’s not a one-man show.”

Can you see that now? Can you see where he’s called a play where you know that it’s setting up something for later and you know what it is?

“Yeah, there’s times where he adds things throughout the game, things that we haven’t even gone over at practice or that are off script, because he’s thinking about things as well, so he’ll tell us going into half or for the next drive and he’s like, ‘Hey, I’m thinking of this.’ And we’re like, ‘dang, that makes sense,’ and so it’s pretty cool to see how he thinks as a coach and everything and how he calls plays, but it definitely takes everybody.”

I know you said your dad has kind of kept you in tune with the whole history of the league with HOF QB Dan Marino and things like that. What was your kind of level of awareness of this particular rival in terms of playoffs and things like that? What’s it like being a part of that?

“Yeah, obviously in the ‘90s they went at it, there’s a lot of history, there’s a lot of Super Bowls between the two organizations and to be a part of it, I’m very thankful. It’s pretty cool. It’s like, ‘man, you’ve seen all those highlights from the ‘90s and now you fast forward to 2023 and here we are, same two teams going at it, fighting for the same thing, which is pretty cool. And I just look at it like, we just want to win. We want to do our part, and all the other stuff will fall into place. It’s not like, man, this is going to be some kind of Netflix documentary or anything like that. I’m not trying to make it bigger like than that, but I’m very thankful to be a part of it, the rivalry and everything and having it come back, 2023, so it’s going to be a good one.”

Have you watched clips of some of those old games before?

“I can’t really remember specific games or anything, but I’ve definitely seen highlights and the two teams go at it with the names on both teams, obviously Super Bowl MVPs and Hall of Famers in those games, so it’s pretty cool.”

Can you describe what it’s like with your pocket awareness? Are you seeing like a blur of Jersey colors? Is there a mental clock going on how long you have in the pocket? Can you just kind of take us through that part, basically when you know how to escape?

“Yeah, I just feel like every play has a rhythm and timing to it, so for me, I’m going through my reads obviously, but if something’s not there on time or in rhythm, I know like the mental clock is ticking in terms of, the pocket is closing, guys are coming around the edge or wherever. I don’t drop back and just look at the defensive line and say, he’s coming here or he’s coming there. I don’t have time for that. You have to keep your eyes down the field, obviously to see what the coverage is, but I feel like as the play goes on, then I get a sense of, ‘alright, if this isn’t here, I can feel the left side closing. I can escape here or here if I need to, but it’s definitely not a thing where I go into the play saying, alright, I’m going to escape this way or go that way. I just feel it out as my eyes are downfield for sure.”

You’ve had success spinning out of the backside of the pocket, it seems like it’s a part of your game. Is that something you have to be careful with when there’s an athlete like Dallas Cowboys LB Micah Parsons on the edge? Is that something you think about it all, or is it all instinctual?

“I think it is instinctual, but also at the same time, you have to account for those kinds of guys on the defense. With a guy with that kind of caliber and then obviously the amount of games that I’ve played, so they obviously see that I’ve done that, so you sort of just have to keep it all level in terms of if it closes, I can still go out, but at the same time, I have to know they probably know I’m going to go left or whatever it is, so it’s always good to know that you’re going against guys that are very athletic like Micah and all those guys up front. Yeah, I think it goes both ways, but you just have to make sure that they’re studying you as well.”

Offensive lines don’t get a lot of attention unless things are going poorly, how have you seen this one be consistent and what have they done to make your job a little easier?

“Yeah, I think that they’ve done a tremendous job all season, even before I got in. And then obviously with me as well, being able to extend plays and whatnot, that happens when the defense does a good job in covering our guys, but if you look at our pass protection, those guys have done a great job all year. Both of our tackles, guards, center they communicate very well and they give me a pocket to step up in and to make plays and to make my reads. So honestly, I tell them like, ‘man, I’m sorry if I bounce it too quick because you guys gave me a pocket,’ so that’s something that I need to grow and continue to be better at, but what they’ve done and how they’ve been coached by [offensive line] coach [Chris] Foerster, man, it’s been a blessing for me to be able to grow in terms of trusting the pocket, go through my progressions, so they’re awesome. They’re a veteran group, they’ve played in big games and they’ve done very well against very talented defensive fronts, so it’s going to be a good challenge for them this week too.”

Speaking of trusting the pocket, the first touchdown last game to RB Christian McCaffrey. Is that a good example of you executing what you want to do? It seemed that you did trust the pocket and you moved within it, was that a kind of good teach, tape moment?

“Yeah, I feel like it’s definitely something that [quarterbacks] coach [Brian] Griese and I have talked about being able to step up in the pocket, go through my reads, and then if it’s not there, find a lane north and south rather than bouncing everything outside, so I feel like that was a great example of the o-line doing their job. The defense, did a great job in terms of covering all of our guys. Christian did a good job of leaking out and for me to move up in the pocket and then hit Christian, that was definitely something that we had worked on at practice and it was nice to see it pay off in the game.”

Kyle and general manager John Lynch when they first got here, really found it important to find guys who love the game of football. We’ve talked to a lot of your teammates and that’s one of the important things for you. Does that resonate with the success you’re having now throughout the locker room and you personally?

“Yeah, I feel like if you come here and look at football like it’s a job, which at some parts it is, but if you have that love and that drive to play this game that you’ve been playing since you were a kid. I think it helps you set yourself up for success because you love it and you’re willing to do what it takes to make yourself better, make the people around you better, to win and have that will to win. And that’s something that I think I’ve always had, I love the game, I love competing, I love making a big play and having the crowd go crazy and, there’s that thing in me that you just want to win. You want to have all those other guys on the field celebrate with you for doing something good, so whatever that takes, if that’s extra studying, extra film hours, extra time in the weight room, whatever, I feel like that’s something that a lot of guys on this team have that they’re willing to do and so, I’m just another guy that likes to do it as well.”

Without having to do too much and sometimes in college you felt like there was pressure to do that. You had this interception, I’m sure you’ll love to talk about against TCU your junior year, it brought you a lot of unwanted attention. Was that in some ways sort of a transformative moment for you or what did you take from that?

“Yeah, you could just tell I was pressing. There are times where I’ve always felt like the play’s not dead and that I can always make something out of something. We had two guys come off the edge, I’m pretty sure and instead of either taking a sack or throwing it away early, I’m getting sacked and I go to throw it to a guy on the opposite side of the field and it gets picked, goes the other way and yeah, in that moment it’s like, man, you’re doing too much. You’ve put all this unnecessary pressure on yourself to make something happen when it’s not there. Yeah, that was the point in my career where I had definitely to take a step back and be like, ‘man, just do what, do what’s asked of you. Don’t try to do too much. You’re hurting the team when you make those kinds of mistakes,’ so you just have to learn from it and just not press.”

Do you remember facing DB Deommodore Lenoir in the Fiesta Bowl?

“I do, but I forgot like who I was throwing to, like was I throwing to his side or not. I forgot about all that.”