QB Brock Purdy Press Conference

QB Brock Purdy

Press Conference – October 20, 2023

San Francisco 49ers

After the game the other night you were talking about how when you had some guys out, that it was up to you to get people in the right place and sort of take charge of the situation, and WR Deebo Samuel was out, and the guys that you were missing. Now that they’ve been out for practice all week and you’ve had these guys practicing in these spots, do you expect things to go smooth?

“Yeah, I think on their part, those guys will be ready just with the reps that they’ve gotten going in with the operational stuff. And yeah, simple as that. They’ll be ready. And even if, Deebo and [RB] Christian [McCaffrey] are going and stuff, you know, great for us, that’ll be awesome. But if they’re not, all the other guys have been preparing great. [RB Jordan Mason] JP, [WR] Ray-Ray [McCloud], [WR] Ronnie Bell, all those guys, they look great. So we’ll be ready to roll for whatever comes.”

In Week 3 with the New York Giants, you saw plenty of blitzes from that team, this team even more so. What are your impressions of maybe some of the stuff that they run and the ways that they can challenge you?

“Obviously, they love to bring the whole house and all the zero looks that they’ve got and then being able to bluff out of that and stuff. So, they do a really good job with it. On film it may look like, ‘oh man, there’s some space and stuff,’ but they do a good job with bracketing stuff and sort of just anticipating what teams are going to try to do. And so, they’re really well coached. They do it well, and then I think all of their players are really smart and they know what they’re trying to do within the scheme. So, for us, it’s like, man, we’ve got to be ready for obviously having answers with zero and pressure and stuff. But you know, at the same time, we’ve just got to be smart. For myself, we’ve got to be smart with the ball. That’s what they’re trying to do is pressure the quarterback, get the quarterback to make some mistakes and stuff. So, and they’ve done that within the games that they’ve played in. They’ve done that to a lot of the quarterbacks, getting them to, you know, some strip-sacks and all that kind of stuff. So, it’s a good challenge.”

How similar is it to Miami, what you saw from the Miami Dolphins last year, how similar is what Minnesota is doing?

“Yeah, a similar scheme for sure. It’s slightly different but comes from the [Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian] Flores thought process and stuff. And so, we just, last year going into that game, it’s like, ‘alright, got to be ready for zero, but they probably won’t do it as much.’ And then once I got thrown in, they did it a lot. So, I think it was good experience for myself and then for all the other guys to be ready for those kinds of looks and looking for the ball quick and getting the ball out of my hands. But at the same time, this is all a different game, different players and stuff that we’re going against. And like I said, these players, they know the system and they look comfortable in it, and so they’re smart. Not to say Miami wasn’t, Miami was, but it’s a little different, just different players.”

What’s this week been like for you as far as how much that loss lingers, how much you just turn the page and move forward and just your excitement level as far as just getting back out there?

“I mean, yeah, it sucks initially for the first couple of days, especially when we had an extra day off. It’s like you could feel the guys in the locker room wanted to go and practice and get ready to move on. And so, our first day of practice yesterday guys were moving. It’s like, man, it feels good. Let’s go. Let’s move on. Get ready for this next game. So, it felt good in that regard. It’s not like college where you lose a game and, you know, every game in college is so huge and crucial and it is in the NFL, but one game can determine your season in college, it feels like. With this, it’s like, alright, we lost, but man, we have a lot to look forward to. We’ve got to move on quickly, we’ve got a good team ahead of us, so spirit’s been good and we just got to keep it going.”

When it comes to you processing pre and post-snap, what’s the different challenge between facing zone coverage and man-to-man coverage?

“Yeah, I’d say man-to-man coverage as a quarterback, I think it’s a little nicer just because you know where your answers are supposed to be. Zone coverage, it could be a little bit more of a tricky area just because you’ve got a progression, you’ve got to move on from guys and guys could be dropping underneath guys. In man, it’s like, alright, you know one guy is covering this guy and I have a chance when he breaks, knowing that no one is going to undercut it or whatever. So that’s the biggest difference. But like, this team is good because they’ll show a whole, everyone coming and then they bluff out and it’s like, man, I’ve got to know what side of the field I have to be on and be right. Whereas any other game, it’s almost like you go through a whole progression. This game, it’s like, you’ve got to be on the right side. So that’s where we’re at with it.”

Do they play more zone than you would expect for a team that blitzes as much as they do?

“Yeah, I feel like their base defense for sure. But man, do they love playing in that realm of bringing pressure and then hoping we get the quarterback or get guys to mess up and then force the ball to be turned over. So, I feel like that’s more of what they like to do, but at the same time, we can’t just go into a game saying they’re going to do this, this, or that. You know, they’ve had a week to prepare and switch things up, so you never know.”

Last year you went to TE George Kittle a lot, you had a lot of success going to Kittle. This year, he hasn’t gotten as much action. Is it more a product of what defenses are doing or the array of weapons that you guys have to choose from? Is there a reason that George is not as involved in your mind?

“Man, I think just the scheme of things, you know, that’s sort of just how we’ve drawn things up. That’s how really the games have gone where other guys have popped open and stuff, and George has had to help out with protection, and he’s done such a good job of doing that role, being in protection and checking out on the flat and stuff like that. And then when his opportunities come, we take advantage of it. But man, that’s just sort of how it’s gone so far. We still have a whole basically second half of the season coming up where it’s like, man, George can definitely get involved. He can get involved at any point in the game. So, that’s just sort of how it’s gone. It’s not like we go into the game going, ‘George, you’re not going to get the ball, it’s going to be this, this, and this guy,’ it’s just how it’s gone, you know? But obviously, he’s a threat. Everyone does like to scheme him up and try to stop George as best as possible, but it’s how it’s been.”

It’s been a year since you traded for RB Christian McCaffrey today. In what ways has he changed the team dynamic, made you feel even more confident, especially for you at quarterback?

“Yeah, it’s been huge for us, just having a running back that can go out of the backfield and do all the things that a receiver can do. Run routes from the backfield, line up as a receiver in the slot, and do stuff on the outside. He’s a Swiss Army knife, man. He does everything for us that we ask, and he does it really well, and he’s smart. So, obviously it’s really nice to have him since we got him and stuff, being able to start to utilize the back out of the backfield and things like that. It’s just another guy that the defense has to account for in the pass game. So that’s huge. And then obviously when he runs the ball and his toughness and everything, it’s on another level, so very thankful to have him.”

When you went to Minnesota last year for the joint practices, you’ve come a long way since then. So what was your mindset going in there to prove to the coaches that you deserved a roster spot just to start with?

“Yeah, it was still more of a camp mindset, you know, yes, we’re competing against the Vikings and all that, but man, I was just trying to do the little things right, make the right decisions, be consistent. Trying to earn the coaches and my teammates trust. That’s where I was at with that, it was a good experience to go out there and play against some really good players on the Vikings. But you know, a year now later it’s like, alright, this is the regular season, this is a real football game, not just practices and whatnot. So, they’ve got some good players I remember going against a couple of them in practice and whatnot, but this is different. So, I think I’m at another point in obviously my career being a starter and all that, and not the camp mode kind of mindset. So that’s where we’re at when we’re trying to win.”

Before you became a starter last year, you would be in offensive meetings and you would note like kind of the body language of guys who maybe didn’t get much action in the previous game. And you noted that no one was acting ticked off, or that suggests like, ‘hey, why didn’t I get the ball?’ I mean, I guess hopefully I’ve got the story straight, but, if so, was that just something you did naturally? Was it just something you were curious about or could you just talk about that a little bit?

“Yeah, I mean, I was just curious, as a rookie I got all these guys in a room with, just some stardom really. George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, [WR] Brandon [Aiyuk], just these, you know, you go into a game and it’s almost like, alright, George got a lot of receptions and touchdowns this game, how’s Deebo going to act or how’s B.A. going to act? So, I would just sort of be like, this is crazy, it’s fascinating to me. So, I sort of just looked at guys, saw their body language, how they come into meetings, how they leave, and how they were acting at practice and all that kind of stuff. But like I said before, this team’s on a mission, man, they don’t, you know, B.A. gets so happy when Deebo has a great game. Deebo has such great energy and attitude when B.A. goes crazy. And same with George and all the other guys and Christian. So, like, man it’s a special group. Obviously, we’re trying to do the whole thing and not just try to rack up fantasy points or anything like that. Like, guys are wanting the best for other guys and to win. So that’s all we care about.”