QB Brock Purdy Press Conference

QB Brock Purdy

Press Conference – October 8, 2024

San Francisco 49ers

When you start to dive into the Seahawks, are there a lot of similarities from what you faced last year with the Ravens?

“Yeah, I’d say so. Scheme is pretty similar and how they’re calling the plays and stuff looks similar. Obviously, the personnel and everything is different and so we’ve just got to know obviously which guys to look out for in certain situations. But yeah, the scheme is very similar.”

How do you look back on that game against the Ravens? It didn’t go the way you wanted it to, so how do you just look back on that game?

“We’ve watched it a bunch just in terms of like what we’re trying to do, what their scheme was against our offense and our scheme. And so watching it, obviously I’m watching how the game went and the decisions that I made and stuff and obviously learning from it. But more than anything, just when I do get in those situations again, handling everything in the right way in terms of getting to my answer and taking what the defense gives me and those kinds of things. So it’s been really good watching, but at the same time, we’re playing a whole new personnel in the Seahawks and so should be a little bit different in that regard, just playing different players. But when it comes to the scheme versus scheme, it was good to watch the game last year against Baltimore. It was good.”

On the last interception against the Cardinals, it looks like you were waiting for WR Brandon Aiyuk on the out route and then had TE George Kittle underneath. I saw as you’re walking out the field, you’re looking at the video board. Do you in that moment see it? Obviously you weren’t thrilled and kind of grimaced. When you looked at the video board, do you see it like, ‘oh, crap?’

“Yeah, I got hit and so I’m like, ‘alright, how did that happen with our protection that we had on and stuff.’ We had two guys come to the side of where our protection was set and one guy was free. So that’s on me in terms of getting the ball out and not holding onto it. In that situation when I was walking off looking at the video board, I was like, man, did I miss a guy or did I just try to get to Aiyuk the whole time and not see what was going on with the blitz and stuff?’ So, in that moment, that’s what I was thinking about. I wish I would’ve executed it differently.”

The stats suggest that you’re holding onto the ball longer than any other quarterback and obviously your scrambles are producing that number. Does it feel different than ‘22 and ‘23 as far as just snap to release time for you?

“I feel like there’s just been some plays where I’m scrambling and stuff just because what the defense is doing in terms of dropping eight and giving us some different looks in that regard. For me it’s more been about keeping a play alive. It’s been good. There’s also been some plays obviously where we’ve had minus-10 or whatever from trying to scramble around and stuff. I think those kinds of plays that pop up so that’s maybe how that’s affected the stats with that. But for me, I still go about my progressions and everything, just like I have the last couple years with our offense and our system. I’m not going into a game going, ‘alright, I’m going to hold onto the ball longer here and try to make something happen.’ It’s how can I be efficient, help out the O-Line, get the ball out of my hands and do my job? The teams that we’ve played, the schemes that we’ve played, I guess they’ve done some of that where they’re dropping more back in the zone and making me go through my progression and turns out I’m holding onto the ball.”

Your play-action is down this year from what’s been in the past. Is that a function of that when teams are dropping more, you don’t want to turn your back because you need that extra time to go through progressions? What do you kind of attribute that to?

“I don’t know if that’s the case. I would say, you’ve got to be running the ball really, really well and then setting up certain plays and stuff. Where we’re at, I think we’re running the ball really well. But I think within schemes and trying to win with certain plays drawn up, for us it’s just been drop-back plays. We trust in the guys to just be able to drop back and allow me to go through a progression and rip it to them. We’re not going into a game saying they’re going to drop back a lot so we’re going to stay away from the play-action pass. We still have plays dialed up in the play-action world, but we just haven’t had opportunities to run them in the right situations or whatnot. But again, we’re trusting in [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] within all the play calls with that regard. And so, that’s just sort of just how the flow of the game has gone and the play calls have gone.”

Last year you guys were the number one team in the league in red zone touchdown percentage. This year it’s been more of a struggle. What does the film show? How would you evaluate what you guys have done in the red zone?

“I think we’ve had some opportunities and I think that’s an area for me to be better for sure. Trust the plays, trust the concepts, trust my guys, and being willing to go down there and rip it. Like I said when I talked to you guys last time after the game, the windows get tighter and the timing of it is quicker and faster. For me it’s about getting back into a rhythm down there and giving my guys a chance. That’s probably the biggest thing that I’ve seen on film.”

After the game, you and DL Nick Bosa both said that you need to get back to complementary football. What does that mean to you?

“Yeah, it’s a team sport. So, for four quarters, when the defense gets a stop for us as an offense, it’s like, ‘alright, let’s pick it up and go put points on the board.’ And vice versa, when we’re rolling, defense gets a stop, special teams do their thing, that’s complementary football. That’s how you win in this league. And if defense is getting all these stops and the offense is cold, it’s pretty obvious to everybody that it’s going to be tough to get into a rhythm and pull away from a team and then you allow a team to stay in the game and those kinds of things. But the last couple years when we’ve won pretty well, it’s been about complementary football, defense gets stops and turnovers, offense puts up points on the board and we pull away. So, we both believe in that and everyone here knows that’s the truth.”

Can this type of game galvanize you based on a little bit of a slow start and knowing what the schedule looks like with a couple of hard home games after this?

“Yeah, I think every game for us is extremely important. Obviously, you get through the end of the season, it’s like, where are you at wins and losses and all that kind of stuff going in the playoffs. So, everything matters. But for us, man all that matters right now is Seattle, Thursday Night, getting back into the win column and just picking up our momentum. I think this season is so much about momentum and obviously staying healthy and getting ready for the next game. But for us, it’s one game at a time. We’re not looking too far ahead in the future. And whoever we get up on our schedule for the next game, that’s who we’ve got. We’re not looking too far into it. We’ve just got to win.”

Your scrambling and extending plays has largely been positive. But when you do have the one, where you run around for 10 seconds and get sacked, is it a reminder of like, ‘oh gosh, maybe I can take this and go too far with this?’ Or is it ‘if I do this, 12 times and I get sacked once, that’s just the way it goes?’

“I think it depends on the situation that we’re in within the game and being smart with the ball, putting my team and my offense in the best situation possible. If I can make something happen with my legs and move the chains or get a positive gain, great, let’s go. But at the same time, knowing that’s not going to be the case every time I’m scrambling around like it’s backyard football. I’ve got to be smart, make a couple guys miss, maybe throw the ball away, being willing to play with third-and-manageable rather than trying to make up for it after a 10-yard loss with a crazy scramble. So, it definitely depends on the situation, but also knowing that I have confidence and belief in my legs as well to make some plays in the right scenario. So it’s a fine balance.”

How much does it help your confidence level, you’ve gone in there twice, once with broken ribs and then last year on Thanksgiving night that you’re able to go in that environment and come out with a win? How does that help you comfort and confidence-wise, obviously it’s not the major emphasis?

“For us it’s sort of just a good reminder of you’re going into a hostile environment where they’re going to be on you every time we step out into onto the field. They’ve got a great defense, great players that we’re going against and a great team. So, every chance and opportunity you get, you’ve got to be on top of it. If you can and execute and play team football, some good things can come from it. It feels good when you’re able to walk out knowing that you guys did your job really well. Obviously, we’ve learned that as a team the last couple years, but this is a new year, it’s a new team for both sides and we’ve just got to go in and execute and be dialed in at every moment.”