QB Brock Purdy Press Conference

QB Brock Purdy

Press Conference – December 13, 2022

San Francisco 49ers

How are you feeling?

“I feel good. Just taking it one day at a time, getting as much treatment as I can, but overall, I feel pretty good.

Is it limiting you physically or is it more just getting through the pain?

“Honestly, I haven’t been out to practice or tried to throw a football or anything yet. So, it’s basically how I feel when I’m walking around and trying to do movements and stuff in the pool. Yeah, I can still jog and run and do all that kind of stuff, but I haven’t tried playing football yet.”

What was it like Monday morning when you woke up, adrenaline was gone. Was there pain, anything like that?

“Just sore. When I got into the treatment room, they just did some tests and stuff on me and whatnot. Yeah, it wasn’t like excruciating pain or anything like that. It’s just where I was at, just sore after a game.”

RB Christian McCaffrey was saying after the game that when he first got here you were helping him run through plays because he was just learning the offense. He was talking about how grateful he was that you were doing that for him. Conversely, what was it like for you? What did you learn about him during that time? Here’s this big star and he’s relying on me to run plays with him.

“I mean, [quarterback coach Brian] Griese knows the McCaffreys, so I think Griese might have told him, hey, get with Brock, he’s the backup, he can help you with anything just so you don’t have to take any of [QB] Jimmy [Garoppolo]’s time or anything like that, so I always open to helping out Christian. Just the way he went about things and studying and how serious he is with literally everything that he does, I’m like man, this is what greatness looks like. This is why he is the way he is, but yeah, it was pretty cool. We would always sit down and go over the scripts together before the game. Literally, he wanted me to read every single play, he would say where he’s lining up, what he’s doing, his assignment, it’s wild. And I was like, that’s insane, but to see how fast he learned stuff when he got here and has been able to know our playbook already inside and out, it’s been wild to see, so it was definitely cool to have him sort of take me in in a sense too, like just giving me advice about the NFL and how he’s had such a great career and everything like that, so he’s been awesome.”

As a follow up to that, the offense has really taken off since Christian McCaffrey got here. When you’re out there with him, how do you feel the defense, like the gravity of Christian and the attention that’s made to him?

“Yeah, I feel like they always have to account for him because he can do so much. He doesn’t just run the football. He can do stuff out of the backfield, he can line up out as a receiver and make plays that way. Literally there is so much, he’s like a Swiss army knife. So, I feel like they always have to account for him. And on top of that you have [TE] George [Kittle], [WR Brandon Aiyuk] B.A., [WR] Ray-Ray [McCloud], [WR] Jauan [Jennings], so we have all these weapons and then Christian can do everything, so I imagine it’s sort of a nightmare being a defensive coordinator trying to plan for Christian.”

Jimmy described it as, McCaffrey sees the field like a quarterback. In your time with him was it like, oh my God, you’re just like a quarterback in that way?

“Yeah, no doubt. Even just being in the huddle and his presence and like sort of taking command and charge when I’m getting the play call, he does a great job of just keeping everyone under cool, being calm and collected, but then also within his routes, he knows what we’re reading, where he’s supposed to be. Sometimes being receiver, you see things differently, but that dude, he sees it as a quarterback first and then runs it, so he definitely does see it as a quarterback. It’s nice.”

How quickly were you able to put the aftermath of a pretty incredible day behind you and move on? It became such a big story and everything with your family and it was everywhere and everybody was talking about it, but how did you kind of get through that and move on?

“Yeah, I think [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] did such a good job of just getting everyone’s attention after the game. Like, man, we can celebrate this next week after we get through this Thursday night game. It’s a quick turnaround, our bodies have to recover as soon as possible, and then we have to be able to literally play another game in four days, so I feel like it started with him and his leadership, getting everyone’s attention has been great, but for myself, yeah, that’s the thing. I don’t want to get caught up in all this noise and then all of a sudden we play Thursday night and I’m not prepared like I need to be. So, it’s definitely been a challenge in terms of getting the body right and then moving on and now we already have install meetings and everything and getting ready for Thursday, but at the same time Seattle has to do the same thing.”

What’s the most daunting atmosphere you’ve ever played football in in your life?

“Probably Norman, Oklahoma. Yeah, against [the University of Oklahoma] OU. Every time we went down there, it was always a great game, and those people just, I feel like were breathing down our necks. It was 90-plus thousand people, so you really can’t hear yourself think or anything. So that was probably one of the best environments I’ve ever played in.”

Do you think it prepared you for what you might encounter in Seattle?

“Yeah, I think this is probably the most hostile environment that you could probably play in. Either here or Arrowhead, so I’m excited for it. All these guys have played here a bunch of times, so just hearing them out, what’s good and what’s not in terms of communication and operation. So, we’ll be ready to roll for it.”

You have the opportunity to win the division if you win the game. Is that a point of conversation or is that something that you just know if you take care of business then it comes with it?

“Exactly. I think it just comes with winning. If we win the game and just do our job and just look at it like it’s another game and do our thing, then we’ll be just fine, but [Head Coach] Kyle [Shanahan] has made some points like where we’re at in terms of the standings and whatnot, but it’s not something that we talk about all the time. It’s something that he hits on it and then other than that, we just play our game and play football and we want to win every single game.”

I guess it could be a good thing to be hard on yourself and very demanding and have high standards. What have you learned about maybe finding a balance between beating yourself up and just having a little grace?

“Yeah, I played four years of college football and the first couple years for myself, they were fun. Whether we won or lost, I was having fun with football, but then as I became an upperclassman and a junior and a senior, I took more responsibility and I feel like I just added unnecessary pressure on myself just because I was so hard on myself. So that definitely helped me with where I’m at now in terms of enjoy what you’re doing, be real with yourself, how can you get better and all that kind of thing. But at the same time, if you’re hard on yourself 24/7, it almost becomes detrimental to your game, so finding the fine line of being real, being hard on yourself, but enjoy what you’re doing and winning and all that kind of thing too. I feel like my years of college have helped me with that.”

How do you approach this week from the standpoint of getting your body right and getting your second NFL game plan that’s designed solely for you but playing on a Thursday night and being in tune with it mentally on top of everything?

“I feel like this is part of the game. A lot of the guys have said, welcome to the NFL in terms of you get banged up a little bit, you have to be ready to roll in four days. You have to learn another install, you have to memorize plays, you have to get guys going around you, so this is it. This is the best of the best. And for me, I look at it as a challenge. I can prove to myself that I belong here and I can play here, and I can do all these things. The challenges of being banged up and having to go out and perform, especially in a crucial part of the season where, it’s going to take what it takes, there’s no regrets moving forward or anything like that I want to have down the road. I want to make sure that I give everything I have right now. And so, it’s a great challenge for myself.”

With that in mind, how helpful has it been to have someone like Brian Griese, who’s been in a very similar situation?

“Yeah, Griese has been awesome. He’s literally played our position. He’s been in the NFL for 11-plus years as a player, and then obviously all the commentating that he did, but he can relate to us quarterbacks, he does a great job of telling us about situational football, where we’re at in the game or just even in meetings, talking about his career and what it looks like to be tough, what it looks like to be real with teammates, so he’s done a great job of just pouring out to us everything that he has with his experiences, and it honestly has helped all of us, like [QB] Trey [Lance], Jimmy, myself, all the quarterbacks now in the room, so, we’re very thankful for Griese and his experiences.”

Guys have talked about the sort of swagger and confidence you play with. Correcting guys that are veterans and not being afraid to do so pretty bluntly. Where does that originate from with you and how do you play with that sort of confidence when you have guys done it for years?

“I’ve sort of hit on this before, but it’s not something like I’m going to go out and be this guy just because I’ve played now. It just comes with the position. I know that everyone wants to win in this organization, and I want to do what it takes to win. And so, if that means getting guys attention in the huddle at practice or walkthrough, whatever it is I just want to do my part and being a quarterback, that comes with it. So again, it’s not something I think about like, oh, I’m going to go out today and practice and show guys. It’s nothing like that. It’s getting guys attention and doing what it takes to win. And if that’s jumping on guys that are veterans, if that’s what it takes, that’s what it takes. So that’s how we look at it.”