49ers HC Kyle Shanahan Evaluates Brock Purdy's Development

Brock Purdy is having a strange season.

Nov 10, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) drops back against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

SANTA CLARA -- Brock Purdy is having a strange season.

He's had good moments, but his statistics are down, his record is .500 and he's as responsible as anyone for the 49ers' slow start.

Here's what head coach Kyle Shanahan said this week about Purdy's development, courtesy of the 49ers p.r. department.

Q: Last year it seemed like everything went right for Brock, going through all the statistics through season. This year it's kind of been up and down. What do you think has been going right for him versus wrong?

SHANAHAN: “I think it's such a fine line with, we're a five-and-five team, which isn't where we want to be. But when it, you ask a question about Brock, but I think if we were eight-and-two with a top offense in the league and stuff, I think we'd be feeling a lot better. And so, I try to keep perspective of that, especially with our guys. And to me that's come all the way down to how we finish games. And we've had four games here that have come down to the last two possessions and we've only won one of those. And that's the difference between eight-and-two and five-and-five with the one we won being Tampa. In contrast, you look at a team like Green Bay, they've had seven games come down to the last possession and they've won six of them, with the only one they lost being the opening game versus Philly. And that's why they have such a good record. So I think Brock's doing a lot of good things, but we're all going to be judged on winning games and that's why our team's got to find a better way to win it there in the fourth so we can get our record right.”

Q: You feel like he's made appropriate progress for this being his third season?

SHANAHAN: “Yeah, it's hard to make a lot of progress after the way he played last year and it was hard to make a lot of progress after the way he played seven games in his first year. So I think Brock's playing at the exact same level. I think there's different circumstances around him. Our team hasn't been quite as good through this, but it's been close to getting there and close doesn't matter. That's why we're five-and-five, but a couple plays here and there and I think we're looking at it totally differently and that's why we've put ourselves in the hole and that's why we've made it a lot harder for ourself here at this back half. But I still think it's going to come down to the same stuff. I bet these next seven games come down to the fourth quarter and we either get it done or we don't. We’ve got to find a way to get it done.”

TRANSLATION: Purdy wasn't elite when he was putting up MVP numbers last season and he's not bad now that he's putting up Geno Smith numbers this season. Purdy is somewhere in between according to Shanahan.

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