49ers Quarterback Controversy?

At the moment, there are three types of 49ers fans: 1. Team 49ers, 2. Team Brock Purdy, 3. Team Trey Lance.  The fans of Lance are calling Purdy Pewee and the fans of Purdy are being labeled racist.  Its rather ridiculous to be honest.  The team 49ers fan group does not appear to be very vocal.  That is where I come in.  I will speak for the people!  Here are my thoughts.

I like Brock Purdy. I liked him in college. He is a hard worker and a gamer.  I watched seven or eight of his college games as I live in Big 12 country and my favorite college football team is Kansas State.  He did not wow you with his physical gifts.  He did show that he had leadership and would keep his team in even the toughest of games.  He never gave up.  He was always a problem the opposition had to solve.  Still, it surprised me when the 49ers drafted him….though…and made me think about Coach Shanahan’s experience drafting RGIII and Kirk Cousins.   Brock Purdy was insurance on the Trey Lance problem.

That said, years ago back in the pre-draft process, I hoped the Niners drafted Trey Lance.  I watched film cut ups from various football pundits along with what game film I could find.  I believed in the moment that Lance was better than Justin Fields.  It appears my assessment in the moment may have been off.  On film they seemed to be a similar player, but Lance played in a more complex offense.  However, Fields was clearly the better athlete and played in a big time conference for years. Still, I wanted the Niners to draft Lance.  I liked his intangibles.  I thought that his intangibles would overcome his other shortcomings.

I was so excited when the Niners picked Lance, Big. Strong. Smart. What’s not to like? Other than what I have listed, the other major issue was lack of experience. Surely the HC can coach him up right? Look at all the QBs Coach Shanahan has made serviceable. RGIII, Kirk Cousins, Matt Schaub, Jimmy G, hell Nick Mullens won a few games. So. What is the deal with Lance? 54 percent passing percentage will not cut it in the NFL.  I don’t know what the issue is…but I bet it has something to do with seasoning and experience.

The 49ers roster is loaded. Brock came into a Ferrari with 4 years of starting experience from a competitive power five conference. I wonder how he would have played at Alabama? Would he have been drafted ahead of Mac Jones? Given how he played last year, I think it’s fair to speculate that he would have.  Many people scoff at this notion.  Folks have argued that Purdy would not have had the year he had his rookie season on any other team.  Yeah?  Well, he is on the 49ers roster and he had a helluva season so it doesn’t matter if he was on another roster.  The Alabama comparison works because Alabama is ALWAYS stacked with talent.  Maybe he would not have been as successful as Mac Jones but what is the real difference between the two quarterbacks?

Now we turn to this year.  The concerns with Brock are: how does he hold up after the first hit? Who is the right tackle and will they hold up or be a liability? The NFL has 8 games of film on Brock…what effect will that have on him? I am less concerned about the film. Coach Shanahan will have him ready. Health is the major concern. Right Tackle is a major concern. The Niners will have to solve those issues in order to have the season they want.

Brock Purdy’s biggest asset is his mental acuity.  What he lacks in physical stature and gifts, he makes up for in his mind.  He is a gifted processor of information.  He studies the game.  He studies the opposition.  He knows his team’s capabilities.  All of these factors allow him to make off schedule plays when things break down.  He makes good decisions and those decisions have led to seven victories.  I don’t see Purdy regressing.  I am not sure I see him getting better either.  But if status quo is 2 throwing touchdowns a game, that is 34 touchdowns in the bag.  That is status quo.  Barring a freak injury, what could the Niners have accomplished last year?  I think we will find out this year.

So. What to do with Lance? I think he is an NFL QB but he is a raw prospect who needs time to develop. The Niners are not in a position to develop a quarterback….they are in a position to win now given all the talent and high profile contracts on the roster. I really like Lance. I like his upside. I like everything about him except for the fact that he is raw. And guess what? It does not bother me we overpaid for him. That’s what you do when you want a shot at something great. It’s a game. Let’s root for the team. Let the best man win and let us hope for the best. I am rooting for all our QBs. We need them all to be great if we are going to get our sixth trophy this year. Period.