Brock Purdy Responds to his Label of Being a "System" Quarterback
Prior to Week 6, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was being labeled a "system" quarterback.
It means that he is a product of the system that Kyle Shanahan has installed along with the superb talent around him. I'm sure the critics who are pushing that label felt validated after Purdy had a poor outing against the Browns in the 49ers' first loss of the season.
However, it is such a lazy narrative to push because it could not be further from the truth. Purdy is more than a system quarterback. The 49ers' offense has never been this good before so consistently until Purdy came into the fold. Unfortunately, this is a label that will be talked about all season long, so of course it is a question that Purdy cannot avoid. In an interview with Rich Eisen on The Rich Eisen show, Purdy was given a chance to respond to his label of being a "system" quarterback.
"I don't really care in a sense," said Purdy. "I just want to win. I want to help this team win. People can say what they want, that's cool. I just want to help this team win and reach our goals, and then we'll see at the end of all this if that is true or not.
Despite being in the perfect offense for him, Purdy is not content with himself. He is not settling with the level he is at just because the offense is playing incredible. For him, he believes that there is still so much more he can do. He doesn't prop himself up when things are going well. Rather, he looks at what he left out there on the field and the mistakes he made that he can correct going forward.
"There’s always something that’s like, man, I could be better, you know? And so, when I step out in the field, man, it’s like still trying to prove to myself that I haven’t reached my full potential yet. And so, that’s like that chip that I always have on my shoulder and no matter what everyone else is saying, man, like I know that there’s another level that I can get to and so that’s where I’m trying to get. And you know, taking it one day at a time, but never being comfortable with where I’m at.”
This is not the mentality of a system quarterback at all. You get a sense from Purdy that he knows so long as he can maintain his level of play, while striving to get better that the 49ers can attain their goal of a Super Bowl. But like he said to Eisen in his interview, we'll see at the end if it is true or not.
