49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, who has finally stabilized the one position his team couldn’t quite figure out, has emerged as an MVP candidate. He also continues to be labeled by some as a “game manager.”
The questions intensified this week, when former NFL quarterback and 2015 league MVP Cam Newton applied that label to Purdy and other current starters, including Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Lions quarterback Jared Goff, and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.
On Thursday, Purdy was asked during his midweek press conference whether he considers himself a game manager.
“I don’t know,” Purdy said. “I don’t want to comment on that. Like I said, I’m playing quarterback, trying to win games and we’ll see at the end of all of it.”
The term “game manager” undermines a quarterback’s involvement in his team’s success. It suggests that he’s doing nothing special to contribute to the effort. That the rest of the team is carrying him, not the other way around. That the quarterback’s goal is to simply not screw things up.
It’s an inaccurate label to attach to any of the quarterbacks Newton listed. The better term for someone like Purdy is “system quarterback.” That’s not an insult. 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan has devised a system that, if run properly, will result in wins. And Purdy is running it as well as, if not better than, any quarterback the 49ers have had on the roster since Shanahan became the head coach in early 2017.
Shanahan designs run plays that are hard to stop. He then uses the success in the running game to slice and dice a defense that is on its heels with the passing game. It helps to have a couple of high-end weapons like running back Christian McCaffrey and receiver Deebo Samuel, either of whom can take a short pass and RAC their way to first downs and touchdowns.
Purdy is making that system work, just like other great quarterbacks have done in the past. Joe Montana? System quarterback. He ran the offense as it was designed and called by offensive mastermind Bill Walsh. When the quarterback runs a stellar system the way it’s intended, the quarterback generates passing yards, wins, and ultimately championships.
Will Purdy at some point have to make a big throw in a big spot? Jimmy Garoppolo had that opportunity in Super Bowl LIV, after the Chiefs came back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take the lead. Garoppolo, however, missed an open Emmanuel Sanders for what could have been a game-winning touchdown.
The truth about the 49ers is that, if the core players remain healthy, a big throw in a big spot from Purdy might never be needed. The 49ers are so much better right now than everyone else that Purdy simply needs to keep doing what he’s doing. The fact that he makes it look easy doesn’t mean it is. If it was, the 49ers would have won a Super Bowl or two by now under Shanahan.
As to Newton, well, it’s understandable that he’s feeling a little bitter and neglected. Even in a year that has seen well over fifty different starting quarterbacks, with both the Browns and Vikings using four each as of this weekend, Newton hasn’t gotten a single phone call.
So, no, Purdy isn’t a game manager. Neither is Tua or Goff or Prescott. (Goff is the closest of the quartet, frankly. to that term.) But Purdy is a system quarterback, and he’s running a complex and effective system to perfection. If it results in the goal the 49ers haven’t achieved in nearly 30 years, there’s only one label that will matter.
Super Bowl champion.
