As the first weekend of the preseason approaches, one of the common questions will relate to which key players will play in the games that don’t count, and which ones won’t.
For 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, who’s in his first “normal” training camp as the full-time starter (last year, he was still coming back from elbow surgery), his reps for Saturday’s visit to the Titans remain to be determined.
“We haven’t talked about that, so just taking it one day at a time,” Purdy told reporters on Sunday. “I think it all just depends on how practices go and my reps and how I’m feeling and stuff. But, I’m sure we’ll make a decision here as the game comes closer.”
After Purdy, Josh Dobbs and Brandon Allen are battling for the backup job. Both of them undoubtedly will play extensively in Tennessee.
Purdy was also asked at his press conference about his rash of interceptions; his prior comments came in a visit to KNBR radio.
“I take pride in protecting the ball for our offense and our team,” Purdy said. “And so obviously, I’m mad when I’m not completing the ball to our guys and it’s going to the defense. I’m hard on myself and the coaches are, too. We have a standard here. So it’s not [that] we’re just going out and just because it’s practice it’s okay to throw picks. No, there’s still a standard here. But with that is, I know you guys have heard me say this all over the media, but now’s the time to be trying out some stuff in terms of throwing some windows and some tight coverages and whatnot. But you know, I still have to grow. I still have to be better and I’m hard on myself with it. But now’s the time to do it. I remember last year coming off my UCL at practice, I was throwing some stuff, and I threw multiple days of picks. But you get into the season and you’re ready for those moments and you’re ready to execute and protect the ball. So that’s where we’re at in the time of year.”
Purdy’s irritation with the interception depends on how the interception happened.
“It depends on what kind of pick it is,” he said. “If I’m trying to fit it in a window and trying to just be aggressive or I just couldn’t see a guy, those are the questions you have to ask yourself. And that’s what I do, ask myself. And obviously, I get pretty mad at myself in terms of, ‘Dude, you turned the ball over and you can’t do that.’ So it’s finding a way to grow mentally for myself in terms of, ‘Dude, you can’t do that.’ Or, ‘Hey, I was being aggressive here and we’re just trying it out and I’m seeing if I can do it with this guy and that kind of window or that kind of look.’ But at the end of the day, I’m not out there trying to just throw the ball up and act like it’s camp and I don’t care, because I do.”
It makes sense, but seven picks in two practices are still a lot of picks. Eyes will be on him whenever he plays in the preseason. And he’ll need to be ready to minimize turnovers in a Week 1 Monday night duel against Aaron Rodgers and a very competent Jets defense.
That game happens in only five weeks.