Foerster praises 49ers QB Purdy's ‘remarkable' decision-making
Foerster praises 49ers QB Purdy's ‘remarkable' decision-making originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SANTA CLARA — Among many attributes, Brock Purdy’s decision-making is one of his most important qualities and 49ers run game coordinator Chris Foerster has been impressed.
The second-year quarterback has not thrown an interception since Week 17 of the 2022 season as well as adding his name into the record books with his 95.2-percent completion rate in the club’s Week 4 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
“The guy plays the position really well,” Foerster said on Thursday. “That’s all I can say. He’s just a quarterback. From the time he started playing it, he just sees the field. His ability to know where to go with the football.”
Foerster, who has been a coach for 30 years, has seen a lot of quarterbacks throughout his career and believes Purdy’s ability to make quick and accurate decisions could be a product of his physical attributes.
At 6-foot-1, Purdy may not have the ability to see over both the offensive line and opposing pass rush coming at him as a play develops. With that in mind, the Iowa State product’s processing must happen more quickly than a quarterback who is three or four inches taller.
“I always think some of it is when you look at a guy’s physical abilities,” Foerster said. "You look at his height, weight, you look at his speed, you realize that he’s a little bit of a shorter guy. There’s all those physical limitations with a guy that then tie into how they have to play the position, understanding everything that goes into it.”
Purdy is also a product of his past and present coaching and the offensive coach believes that the quarterback applying everything he has learned to what he does on the field is not a given. Sometimes, in game situations, a player can revert back to old habits, but that is not something Purdy is apt to do.
“Being able to make decisions and deliver the ball accurately is just something that he’s learned to do over time,” Foerster said. “It is remarkable because some guys never learn it. Some guys are always late to throw the ball. They’re just going to rely more on arm talent.
“They’re going to wait for a guy to get open before they throw it and still get away with it. Or they’re going to rely on their feet and say, I don’t care if the pocket’s coming in around me, I’m going to make a play.”
Purdy's most impressive performance to date might be the club's Week 2 win over the New York Giants when facing an 85-percent blitz rate. The play-caller's decisions needed to be made at a much faster rate than any of his previous starts in the NFL.
Regardless of how Purdy has developed his decision-making, it has been impressive to Foerster. The quarterback has a 72.3-percent completion rate and 115.1 rating through his four games in 2023 and a 69.1-percent career completion rate and 110.4 rating over his 13 regular season contests.
Purdy and the 49ers will face their biggest challenge yet of the 2023 season when they host the Dallas Cowboys on "Sunday Night Football."
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