Why Stephen A believes Brock Purdy could be ‘QB problem' for 49ers
Why Stephen A believes Brock Purdy could be ‘QB problem' for 49ers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The 49ers lost another game to extend their losing skid to three, so that means quarterback Brock Purdy will be the center of national criticism until they take the field again in two weeks.
That was the case on ESPN's "First Take" on Monday morning, as Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe and Dan Orlovsky debated whether San Francisco has a quarterback problem.
"Everything you just described is a quarterback problem. The fact of the matter is if you got a quarterback that has to go up against Joe Burrow and he can't answer the call, that is a quarterback problem," Smith argued. "I understand [George] Kittle had 149 yards receiving, [Brandon] Aiyuk had 109 yards receiving. Purdy threw for 365 yards. From a statistical perspective, it looks like a pretty good day.
"But let me throw this out at you. In games where they are tied or trailing in the second half, Purdy has got two touchdown passes [and] seven interceptions. We got to take that into consideration."
San Francisco wide receiver Deebo Samuel has missed the last two games while recovering from a shoulder injury, and the 49ers' once-dominant offense has felt his absence.
Another dent in the offense has been star left tackle Trent Williams' absence, who also has missed the past pair of matchups against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 7 and Sunday's Week 8 meeting with the Cincinnati Bengals.
But Smith believes that as the leader of the team, Purdy should recognize that and find a way to step up in their absence. And he doesn't think that missing one offensive weapon among the many that the 49ers have should affect Purdy and the team as much as it has.
"With Deebo, he's completed 71 percent of his passes, eight touchdowns, zero interceptions, 121 passer rating. Without Deebo, 65 percent completion percentage, four TD passes, five interceptions, 82.7 passer rating. That's a damn near 40 percent drop-off," Smith said. "I'm telling you this: I understand that Purdy can play. I don't want you to interpret it as the brother can't play or he doesn't deserve to be the starting quarterback.
"But when we look at one dude being gone, but you got [Brandon] Aiyuk, and you got [Christian] McCaffrey and you got [George] Kittle and you got Kyle Shanahan, and because that one dude is out, you got problems? You're a problem. I'm sorry. How much do you need as a quarterback? There's plenty of quarterbacks in the league that don't have those complimentary pieces that I just highlighted. They manage. If you are Brock Purdy, you got to find a way to step up."
Smith did state he believes Purdy will find a way to step up, and the 49ers haven't lost an ounce of faith in their QB. But they do acknowledge there's a problem they must fix before their Nov. 12 meeting with the Jacksonville Jaguars, it's just not a quarterback one in their eyes.
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