Football evolves over time. The QB position is no longer about hero ball and making dramatic home run throws several times a game. Heck, Josh Allen can wow the best of them with his jaw dropping plays, and then he throws 3 picks and his team loses. Today's successful QB's are about being efficient and not making mistakes, and I'm not sure there's anyone better at that right now than Brock Purdy.
1 - He fits perfectly into the scheme he's playing in so it's hard to tell how much he's managing vs the team putting him in the right position to be successful.
Purdy plays in a "scheme" which requires the QB to process what's in front of him extremely quickly, make the read, deliver the ball accurately, and not make stupid mistakes. Not only does Purdy do all that extremely well, there are several times a game when he makes something positive happen when there's nothing there. He's not a game manager.
2 - They have a lot of offensive weapons that can bail him out.
This comment, which I hear from many so-called experts, kills me. The same could be said of ANY great QB. Heck, Joe Montana had Jerry Rice (Hall of Fame) and Roger Craig (Hall of Fame) to bail him out his entire career, but nobody ever said Montana was just a game manager.
3 - He's had a ton of missed picks over the 8 games and people still count those against him.
A ton? Really? Yes, he's had several, but so has every other NFL QB.
4 - He doesn't have the biggest arm.
Purdy was criticized for hitting on only 1 of 4 deep passes against the Rams. NFL QB's on average hit on 34% of deep passes, but Brock is criticized based on a sample size of 4 passes. (It's funny how nobody mentions his 80% completion rate on intermediate passes which is historically high for an NFL QB.) The funny thing is that his 3 deep ball misses were because he overthrew them, which is awfully strange for someone who doesn't have the biggest arm.
5 - He doesn't have the physical traits or play style you would typically associate with a star QB.
Which physical traits are you referring to? The NFL is not a Punt, Pass & Kick contest. If it was, Josh Allen would be in the Hall of Fame. The mental ability is just as important as the physical ability, and there aren't many NFL QB's who can process information, make a decision, and deliver a throw under great duress as quickly and accurately as Brock Purdy.
The QB that Brock beat last night was a #1 overall draft pick. The QB who got traded because he had no chance of playing ahead of Brock was a #3 overall draft pick. And the backup QB who gets to watch Brock from the sideline was a #3 overall draft pick. But some people just can't accept the fact that Brock is a great QB. I guess some folks are a lot slower to pick up on things than others.
In the end, he's managing the game very well, making some good reads, and doing enough to keep their offense moving. He's never going to look like the most natural QB and he'll have some games where he probably doesn't look like he belongs, but he did a lot last night against 87% blitz rate to show he can still be successful even under a ton of pressure.
