Tag: 49ers quarterbacks

1 big change 49ers can make to help QB Brock Purdy

Here’s one way the 49ers can help their offense.

It’s hard to watch the San Francisco 49ers offense this season and not notice a very different version of that unit than we’ve seen in recent years.

Quarterback Brock Purdy has started relying heavily on downfield throws, and not so much on yards after catch. While Purdy is playing well, the 49ers’ offense has stagnated at times during the season.

One way they might be able to help is by getting back to an old staple: play-action passing.

The 49ers through Purdy’s first season-plus relied a ton on play action. In 2022 when he took over as a rookie, 26.6 percent of his dropbacks were play action according to Pro Football Focus. That trend continued in 2023 with 23.0 percent of his dropbacks featuring play action.

In 2024 that percentage has plummeted to 17.6 percent in a baffling shift from head coach Kyle Shanahan.

To make matters worse, Purdy has better numbers in play action this year than he has at any point in his career. This season he’s completing 78.6 percent of his play action throws and averaging a whopping 12.4 yards per attempt.

In 2022 his completion rate was at 67.7 percent with 10.1 yards per attempt. In 2023 the YPA stayed stagnant while his completion rate leapt to 77.3 percent.

This season in particular the move away from play action throws becomes even more head-scratching considering his numbers outside of it. Without play action this season, Purdy’s completion rate is at 62.8 percent, while his yards-per-attempt sits at 8.0. All four of his INTs have come without play action. His completion rate jumps 15.8 points and his YPA shoots up by 4.4 yards with the fake involved.

Perhaps moving away from play action has been personnel-related. Maybe it has to do with how the 49ers are being defended. It’s clear they have to find ways to sprinkle in more play action dropbacks though because moving away from it hasn’t been helpful. The sooner they start doing it at a higher rate, the sooner they put themselves in a position to maximize their offense and their quarterback.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

 

 

49ers make unsurprising decision with backup quarterback

The 49ers backup QB decision has been made.

The San Francisco 49ers have finally named Brock Purdy’s backup.

After a battle that lasted throughout training camp and the preseason, head coach Kyle Shanahan announced Brandon Allen will be the No. 2 QB for the 49ers. Josh Dobbs will be the emergency third QB.

Given how the two players looked in camp and the preseason there wasn’t a surefire choice. Both had their ups and downs, and Dobbs managed to work his way into the conversation by quickly picking up the offense and closing the gap between him and Allen, who spent last season with the 49ers.

It’s not a surprise Shanahan went this route with his decision.

If the 49ers don’t have Purdy under center, Shanahan will want to remove as many variables as possible from the offense. Allen can run the offense effectively and deliver throws to the right spots.

Dobbs can do that, but he’s still learning Shanahan’s scheme and his athleticism adds a layer of unknown to his game. He made plays with his legs in the preseason, but he also held onto the ball too long at times and took unnecessary negative plays by trying to extend a play for too long.

It was clear after the preseason that the ceiling was higher with Dobbs, but the floor was higher with Allen. The latter is what matters to the head coach in the event they need to survive a stretch without their starting quarterback.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]