Greg Cosell calls out flawed logic behind labeling Brock Purdy as system QB

Brock Purdy has emerged as a force to be reckoned with over the years. In his debut as QB1 for the 49ers in 2023, Purdy led them to an NFC championship and a Super Bowl showdown against the Chiefs. But they could not end it with a victory and lift the Lombardi trophy.

However, some analysts and naysayers view Brock Purdy as a system quarterback. They believe that the 49ers' offensive scheme under Kyle Shanahan makes it easy for him to find success. But analyst Greg Cosell refuted these views and claims.

On Thursday, Cosell made an appearance on Ross Tucker's podcast. During this interview, he talked about the narrative surrounding Brock Purdy as a 'system quarterback.'

"When people see a quarterback execute at a high level, which Purdy has done for most of his three years.... they assume it's the system...." Cosell said. "When people talk about quarterbacks, they talk about physical traits. Arm strength, can he run around?....

"They don't talk about the ability to understand the game pre-snap...throw with timing and anticipation...these are things that Brock Purdy is really really good at...That is what quarterback play is more...Quarterback is a discipline craft."

After appearing in the Super Bowl, there were high expectations for the 49ers last season. Because of injury concerns, Purdy could only lead them to a 6-9 campaign. Despite this, the team signed him to a five-year extension worth $265 million, showcasing their faith in his talents.

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Brock Purdy shares his true feelings about the system quarterback narrative

The 2023 Pro Bowler appeared on 95.7 The Game's "Willard & Dibs." Purdy shared his feelings about the whole 'system quarterback' labeling, stating that he found it to be humorous.

He also opened up about how he used that as fuel for motivation to showcase his true talents on the field.

"The whole system quarterback thing earlier in my career, it was funny hearing that," he said. "And I'm not going to lie, I took that as like, OK, I'm a guy who can come in and do what the coach says and win games because of that. So to me, that was more of a compliment and I sort of ran with that."

The 49ers will see several key players, like Christian McCaffrey, returning from injury rehabilitation in 2025. Only time will tell if this will help the team make another Super Bowl run like they did during the 2023 season.