SANTA CLARA — Fear not whether Brock Purdy gets enough credit for the 49ers’ 5-0 start and his comeback from elbow surgery.
Just enjoy the show. That’s what Tom Brady is doing in retirement when watching his childhood team.
“It’s kind of a fun story, and I hope it continues for him because he seems like he’s a really humble young man and he wants to go out there and do great things,” Brady said Monday on his SiriusXM “Let’s Go!” podcast with Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray.
“The more you kind of have that chip on your shoulder like he does,” Brady continued, “and there were not quite the expectations, it’s nice to go out there and continue to prove people wrong.”
Brady is the NFL’s authority figure on that. The San Mateo native was drafted No. 199 overall (sixth round) in 2000, then won seven Super Bowl titles before walking away, apparently for good, after last season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Now Purdy is trying to do what Brady did: win a Super Bowl in his second season.
Last Dec. 11, Purdy became the first rookie to win a starting debut against Brady, a 35-7 blowout at Levi’s Stadium. Purdy said that matchup still resonates, in terms of his relentless pursuit of points. The 49ers, who visit the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, have scored at least 30 points in each of their first five games, a franchise record.
When Purdy entered December’s starting debut, he was determined to “make the most of every opportunity” with swift and impeccable decisions. “Or else, if I’m just giving the ball up to this guy (Brady), we may not even have a chance,” Purdy recalled Thursday.
Not even a 28-0 halftime lead satisfied Purdy against Brady, whom he considers “obviously the best quarterback of all time.”
“We were up by a couple of scores,” Purdy said, “and I still had an uneasy feeling in my stomach, ‘We cannot let off the pedal, because Tom Brady’s had all these comebacks in his career and in his life.’ I was always just, ‘One more, one more, one more,’ every drive, in terms of my mindset.”
That remains his mindset. Purdy threw a career-high four touchdown passes in Sunday night’s 42-10 rout of the Dallas Cowboys.
“He’s kind of under the radar, but he just goes about his job. And I think a lot of people can really respect that in a lot of different industries,” Brady added on his podcast. “You know, it’s nice to have people that can show up every day, put the team first, do what they’re asked to do and he’s done a good job of that. He’s really exceeding a lot of people’s expectations.”
Seven months ago, Purdy came out of surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow, an injury that derailed the 49ers in their NFC Championship Game loss at Philadelphia. Concerns about his comeback were quelled when he started throwing in June.
“It looks good to me,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “That was the neat thing about that injury, there’s lots of questions until he started throwing, which was three or four months,” Shanahan added. “But all the information on that injury is: Once he passed that area, as long as you brought him back at the right speed, most quarterbacks once it heals, it heals.”
For Purdy’s sake, that right arm alone doesn’t have to curl the weight of the 49ers’ weekly expectations. He consistently acknowledges his star-studded support cast. So did Brady.
“I played ’em last year and they’ve got a good team,” Brady said. “I played on a lot of great teams over the years, too, and what did we do? We controlled the line of scrimmage, we ran the ball well, we stopped the run. They rush the passer. They’ve been playing with leads. And I give Coach Shanahan a lot of credit, too, ’cause he has done a great job. And, you know, you don’t hear of guys like Brock Purdy until Brock Purdy’s doing amazing things out on the field.”
Purdy has reset the NFL record book with a few milestones thus far:
— He is among a quartet of quarterbacks to win their first 10 regular-season starts, matching Mike Tomczak (1986 Bears) and Mike Livingston (1969 Chiefs) who are five shy of the 15-0 record set by Ben Roethlisberger (2004 Steelers).
— Purdy’s 121.1 passer rating is the NFL’s best ever through 10 starts, ahead of Rob Johnson (1997 Jags, 1998 Bills; 113.8 rating) and Patrick Mahomes (2017-18 Chiefs; 112.7 rating). Purdy’s 123.1 rating this season leads the NFL.
— His 70.4 completion percentage in 10 starts is second in NFL history to Chad Pennington (70.4%; 2002 Jets). Purdy’s 72.1-percentage this season is second to Josh Allen (73.1%; Bills).
Brady, for comparison, went 7-3 over his first 10 starts for the 2001 Patriots with a 94.5 rating and a 66.1 completion percentage (2,036 yards; 16 touchdowns; seven interceptions). Brady went on to win his last nine games that season, including three in a playoff run that culminated with a 20-17 Super Bowl win over the Rams.
Purdy has not been intercepted in his past 235 passes, dating to New Year’s Day in Las Vegas. “He makes good decisions,” Browns safety Grant Delpit told Cleveland.com. “He finds his playmakers. They have plays drawn up for him that’s nice reads for him and he makes the reads. … Hopefully we cause a little problem for him.”
The Browns boast the NFL’s No. 1 defense in terms of total yards allowed (196.8 per game) and passing yards (125). The 49ers’ offense ranks third in total yards (402.6 per game) and eighth in passing (246.8)
GREENLAW’S HAMSTRING INJURY
The 49ers cited a hamstring injury for linebacker Dre Greenlaw’s absence from practice, a day after he missed practice for what was listed as rest and not an injury.
Running back Elijah Mitchell (knee) practiced for the first time in two weeks and looks capable of returning from a two-game absence. Guard Aaron Banks (shoulder) was limited.
PREPARING FOR P.J.?
With Dashaun Watson unable to practice because of a rotator cuff injury, the Browns could be moving closer to starting P.J. Walker, who previously was with the Carolina Panthers. So was Steve Wilks, the 49ers defensive coordinator who finished last season as the Panthers’ interim coach.
“He’s very capable of running that offense,” Wilks said of Walker. “He makes good decisions. He’s good with the ball. He can win with his legs, a lot of what Deshaun can do. People say are they going to dummy down the offense? I don’t think so. He’s more than capable of running the offense. ”
Myles Garrett (foot) returned to practice but the Browns remained without guard Joel Bitanio (knee) and tight end David Njoku (face, hands).
KITTLE FINE?
Tight end George Kittle said he’s yet to hear from the NFL but figures he’ll probably draw a $10,927 fine, in regards to an expletive written on his undershirt in Sunday’s game. After Jordan Mason scored the 49ers’ final touchdown, Kittle celebrated by lifting his jersey and exposing a T-shirt that read: “(Expletive) Dallas,” which he wore in honor of a similar shirt former 49ers linebacker Gary Plummer donned in a 1994 win over the Cowboys.
“I mean, I wore a personalized T-shirt, maybe with an inappropriate word,” Kittle said. “It is what it is. It’s a decision I made. If they want to fine me, they fine me.” Kittle added that “100-percent, I’d do it again.”
He also hopes to one day speak with Plummer, who endorsed Kittle’s shirt in interviews this week with NBC Sports Bay Area and KNBR.
Source: www.mercurynews.com