49ers' Brock Purdy Being Called System QB Is 'Pretty Ridiculous,' Kyle Shanahan Says

Is San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy nothing more than a system quarterback?

Head coach Kyle Shanahan bristled at the suggestion on Wednesday.

"That's pretty ridiculous," he told reporters. "You just got to watch the tape. I mean, he plays at a high level every time he's been out there. And he's done it in a lot of different situations versus a lot of different defenses, on the road, at home, in playoff games, when injured. You can't do all that stuff [if you're a system quarterback]. He's been out there too long. It's on tape."

There's little doubt that Shanahan's system benefits quarterbacks, however.

Matt Schaub had his best season with Shanahan as his offensive coordinator in 2009 with the Houston Texans, setting career highs in passing yards (4,770) and touchdowns (29).

Robert Griffin III's electrifying rookie season in 2012 (3,200 yards, 20 touchdowns, five interceptions, 65.6 completion percentage, 815 rushing yards, seven rushing scores) came with Shanahan as his offensive coordinator in Washington.

Matt Ryan won the MVP award with the Atlanta Falcons in 2016—again, Shanahan was the offensive coordinator—and led the team to the Super Bowl, where they famously gave away a 28-3 lead to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

And in San Francisco, Shanahan has a 56-46 career record and three playoff berths, largely with players like Purdy, Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard playing quarterback.

Purdy has also been blessed with elite playmakers on the offensive side of the ball like Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle, among others. The Niners are stacked.

But it shouldn't detract from the fact that San Francisco is now 9-0 with Purdy as the starter during the regular season. In those games he's thrown for 2,393 yards, 18 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 69.1 completion percentage, taking 18 sacks.

Those are excellent numbers, and he was equally good in last year's postseason (569 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions in parts of three games) before he was injured in the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

He was good enough last year that the Niners eventually parted ways with 2021 No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance, who only was given four starts with the team over two years. Purdy had shown them enough.

So yes, the system is excellent. So is the supporting cast. But the Niners have clearly been a different, better team with Purdy at the helm.