SANTA CLARA — Rookie quarterback Brock Purdy has shown an ability to avoid the pass rush and buy time to make a play down the field or throw it away to avoid a sack.
But those tasks will not be as simple to accomplish on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, particularly when Micah Parsons is trying to track him down.
Purdy has shown a tendency to spin out of the pocket at the hint of pressure from the front side and roll to his left.
“I think it is instinctual, but also at the same time, you have to account for those kinds of guys on the defense,” Purdy said. “With a guy with that kind of caliber and then obviously the amount of games that I've played, so they obviously see that I've done that.”
Parsons, the Cowboys’ top edge rusher, clocked a time of 4.36 seconds at his pro day before the 2021 NFL Draft. Purdy said he must take that into account when he thought crosses his mind to escape the pocket in order to keep a play alive.
“It's always good to know that you're going against guys that are very athletic like Micah and all those guys up front,” Purdy said. “I think it goes both ways, but you just have to (realize) that they're studying you as well.”
In seven games since taking over for injured Jimmy Garoppolo, Purdy was sacked 12 times while completing 128 passes in 191 attempts.
He has generally done a good job of executing the play as drawn up. And Purdy has also shown the ability to make a play when initially nothing is there.
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“I don't drop back and just look at the defensive line and say, ‘He’s coming here or he's coming there,’” Purdy said. “I don't have time for that. You have to keep your eyes down the field.
“But I feel like as the play goes on, then I get a sense of … I can escape here or here if I need to. But it's definitely not a thing where I go into the play saying, ‘All right, I'm going to escape this way or go that way.’ I just feel it out as my eyes are downfield.”
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