Any great quarterback needs tools around him that will allow him to display his wares. The difference between All Pro and JAG can be a running attack, decent OL play, and receivers who can catch.
For years I've been force-fed Seattle Seahawk football by the networks. David Krieg, AKA Blitz Krieg had an arm - a real one - no run game, an inconsistent offensive line, and only one better-than mediocre receiver for his Seattle career; the great Steve Largent. He picks up the historical tab for being "inconsistent" for the years he was throwing dropy-ballls from a hurried, desperately scrambling, or supine position. He did extremelywell, despite other team deficiencies, when he had Steve Largent.
Matt Hasselbeck, much the same thing. I used to call his receiving corp the Hands of Board gang.
The stat lines don't lie, but they don't tell the whole story. Either QB could drop a long pass into a bucket only to see it batted and bounce away. Stat line doesn't show TD and 60 more passing yards, just pass incomplete.
I've been a Matthew Stafford fan from the first time I saw him play early in his career, with a broken wing - a separated shoulder - and still he played. He and David Krieg are/were
tough. Krieg had one decent team after he left the Seahawks, a year with the Detroit Lions where they made the playoffs, and had a historically great run game (Barry Sanders) an OK line and a decent wideout. His QB rating that year was 101.
His stat lines always showed a respectable TD to INT ratio. He threw for a lot of yards, considerfing.
And I have to wonder: What could he have done, with tools and coaching?
Like Stafford when he first got here, Krieg tried to do it all himself. Live to play another down? Have confidence that your teaammates can be trusted? Tough.
Not saying Krieg is in Stafford's HOF class, but what a career he could have had, if only...
Brock Purdy is talented, mature beyond his experience level, unflappable. still learning, has the right mix of quiet confidence and genuine humility, and is
surrounded by good tools Things Krieg didn't have formost of his career.
Watch what he does with pressure next year, now that he's experienced it for an entire SB game vs. Spagnuolo. The Rams will need
fast and sticky corners to counter him - (that's why I want Quinn Mitchell in the draft.) Rush him and Purdy will get the ball out often enough to be dangerous without them. What will Shula bring, and from whom, in 2024 We won't know until we play the games.
A mediocre quarterback would only show so well with an all-star line, running back, and receivers. You still have to read, make the right decision, make the throw and get the ball out. Brock Purdy does those things. He is not that mediocre quarterback. He's a young man and QB I have to admire - and the Rams will have to deal with him for a long time, and he'll only get better with age and experience.
Best to recognize who he is and what he brings beforehand, and respect it. I'm sure Snead and McVay will have him in mind as they build the '24 roster.
