On draftism, I'm wondering if there's a line where it crosses from being part of the story to a detriment.
Tom Brady was famously drafted in the 6th round, after six QBs, and this became part of the legend, and how he used this as a motivating factor. It didn't hurt him in gaining recognition, and maybe even helped.
Brock Purdy was the literal last pick, but only one round later. Does literally being "Mr. Irrelevant" mean more, that calling him an elite QB is thumbing one's nose at the entire talent evaluation community?
Or is it just that Brady's accomplishments were so undeniable that it didn't matter? And the other factors weren't as relevant? Belichik was renowned as a great coach, but not a QB whisperer or offensive genius. Until Gronk and Randy Moss arrived, the rest of the offense wasn't being compared to comic book heroes. And Brady's style wasn't unique -- he was just very competitive and very good. He was, generally, a standard pocket QB.
As you say Belichick rightfully did not have a reputation as a QB whisperer, running a state of the art, innovative offense. His previous quarterbacks did fine, and his system was not designed to have them do better than fine. Brady played better than Bledsoe, and Bledsoe was considered something like a tier 2 guy. So you had really good play, in a system that wasn’t necessarily designed for it, and a direct comparison with a good QB, who Brady outplayed.
Purdy plays in a top three system, with a top three play caller, and generally plays slightly better according to the stats than the mediocre quarterbacks (Mac Jones, Jimmy, etc..) who are plugged into that system. He also has mediocre measurable, etc.. the right ranking for him, depending on the year, is probably in that 6 to 12 range. Which is generally where he is ranked if we had to do an aggregate.
This whole thing continues to be a non-story, if Allen, Mahomes, Burrow, Drake Maye, Caleb, or Stafford is offered for him, and Shanahan is trying to win a Super Bowl within the next two years, he’s taking that trade without thinking about it (Jackson might have scheme fit issues). That next group of Herbert, Prescott etc… is basically a tossup and Brock falls into that group.
I wonder how someone like Gruden era Derek Carr would do in that system…
I think Point 4 is among the strongest counter arguments to the Purdy naysayers. Sure Mac Jones was solid, but the offense clearly hit another gear once Purdy returned. I felt it was obvious from the eye test that Purdy made the offense far more dynamic, but it bears out in EPA as well
On draftism, I'm wondering if there's a line where it crosses from being part of the story to a detriment.
Tom Brady was famously drafted in the 6th round, after six QBs, and this became part of the legend, and how he used this as a motivating factor. It didn't hurt him in gaining recognition, and maybe even helped.
Brock Purdy was the literal last pick, but only one round later. Does literally being "Mr. Irrelevant" mean more, that calling him an elite QB is thumbing one's nose at the entire talent evaluation community?
Or is it just that Brady's accomplishments were so undeniable that it didn't matter? And the other factors weren't as relevant? Belichik was renowned as a great coach, but not a QB whisperer or offensive genius. Until Gronk and Randy Moss arrived, the rest of the offense wasn't being compared to comic book heroes. And Brady's style wasn't unique -- he was just very competitive and very good. He was, generally, a standard pocket QB.
As you say Belichick rightfully did not have a reputation as a QB whisperer, running a state of the art, innovative offense. His previous quarterbacks did fine, and his system was not designed to have them do better than fine. Brady played better than Bledsoe, and Bledsoe was considered something like a tier 2 guy. So you had really good play, in a system that wasn’t necessarily designed for it, and a direct comparison with a good QB, who Brady outplayed.
Purdy plays in a top three system, with a top three play caller, and generally plays slightly better according to the stats than the mediocre quarterbacks (Mac Jones, Jimmy, etc..) who are plugged into that system. He also has mediocre measurable, etc.. the right ranking for him, depending on the year, is probably in that 6 to 12 range. Which is generally where he is ranked if we had to do an aggregate.
This whole thing continues to be a non-story, if Allen, Mahomes, Burrow, Drake Maye, Caleb, or Stafford is offered for him, and Shanahan is trying to win a Super Bowl within the next two years, he’s taking that trade without thinking about it (Jackson might have scheme fit issues). That next group of Herbert, Prescott etc… is basically a tossup and Brock falls into that group.
I wonder how someone like Gruden era Derek Carr would do in that system…
BACK TO THE ORIGINAL MUSE! THANK YOU ETHAN FOR YOUR HARD 4 AM WORK!
Excited for another year of injuries and losing to the Seahawks lol
I think Point 4 is among the strongest counter arguments to the Purdy naysayers. Sure Mac Jones was solid, but the offense clearly hit another gear once Purdy returned. I felt it was obvious from the eye test that Purdy made the offense far more dynamic, but it bears out in EPA as well
The timing of Niners 2024 post-SB drop-off, when most eyeballs were on the team, confirmed for many that Purdys 2023 performance was a mirage