Niners Nation
49ers QB Brock Purdy happy with progress, but status remains ‘day to day’ (paywall)
“I went back and watched film and saw how explosive you really need to be at quarterback,” Purdy said. “You don’t really think about it, but getting back from the line of scrimmage in your drops, your handoffs, carrying out fakes, bootlegs, scrambling. Obviously, you need your toes to be able to go in and out of your cuts. It’s something you can’t really mask. You’ve got to be all in and healthy to be able to play the position of quarterback. Now I realize that.”
49ers’ deep rookie class keeps getting better, as Connor Colby steps into starting role (paywall) ““I didn’t think he was a guard when he first came. I thought he’d play tackle,” left tackle Trent Williams said. “He’s what I would call a ‘tweener — in a good way. He has the size and length to play tackle but has the strength to play guard.”
That strength was evident right away, both in the team’s weight room and when he was asked to take on the 49ers’ defensive tackles. Center Jake Brendel called Colby’s power “applicable strength.”
“He moves a lot of weight in the weight room,” Brendel said. “That’s not always 100 percent what this game is. But it can definitely help you. And he also shows that strength if you watch the one-on-one reps and stuff. He has a decent anchor and some decent hands, and he can lock people out, which is always a question for a younger guy. Does he have the ability to stop a bull rush, to stop a guy from pushing the pocket back?”
Colby also took a lot of repetitions during the spring and summer. Like Dominick Puni last year, he didn’t miss any OTA and training camp practices, which allowed him to get progressively better and gain the coaches’ trust. When Puni went down with a knee injury this preseason, Colby replaced him at right guard. And with Bartch now on injured reserve, Colby will make his first NFL start Sunday at left guard against the Arizona Cardinals.
“We all have a ton of confidence in the kid,” Brendel said. “It kind of looks like he’s played a lot more ball than what a normal rookie has played.”
“I think it’s his demeanor,” Williams added. “Just the way he handles himself, the way you come to work, him being coachable, his willingness to learn.
“If he continues on his trajectory, I think he’ll be a really, really good player. I have been super proud of him — he’s been a huge addition for us.”
49ers’ demoted safety Ji’Ayir Brown vows to rise again: ‘I’m top five in this league’ (paywall)
““I think most of my pro approach and humility to the situation, whatever you want to draw it up as, most of it is because I know who I am as a player,” Brown said. “I know for sure I’m one of...
