[81alum]

What I meant by Brock Purdy redefining the position is that we seemed to have gone through this evolution of QBs becoming bigger, faster, and stronger, with running becoming a bigger part of the game for them. Purdy is short by NFL standards and more quick than fast, two traits that haven't been found acceptable to NFL teams, as evidenced by the fact there wasn't anyone like him starting in the NFL previously and he was the last pick in the draft. If you were short, you had to be fast, like 40 time fast, and have a howitzer arm like Russell Wilson, who could do both.

As stated before, Purdy is off the charts quick, with his ability to see, process what he sees, make good decisions, move his feet, and get away from immediate pressure. If Purdy were in a 100 M race, he'd be at the front or leading in the first 10-20M, but he'd never finish at the front of the field.

In some physical respects, Purdy is like Tua Tagavailoa, but he wasn't the QB at Alabama. Purdy is quicker, a bit taller, and I don't think Tua's arm is appreciably stronger.

I'm no expert on these sorts of things.  But I am tickled that all the NFL metrics were wrong.   They still have not figured out how to measure "intangibles" like the quickness of decision-making or "slippery-ness" that is not necessarily linked to speed.  It used to be that we chuckled at how Montana had gone in the 3rd round and we thought this was somehow an example of a great talent that was underestimated.  Purdy makes Montana's draft look judicious by comparison.  The Montana comparison, I think, is not based on any actual resemblance between the two but the comparison with the way we were pleasantly surprised when both performed much better than their draft number led us to expect.

For a while my main concern had to do with injury.  Bigger quarterbacks seem to be more durable than smaller ones.  But I was surprised to see Purdy is the same weight as Favre or Brady in their prime, and 15 pounds heavier than Montana.  Let's hope he stays healthy and has a long career.

For the old-timers around here, is the comparison between Purdy and Fran Tarkenton a useful one?  Tarkenton was even smaller than Montana, but he seemed to have that slippery escapability and accurate short to medium range passing.

[81alum]

What I meant by Brock Purdy redefining the position is that we seemed to have gone through this evolution of QBs becoming bigger, faster, and stronger, with running becoming a bigger part of the game for them. Purdy is short by NFL standards and more quick than fast, two traits that haven't been found acceptable to NFL teams, as evidenced by the fact there wasn't anyone like him starting in the NFL previously and he was the last pick in the draft. If you were short, you had to be fast, like 40 time fast, and have a howitzer arm like Russell Wilson, who could do both.

As stated before, Purdy is off the charts quick, with his ability to see, process what he sees, make good decisions, move his feet, and get away from immediate pressure. If Purdy were in a 100 M race, he'd be at the front or leading in the first 10-20M, but he'd never finish at the front of the field.

In some physical respects, Purdy is like Tua Tagavailoa, but he wasn't the QB at Alabama. Purdy is quicker, a bit taller, and I don't think Tua's arm is appreciably stronger.

I'm no expert on these sorts of things.  But I am tickled that all the NFL metrics were wrong.   They still have not figured out how to measure "intangibles" like the quickness of decision-making or "slippery-ness" that is not necessarily linked to speed.  It used to be that we chuckled at how Montana had gone in the 3rd round and we thought this was somehow an example of a great talent that was underestimated.  Purdy makes Montana's draft look judicious by comparison.  The Montana comparison, I think, is not based on any actual resemblance between the two but the comparison with the way we were pleasantly surprised when both performed much better than their draft number led us to expect.

For a while my main concern had to do with injury.  Bigger quarterbacks seem to be more durable than smaller ones.  But I was surprised to see Purdy is the same weight as Favre or Brady in their prime, and 15 pounds heavier than Montana.  Let's hope he stays healthy and has a long career.

For the old-timers around here, is the comparison between Purdy and Fran Tarkenton a useful one?  Tarkenton was even smaller than Montana, but he seemed to have that slippery escapability and accurate short to medium range passing.