There aren’t many things worse for an offense than a turnover. That’s especially true in the National Football League where so many games come down to one possession.
The importance of limiting turnovers is why every training camp interception gets thrown under a microscope and picked through with a fine-tooth comb.
Brock Purdy set off some alarm bells when he tossed three interceptions in the 49ers’ first padded training camp practice. Those bells kept ringing when he finished the following day’s session with four interceptions in five throws.
It didn’t cause a panic, but it was certainly enough to generate questions about what was happening with the 49ers’ franchise quarterback. Purdy in an interview with ‘Papa and Lund’ on KNBR explained why turnovers tend to happen in camp.
“Man, it’s a fine line,” Purdy said. “You want to go out, you want to be efficient, you want to go through reads and obviously protect the ball and what not. But right now is the time for us to go out and – you know you always hear the quarterback say ‘experiment’ – but that’s really what it is. Can I fit in this window on this hitch? Can I look off (LB) Fred (Warner) or Flann (LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles) or (LB) De’Vondre (Campbell) in a certain way and then make that throw backside? You gotta try it out. In a game and in a season it comes down to protecting the ball every snap, every play. So you can’t necessarily try those things out. Right now we can.”
This makes a lot of sense!
It should also help quell concerns that Purdy, in his third NFL training camp, suddenly forgot how to play football.
The key with the turnovers was always this. They’re far more acceptable if they come because Purdy is trying to learn from mistakes. It’s not that he’s trying to create interceptions. He’s taking advantage of the leeway he has in practice where the giveaways aren’t consequential.
It’ll be worth it if the turnovers from practice translate to positive plays in the regular season. Purdy knows the focus is still on ball security, but he told ‘Papa and Lund’ he’s going to take full advantage of the practice reps while he has them.
“My mindset right now is protect the ball, but let’s be aggressive,” Purdy said. “Let’s try this out. Let’s figure it out. Obviously I want to go through my reads, check the ball down, and work on that as well because that’s real. That’s football. But there’s a time and a place where I’m like, ‘this is practice, and I’m gonna drop back and try this out.’ And then you figure out if that could be a part of your game or not for the regular season.”
