SANTA CLARA — Brock Purdy’s high number of interceptions during training camp a year ago were irrelevant at the time and even less so when the 2023 NFL regular season began.
And here we are, back to where things stood a year ago.
Only this time, it’s not a 49ers quarterback returning from significant elbow surgery. Those picks are being thrown by a player who finished fourth in the NFL MVP voting.
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“Brock would say the same thing, you never want to throw interceptions but when you’re out there practicing, every play there’s something different going on,” said Klay Kubiak, the 49ers’ offensive passing game specialist.
“There’s something specific he’s looking at or working on.”
The defense always seems to have an advantage in training camp. The 49ers’ defense knows the offense well, and they know where the offensive emphasis will be during a particular day on the practice field.
Meanwhile, Purdy constantly is testing himself and refusing to take the easy way out.
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“There’ve been some where he’s trying to see how much he can get away with,” Kubiak said. “He’s trying to fit a ball in a tight window or maybe he missed a read. Every play, it’s something different.
“The thing about Brock is he’s aggressive. He’s always aggressive and you never want him to lose that mindset. He goes out and plays that way in practice.”
The key, Kubiak says, is that Purdy puts in the time to analyze each of the plays during a practice session to assess where and when he should have thrown the ball based on the play call and the defense.
“Now, he needs to learn from them (interceptions) in the film room, and he does,” Kubiak said. “He’s accountable to it. But it’s kind of how Brock has always been. That’s what we love about him. We don’t want that to change.”