49ers Q&A: Will an edge rusher save the season? Was Brock Purdy rushed back?

Earlier this week, I put a post out on the feed to do a sort of mailbag here on Niners Nation. A lot of you sent me some questions. So I’m here to answer them, for no reason other than Q&A’s can be fun. As I mentioned in the feed post, I don’t care about what I think or say, but if you want me to provide some [unnecessary] context, here’s some [unnecessary] context.

So, with that said, welcome to the first edition of…Gee, I don’t know. “Ask Pato?” “Mailbag?” ”Golden Tickets?” We’ll come up with an official name for this as time goes on, if we continue doing it. Throw your name ideas in the comments or something.

Keep an eye on the Niners Nation Feed for our next edition of this Q&A. It’s that handy little ticker to the right of the posts. And even if you don’t want to ask questions, come engage with us. If you don’t want to talk to me, you’ve got KP, James Brady, even Fooch chiming in over there.

Ok, onto your questions:

“Why is it so difficult for some fans to say Purdy had a bad game?”

– Bigtime22

The same reason it’s difficult for some analysts to admit Brock Purdy is a good quarterback: no one wants to admit they are wrong, have been educated, etc., etc. or in the case of one game, offer even a shred of evidence to the contrary on something that is probably subjective (oh he played objectively bad…but you get the idea). I’m a Brock Purdy fan. I think he’s perfect for Kyle Shanahan. I also think he played poorly on Sunday. The whole team was playing poorly on Sunday, however, so you can’t blame it all on Purdy; there’s a lot more to it than that.

Purdy did have a bad game. A single bad game doesn’t mean the 49ers overpaid him, or that the last few years are just suddenly erased. Especially in Week 4, with injuries piling up and receivers dropping passes. But saying that gives ammo to the other side, and we can’t have that.

“Unless we trade for a (more than) competent edge, this season is toast?”

-CanWeCloneJoe?

“Will we trade for an edge rusher?”

-billthebiker

I’m not sure if a lack of edge for the rest of the season indicates doom when there’s so much more that hurt the 49ers on Sunday. The 49ers defense still doesn’t have an interception for 11 games, and Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, they had like, zero hits and zero sacks—yet they still somehow held the Jaguars to 26 points despite four turnovers, one of which resulted in that inexcusible TD run the moment they (the 49ers defense) took the field. And don’t forget the points scored on the special teams housecall.

While the defense had a hand in Sunday’s disaster, it was a team effort, and one for which the defense shoulders less blame. And given what we’ve seen, despite the edge issues, defense may be further back on the list of needs—if you can believe it. It’s been almost a running gag that they can’t get two edge rushers to play at the same time consistently.

When the 49ers do make a trade before the deadline, they usually do it for a piece that would complete everything, and have been quite good with timing it. They got Emmanuel Sanders in 2019 to bolster the wide receiver room, and they got Christian McCaffrey in 2022 when a running back was needed. This year, there’s a lot more than just one position that brings it all together.

Will they trade? If they had beaten the Jaguars and then were to beat the Los Angeles Rams this week, I’d be more optimistic. Thursday against the Rams will say a lot. If they don’t beat the Rams, the odds of a trade would decrease significantly—and no, it doesn’t mean the season is a loss; the 49ers are still in a good position with those three wins, just a bit more uncertain about what they have and if it’s worth burning a draft pick.

If they do and go 3-0 in the division, I’d say interest is renewed, but the 49ers don’t want to pull that trigger unless they think they can go all the way. Currently, we see a team that can make the playoffs, but as far as a deep postseason run, an edge isn’t going to be enough to nurse the offense back to health and grant them the ability to run the ball effectively. Or catch the ball. Or just, you know, hold onto the ball.

If they can’t do that, the season is toast, regardless of them doing 20 transactions to get all the best edge rushers under one roof before the deadline.

“Did the staff bring Purdy back too early? Or was half a brock better than half a mac which is better than 100% A Martinez?“

-FartinGold

I swear some of your avatars are either awesome or awful. In this case, that’s the former because I was laughing while reading it.

Now to answer your question, Gold Fartin, it’s a bit of column “A” and a bit of column “B”. If you look at what’s actually reported, Purdy was good to go Sunday, and from what was said after the game, his foot wasn’t bothering him—during the game, that is. After the game, there was soreness, but from what we know, everything reported seemed to indicate that it wasn’t a significant issue during the game.

That doesn’t mean there might have been more to it; this is the NFL, but for all intents and purposes, he wasn’t rushed back on one leg and wasn’t protected from himself.

And as for half a Mac [Jones], at this point? When everyone is healthy, Purdy is the 49ers’ best quarterback. If he’s a little hobbled and the backup tweaks his knee, you still take your chances with the starter. We don’t know the significance beyond what’s reported, so we can only go by what’s printed, or posted, or…whatever.

As for Martinez, he hasn’t played a single NFL game. The Jaguars’ defense is decent. Unless necessary, there’s no reason to put him in a game like that.

What percentage of people would you say think they are a good driver and it’s everyone else that are lousy drivers?

-Inigo Montoya’s Dad

It all depends on what you think is a good driver. Me? I actually know that when there’s a red arrow pointing right at a traffic light, a right turn is not allowed (in Seattle, anyways). The cars behind me start beeping while I wait for the green light. I wouldn’t call myself a good driver, just a safe one. As for the ratio, I’d say 85 percent. Same as traffic: if you’re always complaining about all the traffic while you are gridlocked, chances are, you’re the traffic.