Got a lot to say, so I'll try and break it up into sections/posts.
Regarding Brock Purdy
With 20 seconds left at the end of the 1st half (and knowing that the Chiefs would get the ball to start the 2nd half), the Niners kneeled and went into the locker room even though they had 2 timeouts left.
If it was Mahomes, Allen, Burrow or Rodgers, would a team have done the same ? Most of us would agree that the Offense would have tried to get 2 chunk plays via big throws over the middle of the field. You could call timeout after each completion and then try for a long FG.
Yet, the Niners wouldn't let Purdy do it. Either because they don't think he can actually make those throws, or that he might even fuck it up by throwing a terrible pick.
I like Brock. White. Christian. Seems like a really nice kid. I personally hate the Mr. Irrelevant moniker, as if being drafted in the first place and even making a Practice Squad roster is something to scoff at.
However, I'm not going to lie. I question if he can consistently make throws for the duration of a season or a game. Great QB's don't always need some great "scheme" to get receivers open all the time. How often did you watch Peyton Manning simply put the ball on a line to a window where only his guy can catch it off of standard routes?
I remember this game where the Colts were playing the Broncos. Manning went 30 of 34 or something against a great Broncos defense (in their house I believe) featuring Champ Bailey. Harrison, Wayne and Clark were just running standard routes with supreme execution. Manning was able to see the whole field in an instant and make throws on time, with both accuracy and velocity to beat defenders to a spot.
Do you see Purdy making quick / deep Outs, deep comebacks and post routes that you routinely saw the great QB's of yesteryear make ? No. A huge portion of his yards came from screens and deep throws to the middle when he had time and the odd go route (with usually a busted coverage to boot). Oh and how could I forget the "scheme throws" which are essentially Receiver Screens with some blocking from the other receivers ?
When you go up against great Corners such as the pairing of Sneed and McDuffie, you have to attack the middle of the field. That means you need to kill linebackers and safeties when their backs are turned or they're playing the wrong leverage. Brady made a whole career out of doing just that.
Purdy can't do that because he's too short to see the middle of the field. This is especially terrible when the opposition blitzes him. How often have you seen him simply step up into the pocket and end up getting sacked, hit or throwing an incompletion ? His only other recourse is to scramble to his right and try to throw on the run, but those are lower % plays than we like to believe.
In a blitz situation, your slot receiver or tight end in particular should be breaking off their routes, hitting the middle of the field and being ready for the ball to come out almost immediately. Purdy can't make those throws because of his aforementioned stature issues.
Bill Parcells had a rule that he refused to draft QBs who were under 6'3". Extreme as it may sound, I believe that you can understand the logic.
Mahomes throws a pick early in the 3rd quarter, which is a dream scenario for the Niners. Now playcalling is to blame as much as anything, but Brock was given 3 throws to get a 1st down and he simply couldn't do it.
I just believe that as likeable as Brock is, similar to guys like Prescott or Cousins, he just can't go punch for punch with elite guys in the NFL. He actively needs a "scheme" and great players to put up numbers.
Regarding the Niners Coaching
My God, where the fuck do I even start with this shit ?
Conventional wisdom based off of what experienced coaches would say, is that you want to run the ball early in games. There's this old saying that 1-2 yard gains in the 1st quarter turn into 7-8 yard gains in the 4th quarter ? Why, because the beating that your line has put on the opposition will tire them out over time.
So when Mahomes throws that pick early in the 3rd quarter, why did Shanahan call 3 consecutive pass plays ? The Chiefs defense was relatively rested, coming out of half time. That's when you start to drop the hammer and go on a slow and methodical drive to at the very least come away with a FG.
Instead they went 3 and out and the SF defense was back on the field. Now you may say that they were also similarly rested, but this shit has a cumulative effect, especially in a game that ended up going into overtime.
Then you have the decision to not do anything at the end of the 1st half, with 20 seconds on the board and 2 timeouts. This is the motherfucking Super Bowl. Every possession counts, regardless of where you are on the field. Either that, or they didn't think Purdy could do it, which I've already covered.
Penalties to a large extent is also on the coaching. Yes, with the exception of ref ball fuckery based pass interference and defensive holding calls, false starts, illegal motions, delays of game and even offensive holding is all on Shanahan and his offensive position coaches. How could they let such mistakes happen ?
I actually didn't have a problem with the decision to take the ball to start the overtime period. KC had just come off a drive and the SF defense was very likely gassed. Now, if that was the logic behind taking the ball then yes, I don't have an issue with it.
However, now we have SF players saying that they didn't even know the rules of overtime...which, if true, is as egregious a coaching or IQ error as I can recall. I mean, we're talking Chris Webber calling a timeout with 0 timeouts left in the National Championship level stupid. That also falls on Shanahan.
In this sport, you are what your record says you are. For as brilliant a scheme designer and playcaller as Shanahan purports to be, his legacy is of one who simply can't win the big dance. These crushing losses, driven largely by coaching idiocy are what his legacy will be (unless by some miracle he wins multiple Super Bowls eventually but I wouldn't bet on that happening).
Oh and let's not forget about Wilks. What a colossal fucking numbskull he is. They have the Chiefs backed up on 2nd and 15 deep in OT and what does he call ? 2 completely undisguised heavy blitzes. The result ? 2 relatively easy completions for a 1st down.
How much tape do these fucks have to watch to understand that in the modern NFL, blitzes simply are not as effective as they were. Why ? Because defensive backs are no longer allowed to manhandle receivers on the line or even mid-way through their routes. Why do you think completion % and yardage stats have gone through the roof ? We have all of these buster ass QB's who are putting up the same stats as Marino and Fouts back in the 80's, but in that era receivers were getting mugged even 30 yards from the line of scrimmage.
Oh and that's not to mention that there were barely any of these faggot ass rules to "protect QBs" back then. I digress.
The only situation where blitz heavy packages have some measure of success is near the goal line, where defensive backs CAN actually do some measure of pushing and pulling receivers out of their routes with some leeway from refs. Other than that, it's a fool's errand to say the least.
By the way, what is it with shitstain defensive coordinators calling heavy blitzes in these key downs ? You have Wilks, but Leslie Frazier is the man most responsible for the Chiefs getting into FG position with 12 seconds in that insane Bills game a few years ago...you have that other idiot who ruined Brady's comeback against the Rams with that 0 Blitz which Stafford beat easily...the one time I saw it work was in the 2019 Super Bowl against Jarred Goff but that was Jarred Goff the scrub and not the redemption story that he's been with the Lions.
The only defense that I've seen which game Mahomes consistent issues is that 3 man front with heavy coverage "bend but don't break" style of defense that the Bengals used against KC a few years ago. You'd think that other teams would take notes, but shitstains whether they're players or coaches only know how to follow animal instincts and play "hero ball" it would seem.
At the very end of OT, the Chiefs have the ball on the SF 3 but they should no inclination to call a timeout. It would appear that they knew exactly what they were going to do in that situation. Romo was saying some asinine shit like "You have to preserve your timeouts" but are you kidding me ? KC knew what they wanted to do...the Niners were tired and looking clueless out there...so shouldn't they have considered a timeout ?
The resulting wide open throw tells me that the Niners had absolutely no idea what they were doing on defense. It was exactly the type of situation where you call a timeout and make sure that you have the right personnel on the field and that they know exactly what to look out for. It was almost as if the Niners simply expected SF to kneel and try for a FG.
So who is to blame ? I'll go with Shanahan and Wilks once again. The coaches have to be in control and ensure that the players are ideally positioned to make the play. If Mahomes had dropped back and thrown the most perfect fade to a tiny window and the receiver made the catch inbounds, then you know what ? Fair play. We had it all covered but you were just better on that one final play. But no, the final play was an embarrassing walk in TD where the Niners defense looked completely clueless.
Shanahan, Wilks and the entire Niners coaching staff are a bunch of idiotic stooges who for all of the analytics and schemes, are unable to see the forest for the trees and call the game based on what the fuck is actually happening on the field on that any given Sunday.