San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy had a bad habit last season.

One of the signature plays for the signal caller was rolling to his left, and then flipping his hips to throw back across the middle of the field. He did it on a touchdown pass to Brandon Aiyuk against the Jaguars. He did it another time in the NFC championship game against the Detroit Lions to find Jauan Jennings. There are more examples, but two specific ones feels like enough.

This was one of the areas Purdy detractors would point to as unsustainable. He had success on those throws, but they're typically not advised considering how dangerous the middle of the field can be once the defense has been warped by the scrambling QB

It was also likely an area 49ers fans would like to see him clean up given the inherent danger.

It's unlikely that aspect of Purdy's game is ever going to go away, though.

Purdy in the 'move the ball' period of Sunday's practice had a play where he had a rollout to his left and plenty of room to operate. With his pass catchers toward the sideline cut off, he flipped his hips and threw back across the middle where wide receiver Ronnie Bell made a good catch against cornerback Deommodore Lenoir.

Those throws back to the middle last year weren't an accident or the result of a panicking QB just getting rid of the ball. It's something Purdy is actively searching for and throwing with at least some semblance of purpose. That helps explain why he has so much success with them.

Perhaps the Purdy detractors are correct and eventually defenses will key on those throws and intercept one for a touchdown. It's certainly on the table. And maybe at that point the throw back to the middle will be removed from Purdy's toolbelt.

For now, it's something the third-year signal caller is finding success with and the fact he's whipping those throws out in practice indicates it's something he plans to continue in game scenarios.

This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Dangerous part of Brock Purdy's game isn't going away