What are your expectations for Teddy this season?

[Mothman]

Are you two related

No, check out or exchange about the "process of the catch" rule in yesterday's games thread or his feelings about Cutler in the NFLTalk section and you'll see that we don't always see eye to eye.

[Cliff]

Despite my somewhat lofty expectations of Bridgewater (Mostly due to my following of his College career)I think your last line really hits the mark.

His college days are a big part of why I'm so excited about him too. He's basically a king here in Louisville. Everyone loves Teddy, even the UofK fans. A lot of Vikings converts in Kentucky these days.

[Mothman]

16 starts in, Minnesota Vikings like the look of Teddy Bridgewater

Teddy Bridgewater continues to get the support of his Minnesota Vikings teammates and coaches, and believes he has made “a ton of progress.”

Teddy Bridgewater’s statistics remain largely unremarkable, in the context of this league with so many established and elite quarterbacks.

The Minnesota Vikings entered their bye week next-to-last in the NFL with 165 yards passing per game, less than half of what league leader New England has produced. Through the season’s first quarter, Bridgewater has lost an NFL-most 113 yards on 13 sacks. In 16 career starts, he’s 8-8 with 16 touchdown passes.

There’s no quantification for composure, though. That’s a category Bridgewater has proven to be plenty qualified in.

“Oh, Teddy’s a warrior,” left guard Brandon Fusco said.

Pulling too many positives from a loss in this league can be a pointless exercise, given how few games exist to put such development to use. But the Vikings saw value in a 23-20 defeat at Denver against perhaps the NFL’s best defense.

Down 13-0 midway through the second quarter, the Vikings made a game of it in one of the most difficult stadiums in the league for visitors. Their rally was led by their 22-year-old baby face of the franchise.

More at the link.

[PurpleKoolaid]

Andy Dalton is getting all kinds of praise this year. Finally. After year of below par playing at QB. Guess what, the Bengals gave the guy a decent line. Rick et al havent given Teddy, well, crap. Teddy behind the Bengals Oline, and he would have amasing stats. Maybe when folks are blasting teddy, try showing him a tiny bit of love, at least till we have an average Oline. We didnt even have good starters before some of the guys got hurt. My Lord, not even 1 full year under the kids belt. And other players get 3 years before all this crap.

[Mothman]

Andy Dalton is getting all kinds of praise this year. Finally. After year of below par playing at QB. Guess what, the Bengals gave the guy a decent line. Rick et al havent given Teddy, well, crap. Teddy behind the Bengals Oline, and he would have amasing stats. Maybe when folks are blasting teddy, try showing him a tiny bit of love, at least till we have an average Oline. We didnt even have good starters before some of the guys got hurt. My Lord, not even 1 full year under the kids belt. And other players get 3 years before all this crap.

What are you referring to above? I don't see anybody here "blasting" Bridgewater. If you have a specific point or person to respond to, please do so but the post above reads like you're jousting at windmills. It's confusing.

There's no doubt Bridgewater would benefit from better blocking up front. Any QB can benefit from good pass protection.

[PurpleKoolaid]

What are you referring to above? I don't see anybody here "blasting" Bridgewater. If you have a specific point or person to respond to, please do so but the post above reads like you're jousting at windmills. It's confusing.

There's no doubt Bridgewater would benefit from better blocking up front. Any QB can benefit from good pass protection.

Not worth it. Keep making you personal attacks with the Don Quixote references.

[fiestavike]

Not worth it. Keep making you personal attacks with the Don Quixote references.

You probably should have given a trigger warning before you mentioned Don Quixote Jim. Clearly a micro aggression!

[Mothman]

You probably should have given a trigger warning before you mentioned Don Quixote Jim. Clearly a micro aggression!

What isn't considered a micro aggression these days? We're living in strange times.

PurpleKoolaid, I didn't attack you. I simply asked you to be clear because you appeared to be complaining about something that isn't happening.

[mansquatch]

I just want it noted that the article is finally catching on to the Babyface nickname. You heard it here first!

[chicagopurple]

there is no good way to assess Teddy this year. He is playing with no OL. I guess the one thing we can assess is his demeanor. THAT is excellent. For all the crappy protection he has gotten he never gets mad. He always stays upbeat.That is a skill. It is exactly what Jay Cutler lacks. Also, he has consistently avoided throwing stupid desperation passes. That is also a big positive in a young QB.

[Mothman]

From Viking Update:

Stats show Teddy Bridgewater’s situational strengths for Minnesota Vikings

[S197]

One of the things I like in Teddy that I don't think gets mentioned often is he plays smart but he also knows when to put it on the line. He had a couple of runs in the Denver game (and a few others) where he takes off running on a 3rd down, defenders are coming at him and at that point if he slides, it's 4th down. But rather than doing that, he pulls out a spin move or lowers his head and takes the hit getting the 1st. Now I know this isn't something you want your QB doing all the time but there's something about that attitude, knowing when to give it that extra effort, take that extra risk, that I really like in Bridgewater.

It's a lot of these intangibles, the poise, the risk/reward calcs he does in his head, taking care of the ball, etc. that make me feel good about his progress. A lot of the other stuff will hopefully come with time and experience, right now it's the stuff that you really can't teach that is the best barometer for assessing his potential.

[CbusVikesFan]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... pportunity
This article is nothing really a Vikings fan didn't already know but it's Friday, you ain't got no job......

[HardcoreVikesFan]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... pportunity
This article is nothing really a Vikings fan didn't already know but it's Friday, you ain't got no job......

I was literally just about to post this same article!

[Mothman]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... pportunity
This article is nothing really a Vikings fan didn't already know but it's Friday, you ain't got no job......

That was a good read. Thanks for the link.

I liked the last paragraph:

Most importantly, it's time to discover just how ready Teddy Bridgewater is to do more than simply manage games. It's time to see how prepared he is to do the things that separate the great quarterbacks in this league from the ordinary ones.

Earlier in the article, Jeffri Chadiha wrote:

They've also got a defensive-minded head coach in Mike Zimmer who, when asked about the importance of the Vikings establishing more balance between a passing attack that ranks last in the league and a running game that ranks second, said, "How are we in scoring points per game? That's what we care about."

It's a fair stance to take, but the Vikings also didn't just use a first-round pick on Bridgewater to watch him hand off to Peterson (Bridgewater only has two touchdown passes in four games). They took him because he had the chance to do some special things for this franchise. That's one reason why this upcoming stretch of games is so pivotal to both the Vikings and Bridgewater's development. This is the first real opportunity we'll have to see how he does when his team can make a statement.

I understand why Zimmer answered as he did but the answer to his question is "not enough". They're ranked 23rd in points per game and they're 2-2, not 4-0. Logically, getting more points and production out of their passing game could help them improve their record and ranking.

If Bridgewater is going to do those special things for the franchise, he needs to step up his game but he'll also need better protection. It's not on him alone.