Vikings Message Board.Com

sneaxsneax wrote:
This x100 with 1 caveat. If he doesn't get 1 soonish, he could fail to blossom into a good quarterback. I don't know of any rookie quarterbacks that spent 2-3 years getting hammered in the pocket and then turned into elite players.

Look no further than Aaron Rodgers. Dude had terrible O lines his first 5 years as a starter.

I'm not too worried about the misses right now. When I see Teddy throw high or a little off target I don't think "shoot, maybe Teddy doesn't have an NFL arm and he actually can't make that throw". I think "shoot, Teddy just missed that one". Or I think "shoot, the timing was off". Misses happen. They tend to happen more to rookies. It will probably happen less and less the more he plays.

Anyone watch the Broncos game tonight? Manning badly overthrew Sanders twice in the same drive. Now, Manning obviously has hours and hours of YouTube highlights to show us that he can make all the throws, but overthrows don't automatically equal terrible QB.

I'll be concerned if Teddy is still overthrowing numerous WRs in the new Vikings stadium.

Teddy is going to be fine, he is having some growing pains, some overthrows. These are things that can be fixed. I see a lot more upside in Teddy than I ever saw in Ponder. If the vikings can fix the O-line issues I think Teddy can develop nicely, we have a couple of really good prospects on the roster right now, Tiny, and Yankey, and we will get back Fusco next year. This year is pretty much in the books, but I think we have a lot to look forward to.

You cant teach touch like this. I think we see a vastly improved Bridgewater next season.


http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-high ... es-Johnson

Dirtyswabby wrote:You cant teach touch like this. I think we see a vastly improved Bridgewater next season.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-high ... es-Johnson

I hope you're right but you can't teach touch like this either:

http://www.vikings.com/media-vault/vide ... 907be1948c

... and yet things certainly haven't worked out for Ponder. I think most QBs who land a starting NFL job can make a beautiful throw. That ability has to be present to get the job in the first place. Bridgewater needs to improve his accuracy and play more consistently. His predecessor didn't make enough progress to keep his job. Hopefully, Teddy will do that and more.

Bridgewater says being 'very excited' to play Packers affected his first-half accuracy

So, what gives about the slow starts, Teddy?

“Coming into this game, I wasn’t able to play the first time we played the Green Bay Packers,” said Bridgewater, referring to the 42-10 debacle he missed because of a sprained ankle back on Oct. 2. “I was trying to get a feel for this rivalry. Now I know what it’s about.

“I was just very excited about being able to play the Green Bay Packers for the first time.

There's more at the link. I didn't want to quote too much because it's a brief article. Basically, he was nervous...

Edit: I found a longer piece about this subject here:

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_ ... y-misfires

According to ESPN Stats and Information, Bridgewater was off target on seven of his 37 passes on Sunday, which was tied for the third-most off-target throws he has had in a game this season. He generally hasn't been among the league's wildest quarterbacks this season -- he's 15th in the league in terms of the most off-target throws per game -- but what sticks out is how many of his struggles have come early in games. On Sunday, six of his seven off-target throws came in the first half, and for the season, Bridgewater has the league's fifth-lowest QBR through two quarters.

Bridgewater has criticized himself for overthinking things on a number of occasions this season, and his rough start to Sunday's game seemed to be because he was too fired up. It's another thing he's working through as a rookie quarterback, but on Sunday, it cost him a chance for a better debut against the Vikings' biggest rival.

all you really want to see is Progress.....thats it.....I too often feel that the coach lays out a series of plays ahead of time then runs them regardless of how the situation pans out....I think its a big mistake. The only benefit to doing things that way is that you can run it like a 2 minute offense.Yet we are not a fast run Offense like that so I fail to see the benefit. On the other had, letting Teddy run through a long progression of receivers is unlikely when your OL is a turnstyle. My biggest question of the recent Offensive scheme is where did the running game go? One of the best things to help out any QB is to install a fear of the run. Yesterday, there was no running game.

Mothman wrote: I hope you're right but you can't teach touch like this either:

http://www.vikings.com/media-vault/vide ... 907be1948c

I get the point you're making here, Mothman, but there's one glaring difference in these passes. In Teddy's TD pass, he clearly holds the safety to get Johnson open by looking left immediately after the snap and then he finally looks right to deliver the TD.

I can't remember any time where Ponder used his eyes to get a WR open but Bridgewater has been doing that (albeit not enough) already this year.

I was encouraged by Teddy's game yesterday. Something I've seen from him a few times now is a slow start or an errant throw followed up with solid, smart play.

I'm encouraged at times with Teddy, especially with his poise and composure. Yet at other times he worries me. A lot of Teddy's accuracy issues stem from throwing sidearm. His elbow drops low, he gets underneath the ball, and it sails high.

And I have to say, I hate his deep ball. That throwing motion ... ugh.

Here's a good example.

It's not just that he threw off his back foot. It's that he threw ... sidearm? I don't know what it is, but he does it pretty consistently on deep passes. It's like this flippy, semi-sidearm thing that just floats. When he sets, drives, and throws more over the top, like he did on the TD pass to Charles Johnson, he throws a great ball.

I have to believe the Turners will be working with Teddy a lot this coming offseason to work on that throwing motion. If he gets consistent with that, he has a chance to be really good because he seems to have a surplus of the other traits of a good quarterback.

TSonn wrote:I get the point you're making here, Mothman, but there's one glaring difference in these passes. In Teddy's TD pass, he clearly holds the safety to get Johnson open by looking left immediately after the snap and then he finally looks right to deliver the TD.

I can't remember any time where Ponder used his eyes to get a WR open but Bridgewater has been doing that (albeit not enough) already this year.

I really don't want to get into a comparison between the two QBs. Basically, you touched on the point I was making, which is that good touch is just where success starts for NFL QBs. Learning to do the little things well (like controlling the safety with their eyes), developing their game, is really what makes the difference between success and failure.

Dirtyswabby wrote:You cant teach touch like this. I think we see a vastly improved Bridgewater next season.


http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-high ... es-Johnson

It was a good pass but I don't think it was anything exceptional. Every qb in the NFL should be able to make that throw, otherwise they shouldn't be in the NFL.

Those throws yesterday were frustrating, but all in all, we have a QB that can stand in the pocket, keep his eyes down field, and battle agains the blitz. You cannot teach that. You can teach touch and timing.

Also good to know he isn't quick to run like the previous two guys we had in here. Even if it means he might miss a chance to run now and then, it's much better than being too quick to run like some other QBs we've had. And he's getting better at realizing when to run, and does it without hesitating like he was even doing earlier this year.

Oh, and he actually slides! Sometimes a bit early when you can see on other runs he can make guys with, but it isn't worth the injury risk. He just plays sooo much smarter then the previous guys it's not even funny!

Demi wrote:Also good to know he isn't quick to run like the previous two guys we had in here. Even if it means he might miss a chance to run now and then, it's much better than being too quick to run like some other QBs we've had. And he's getting better at realizing when to run, and does it without hesitating like he was even doing earlier this year.

Oh, and he actually slides! Sometimes a bit early when you can see on other runs he can make guys with, but it isn't worth the injury risk. He just plays sooo much smarter then the previous guys it's not even funny!

He has the best pocket presence of any Viking QB since Culpepper (other than Favre, aka Jim's favorite ). Ponder would run practically at the snap, and the others haven't been much better.