Bridgewater Down

[Raptorman]

Is the glass half full or half empty? It's just half. Because I drank the other half and will drink this half and ask for more beer.

Teddy going down does not end the Vikings seasons. Some of what I have heard the last few days.

1) It might end his career. No kidding. This could happen to any player at any time. A career ending injury.
2) Vikings season is over. Really? Why? Let's just not play the games, let's forfeit, go 0-16 and get the first pick. Who's the best QB in next years draft.
2 The Vikings don't have any options at QB. Hill is an option. It may not be the option a lot of people want. Heinicke is an option maybe not today by in a month, who knows.
4) The Vikings will be snatching up Callahan from the Packers if they can. Anyone who says this totally ignored the fact that the Vikings have Heinicke. Yes he is injured, but he knows the system. Apparently the Packers third string QB is better than the Vikings third string QB.
5) Vikings should trade for McCown. Yup. let's toss a draft pick out the window for someone who doesn't know the system, will take 4-6 weeks to learn it and will not necessarily be any better than Hill. If they trade for a QB I would be surprised.
6) It won't be hard to match Teddy's production. Sometimes its' not about production but more about leadership. Teddy was the team leader. You know that by the reactions of the players on the field when he got hurt. They had every faith and confidence in the kid. Now we will see who steps up to hold the team together on the field. Teddy will be on the sidelines doing it.

I will stick with my prediction of 11-5 fighting the Packers for the division. I have faith in my coach and my team. Nothing brings a team together like adversity.

Oh look, my glass is empty, fill it up please.

[losperros]

Re: "It won't take much to reproduce Teddy's production". I don't think anybody here wanted Teddy to reproduce that production. We were hoping for a significant step forward and thought we saw it in preseason. Had he continued playing like that, the production would have come and been significantly better than last season. Obviously Teddy's production last year wasn't good enough as the Vikings didn't get to the SB so aiming to reproduce that doesn't make sense to me.

Anyway, we won't know how good or bad he might have been but it was his potential, not actual production from last year, that people don't think we can 'win it all' without. No player available is going to be able to fill Teddy's shoes in the mind of many Vikings fans, especially when those shoes are partially theoretical.

Well said and right on point!

[autobon7]

Imho the Vikings must proceed "like" TB will never be able to return. The unknown (recovery) is way too big of a gamble so the Viks must basically start from scratch (almost) right before the season starts. This is why I'm not in the camp that thinks Vick or similar is the best fit under the circumstances. Now if TB rehabs and successfully returns (pick any time frame) then great but moving forward the staff must plan for the worst and hope for the best. I for one hope TB can return with a vengeance because he is an absolute class act that makes for a great addition to the team. I feel that the QB spot as well as the OL has been mismanaged to such a great extent for way too long that this MUST be a wake up call. All hands on deck........

[Mothman]

Imho the Vikings must proceed "like" TB will never be able to return. The unknown (recovery) is way too big of a gamble so the Viks must basically start from scratch (almost) right before the season starts. This is why I'm not in the camp that thinks Vick or similar is the best fit under the circumstances. Now if TB rehabs and successfully returns (pick any time frame) then great but moving forward the staff must plan for the worst and hope for the best. I for one hope TB can return with a vengeance because he is an absolute class act that makes for a great addition to the team. I feel that the QB spot as well as the OL has been mismanaged to such a great extent for way too long that this MUST be a wake up call. All hands on deck........

We're on the same page, my friend.

[PacificNorseWest]

I just glanced at it, but the Star Tribune summed it up nicely by saying we can still expect the Vikings of last year by replacing what Teddy did or didn't do from a production standpoint, but the wind got taken out of the sails from what the Vikings and Teddy were supposed to be this year -- if he were to take that next step. It's basically how I feel. Right now though, my expectations when from SB to just find a way to get into the playoffs and we'll see if that improves along the way. They'll need to bring someone in that can start some games by week 4 or so because expectations will remain very limited, as well as the margin of error, with Hill starting.

[720pete]

I just glanced at it, but the Star Tribune summed it up nicely by saying we can still expect the Vikings of last year by replacing what Teddy did or didn't do from a production standpoint, but the wind got taken out of the sails from what the Vikings and Teddy were supposed to be this year -- if he were to take that next step. It's basically how I feel. Right now though, my expectations when from SB to just find a way to get into the playoffs and we'll see if that improves along the way. They'll need to bring someone in that can start some games by week 4 or so because expectations will remain very limited, as well as the margin of error, with Hill starting.

I'd say 2015 Vikings with Teddy were a lot like the 2012 Vikings with Ponder.

2012 Vikings with Ponder scored 379 points with Ponder going 18 TD 12 INT on 483 attempts. Opposing teams put up 348 points on us.
2015 Vikings with Teddy scored 365 points with Teddy going 14 TD 9 INT on 447 attempts. Opposing teams scored 302 points on us.

Now obviously Teddy has more upside than Ponder, and we were expecting Teddy to be even more effective this year than he was last year. But, even if we can get someone of Ponder quality for 16 games, we could still go 10-6. Consider that we have a better offense now than we did in 2012, plus we have a better defense now than we did in 2012. I think 10-6 is possible even with subpar QB play.

[PacificNorseWest]

A 10-6 ceiling makes me so sad.

[chicagopurple]

The window for AP is closing. Teddy is an unproven commodity who may or may not ever comeback let alone exceed his journeyman beginnings. If the Vikes and their shiny new stadium really area first rate organization that is shooting for excellence, they need to move on immediately and give up talent/draft choices for a real QB. Anything less is just spinning their wheels and PR.

[Norv Zimmer]

Is the glass half full or half empty? It's just half. Because I drank the other half and will drink this half and ask for more beer.

Teddy going down does not end the Vikings seasons. Some of what I have heard the last few days.

1) It might end his career. No kidding. This could happen to any player at any time. A career ending injury.
2) Vikings season is over. Really? Why? Let's just not play the games, let's forfeit, go 0-16 and get the first pick. Who's the best QB in next years draft.
2 The Vikings don't have any options at QB. Hill is an option. It may not be the option a lot of people want. Heinicke is an option maybe not today by in a month, who knows.
4) The Vikings will be snatching up Callahan from the Packers if they can. Anyone who says this totally ignored the fact that the Vikings have Heinicke. Yes he is injured, but he knows the system. Apparently the Packers third string QB is better than the Vikings third string QB.
5) Vikings should trade for McCown. Yup. let's toss a draft pick out the window for someone who doesn't know the system, will take 4-6 weeks to learn it and will not necessarily be any better than Hill. If they trade for a QB I would be surprised.
6) It won't be hard to match Teddy's production. Sometimes its' not about production but more about leadership. Teddy was the team leader. You know that by the reactions of the players on the field when he got hurt. They had every faith and confidence in the kid. Now we will see who steps up to hold the team together on the field. Teddy will be on the sidelines doing it.

I will stick with my prediction of 11-5 fighting the Packers for the division. I have faith in my coach and my team. Nothing brings a team together like adversity.

Oh look, my glass is empty, fill it up please.

Nice Post and I agree 100% so may peeps have been saying seasons over thats it we are done blah blah blah. Fair weather fans annoy the piss outta me!

[DK Sweets]

I was reflecting on this with my fiancé yesterday and one of the things that we both felt was that not only does this really take the air out of our Viking sails right now, but it almost cheapens anything positive we get from the QB position this year. If we win a Super Bowl, I'll still be happy, but knowing that Teddy never had an opportunity to play is very bittersweet. If another QB plays extraordinarily well, I'll always question what Teddy could have done.

I'm not such a big fan of Teddy that I want him to succeed more than the team, but I absolutely hate to see such a freak thing happen to such a great kid. If his play never elevated and we went in a different direction, that's fine, but the idea that his Vikings career could be stolen from him based on stupid bad luck is gut wrenching.

I know that many people won't relate to this post based on their lack of faith in Teddy, and that's understandable, but I believe many people will relate to the idea that a player who in many ways symbolized our persistent hopefulness went down and that's not an easy bond to just set aside no matter how well somebody else performs.

EDIT: Honestly, we could make a pretty sizable list on the different reasons the injury hurts as a Vikings fan, but this is one aspect of it that I hadn't seen explained yet.

[fiestavike]

I was reflecting on this with my fiancé yesterday and one of the things that we both felt was that not only does this really take the air out of our Viking sails right now, but it almost cheapens anything positive we get from the QB position this year. If we win a Super Bowl, I'll still be happy, but knowing that Teddy never had an opportunity to play is very bittersweet. If another QB plays extraordinarily well, I'll always question what Teddy could have done.

I'm not such a big fan of Teddy that I want him to succeed more than the team, but I absolutely hate to see such a freak thing happen to such a great kid. If his play never elevated and we went in a different direction, that's fine, but the idea that his Vikings career could be stolen from him based on stupid bad luck is gut wrenching.

I know that many people won't relate to this post based on their lack of faith in Teddy, and that's understandable, but I believe many people will relate to the idea that a player who in many ways symbolized our persistent hopefulness went down and that's not an easy bond to just set aside no matter how well somebody else performs.

EDIT: Honestly, we could make a pretty sizable list on the different reasons the injury hurts as a Vikings fan, but this is one aspect of it that I hadn't seen explained yet.

I can relate, although unless we see tremendous improvement from the offensive line, we are not going to be seeing good QB play from anybody manning the position this year. Heinecke is probably the best bet, and that's a longshot from an undrafted guy.

*edit- one player I think this really hurts in Charles Johnson. I think likely transitioning to a super run heavy offense and a middling QB means Treadwell starts over Johnson, in part for his run blocking, and in part because they might as well be getting him the reps and development. Johnson had chemistry with Teddy, and Treadwell is suitable as a 50/50 guy, which we might have to rely on for a good deal of our passing offense.

[Cliff]

I was reflecting on this with my fiancé yesterday and one of the things that we both felt was that not only does this really take the air out of our Viking sails right now, but it almost cheapens anything positive we get from the QB position this year. If we win a Super Bowl, I'll still be happy, but knowing that Teddy never had an opportunity to play is very bittersweet. If another QB plays extraordinarily well, I'll always question what Teddy could have done.

I'm not such a big fan of Teddy that I want him to succeed more than the team, but I absolutely hate to see such a freak thing happen to such a great kid. If his play never elevated and we went in a different direction, that's fine, but the idea that his Vikings career could be stolen from him based on stupid bad luck is gut wrenching.

I know that many people won't relate to this post based on their lack of faith in Teddy, and that's understandable, but I believe many people will relate to the idea that a player who in many ways symbolized our persistent hopefulness went down and that's not an easy bond to just set aside no matter how well somebody else performs.

EDIT: Honestly, we could make a pretty sizable list on the different reasons the injury hurts as a Vikings fan, but this is one aspect of it that I hadn't seen explained yet.

I'm a huge Teddy fan so I understand that perspective. Being able to watch him play for UofL I was thrilled when the Vikings got him and just when it seemed he was putting it together ... It's very sad and very disheartening.

I really hope he can come back from this and continue his progression. Though I have to wonder what kind of a mental toll this will take on his game. Going through a motion he's done probably tens of thousands of times and suddenly suffers an injury like that? I know it would mess with me.

[DK Sweets]

Teddy's statement: I want to thank the Wilf Family and the entire Vikings organization, all of my teammates, friends, Eric Sugarman and the amazing Vikings athletic training staff and the fans who have sent me messages and wished me well. Your thoughts and prayers mean a lot to me and have helped me in this difficult time. There are great players and great leaders in our locker room who are going to fight to the end to reach the goals we set for 2016. I will be there mentally, physically and in spirit to support them accomplish those goals.

In order to have a testimony, you have to have a test. I come from amazing DNA, I watched my mom fight and win against breast cancer. We will, as a team, attack my rehab with the same vigor and energy. My faith is strong, my faith is unwavering and my vision is clear. My purpose will not be denied.



What a guy.

[chicagopurple]

My Press Release in TB's situation:
"This sucks! I cant believe this happened to ME! All this hard work, down the damn drain.....Damn Damn Damn!..... "


He is a tougher guy then I !

[Mothman]

Teddy's statement: I want to thank the Wilf Family and the entire Vikings organization, all of my teammates, friends, Eric Sugarman and the amazing Vikings athletic training staff and the fans who have sent me messages and wished me well. Your thoughts and prayers mean a lot to me and have helped me in this difficult time. There are great players and great leaders in our locker room who are going to fight to the end to reach the goals we set for 2016. I will be there mentally, physically and in spirit to support them accomplish those goals.

In order to have a testimony, you have to have a test. I come from amazing DNA, I watched my mom fight and win against breast cancer. We will, as a team, attack my rehab with the same vigor and energy. My faith is strong, my faith is unwavering and my vision is clear. My purpose will not be denied.

What a guy.

That's a great attitude!