peterson/bridgewater era is over

[PacificNorseWest]

I'm on board with the 2016 Vikings. That's as far as I'll go.

[720pete]

Why don't we wait till the end of the season and see where everybody is.
I thinks it's way to early making guesses at what will happen.

It's fun to speculate and discuss. I think everyone knows we need to see the season play out, but in the meantime it's fun to talk about all the future scenarios.

[720pete]

I really love TB, but there were several throws in that Packer game that Bradford nailed that TB wouldn't have even attempted.

Agreed whole heartedly. I forgot how fast and accurate an NFL QB can throw a football. Bradford had some absolute lasers that were put exactly on target. I was highly impressed.

[VikingLord]

it is time to either get on board with these new vikings, or hold on to the past. peterson will go down as one of the all time greatest running backs, who fumbled in crucial situations in the playoffs. and as far as the bridgewater sympathizers go, bradford looked better in one game than he did in 2 full seasons. teddy had a few games that were decent, but diggs was the same receiver talent wise last year as he is this year. what a world a real quarterback makes. he got smashed behind the same poor line, the same excuse people made for teddy, and produced at an extremely high level. the only question is can that same line keep bradford healthy for the entire year. i hope so, because i think mckinnon adds an extra dimension to the offense he can catch balls well out of the backfield.

Sam Bradford has played one game for the Vikings and you're already declaring him the clear path forward?

I remember when Mike Lynn traded for Herschel Walker. Walker's first game as a Viking was huge (and, not ironically, at home against the Packers). He ran for something like 150 yards, at least one TD, and even had a shoe pop off while he kept going IIRC. It would have been tempting to conclude that Lynn had found the missing piece of the puzzle based on the results from that single game, but unfortunately for all of us, those types of games proved to be the exception rather than the norm during his time as a Viking.

Or how about Randall Cunningham's stint as a Viking? He comes in after being out of the league and lit it up in 1998. That was an amazing campaign. It was so amazing that the Vikings believe Brad Johnson was expendable after he lost that season to a strange injury and they traded him while extending Cunningham. Unfortunately, Randall was not able to repeat the magic of that season, while Johnson went on to win a Superbowl with the Bucs.

So maybe its because I've seen this before, but I'm not quite ready to anoint Bradford as the long-term answer at QB any more than I am prepared to say Bridgewater is finished. If Bridgewater is finished as a Viking it should be because his knee simply will not allow him to play at high level. Even if Bradford lights it up this year, I would not jettison Bridgewater during the offseason unless I got a killer offer for him. Bradford may very well be the answer at QB and it may be true the Bridgewater era is over, but that is something that only a lot more time can prove to be true. While we're all waiting for that result, let's hope Bradford's 2016 campaign reminds us of Cunningham's 1998 season.

As for AD, he's running up against the well-established trend of declining production underpinned by an increasing cap number, and that was before the injury. I'd love to see him finish his career as a Viking and I hope he can play for a lot longer because I think he's a very rare and exciting player to watch.

[Purple Martin]

Sam Bradford has played one game for the Vikings and you're already declaring him the clear path forward?

I remember when Mike Lynn traded for Herschel Walker. Walker's first game as a Viking was huge (and, not ironically, at home against the Packers). He ran for something like 150 yards, at least one TD, and even had a shoe pop off while he kept going IIRC. It would have been tempting to conclude that Lynn had found the missing piece of the puzzle based on the results from that single game, but unfortunately for all of us, those types of games proved to be the exception rather than the norm during his time as a Viking.

Or how about Randall Cunningham's stint as a Viking? He comes in after being out of the league and lit it up in 1998. That was an amazing campaign. It was so amazing that the Vikings believe Brad Johnson was expendable after he lost that season to a strange injury and they traded him while extending Cunningham. Unfortunately, Randall was not able to repeat the magic of that season, while Johnson went on to win a Superbowl with the Bucs.

So maybe its because I've seen this before, but I'm not quite ready to anoint Bradford as the long-term answer at QB any more than I am prepared to say Bridgewater is finished. If Bridgewater is finished as a Viking it should be because his knee simply will not allow him to play at high level. Even if Bradford lights it up this year, I would not jettison Bridgewater during the offseason unless I got a killer offer for him. Bradford may very well be the answer at QB and it may be true the Bridgewater era is over, but that is something that only a lot more time can prove to be true. While we're all waiting for that result, let's hope Bradford's 2016 campaign reminds us of Cunningham's 1998 season.

As for AD, he's running up against the well-established trend of declining production underpinned by an increasing cap number, and that was before the injury. I'd love to see him finish his career as a Viking and I hope he can play for a lot longer because I think he's a very rare and exciting player to watch.

Any comparisons putting Bridgewater on the same plane as Bradford are based on the former's hypothetical projected improvement. Projections which, I might add, are based on pretty sparse data in preseason football. Bradford is the better quarterback in all the films I've watched of him and Bridgewater, and certainly Teddy never had more than a rare game where he looked anything like Sam did on Sunday. Of course only time will tell but I don't think there's any doubt who the better QB is, and will continue to be.

[mosscarter]

viking lord you have not addressed the one immutable universal truth, the vikings have not had a solidified quarterback in the past 15 years other than favre. culpepper has some really good years, but what happened to him after moss left? his career was over as well as it should have been. we have not had a real quarterback in as far as i remember. think about it: johnson, cunningham, george, ponder, jackson, it never ends.

[jackal]

Honestly I could see both
players not returning to Vikings
or the nfl for that matter. We
Won't know for a year or so about
both of them. Football is a
truly best man for job. Tom
Brady and Bret Favre both replaced
injured guys and went decades
In those roles. Teddy is an awesome
guy and I hope it works out for him.

[Purple Martin]

Teddy definitely has a future in this league, either as a backup or a starter on a Cleveland Brownish or SF 49erish kind of team (or one coached by Norv Turner ). He's easily a step or two ahead of most backups, but he's just as surely a step behind most starters. I'd love to have him here as a backup. He's young and smart and possibly could become starting caliber some day. Being a great kid (which he is) isn't terribly important on the football end of things, although I'd take a great kid over a Michael Vick kind of kid any day even if the latter was better.

[mosscarter]

i am so sick and freaking tied of hearing how teddy is a "good kid." in the end, that does not matter at all. we need a legit qb who can lead this team on a week to week basis and teddy never was, and likely never will be that guy. if you take away his one 4td game last year look at his actual passing statistics he is easily amongst the worst in the entire NFL. bridgewater is done.

[Nunin]

I'm not sure I understand the point of this thread other than it seems like a blatant act of 'throwing salt'.

[SP1966]

Please. Teddy has thrown some absolute dimes in his career already. He's one of the most accurate passers in the short to mid-range. His long ball was improving. Judging by the completion percentages Sam wasn't all that accurate when he was slinging it around early in his career.

There is more to completion percentage than throwing an accurate pass. The receiver on the other end has to catch it, and Bradford's receivers have been among the worst in terms of drops. Play calling and defense also play into it as a poorly coached team, which describes all team Bradford has played for will put his QB in position of having to come from behind often which favors the defense and makes it harder on a QB.

I completely agree. Teddy was on a run-first team with significant o-line issues. Give him as many attempts as Bradford through 26 games and Teddy runs away with it instead of looking similar.

Bradford hasn't played behind a quality line in his six years, hasn't had the benefit of the running game that Teddy did last year, and hasn't played with a receiver/tight end of the quality that Diggs/Rudolph provided Teddy. Put Teddy on those Rams teams, combined with having to learn a new offensive system each season and there is NO WAY IN HELL he runs away with anything.

First, we don't know if Teddy would've had similar success. Second, again, Sam is a 7-year vet. Would Year 3 Sam have performed the same? This is again comparing apples and potatoes. People are still assuming Teddy's ceiling is/was 2015. SMDH.

Success at QB is as much about the team situation as it is the player. Teddy hasn't had the best line nor did he have Peterson his first season, but he had more stability in those two years, with better coaching and skill position talent than Sam has up until this season. Put Tom Brady on those Rams teams and he wouldn't look like the HOF'er he is in New England.

Sam has a better arm. No question. But a big arm isn't everything or MBT might be our QB.

All else being equal the big arm is the difference maker.

He is almost a perfect fit for Turner's system, lacking some mobility IMO.

Yeppers! I'm not here to bash Teddy as I had high hopes for him, but IMO situation + talent = success. Teddy has talent but he's no a good fit for Norv's offense(read siutation) and Bradford absolutely is!

I hope Teddy comes back and has a great career, but I'd rather watch a guy like Bradford play the next 5 years than watch a game manager.

[fiestavike]

The silver lining in all these injuries is that, with the exception of Bridgewater, all the inuries have been to guys who were unlikely to return next season. In a best case scenario, replacements will be found in-house, and this presents the opportunity to further develop those guys. The Kalil era has always been a little scary, but the post Kalil era could be even more terrifying. The tackle position poses the greatest challenge to the "silver lining" presented here, because I DO NOT see an in-house future at that position. It would come a great and pleasant surprise to be proven wrong about that.

[PurpleMustReign]

DP is to Teddy that Jim was to Ponder

[losperros]

viking lord you have not addressed the one immutable universal truth, the vikings have not had a solidified quarterback in the past 15 years other than favre. culpepper has some really good years, but what happened to him after moss left?

You're reaching. What happened when Moss was injured for nearly an entire season? Culpepper had the best year any Vikings QB ever had, and he led the Vikings to an upset win over the Packers in the playoffs. Daunte's success was not just because of Randy Moss and his decline was because he had a career ending injury, which I don't hold against him.

Seriously, I wish we had a young healthy QB like Culpepper on the team.

[VikingLord]

viking lord you have not addressed the one immutable universal truth, the vikings have not had a solidified quarterback in the past 15 years other than favre. culpepper has some really good years, but what happened to him after moss left? his career was over as well as it should have been. we have not had a real quarterback in as far as i remember. think about it: johnson, cunningham, george, ponder, jackson, it never ends.

You seemed to imply that the Bridgewater era is over based on Sam Bradford's single performance against the Packers. I don't know what the overall stability at QB for the Vikes over the last 15 years has to do with that position, but my response was merely to point out that a good game or even a good season by Bradford won't end the Bridgewater era per se, or if history is a guide, it shouldn't be allowed to go down that way. It might if Bridgewater's knee doesn't fully recover or if Spielman gets an offer he can't refuse in trade, but if neither of those happen I'd expect Bridgewater to be back at least competing to get his starting job back next year regardless of how well Bradford and the Vikings do this year.

AD's situation has been more or less completely stable since he joined the Vikings barring injury and off-field distractions. None of that changes the calculus of his future with the team. Even if he didn't get injured against the Packers and won league MVP honors this year, he'd still be a 32 year old running back with a cap number that would put him among the star QB's in the league next year. None of that bodes well for his future as a Viking, so in his case the AD era is likely to be over by the end of this year.