(by Jonathan Lewis MSU Contributor)
Today
for the first time since a gruesome knee injury ended his 2016 season Teddy
Bridgewater will be able to practice with the Minnesota Vikings. It has been a
long road back for Bridgewater ,
who looked good in the 2016-17 preseason and seemed primed for a big season.
Then his knee blew up on a non-contact injury and his season was over just like
that. The injury prompted the Vikings to trade for Sam Bradford, who nearly
single-handedly saved a lost season. Bradford
appeared ready to lead the Vikings to the promised land this year before his
own knee issues slowed what was an amazing start to the year. Case Keenum has
come in and done an admirable job filling in for Bradford ,
but now it seems obvious it’s time for the Vikings to turn the franchise over
to its young quarterback and let him lead them on.
Stop.
Are
you insane?
Teddy
Bridgewater is not a savior. Teddy Bridgewater is not even a good quarterback.
Let’s take a look at some of the best quarterbacks around the league. You might
include, in any particular order Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Cam
Newton, Russell Wilson, Matt Ryan just to name a few. What do they all have in
common? They can all move the offense up and down the field. Coming into the
2016-17 season Bridgewater had thrown for over 300 yards 5 times in two seasons
and under 200 yards 14 times in the same span including an embarrassing 99
yards against the Green Bay Packers in the Vikings season ending 20-13 win to
clinch the NFC North. These numbers are not acceptable. Bridgewater has thrown for 14 touchdowns in
each of his 2 seasons. In Tom Brady’s 2007-08 season in which he threw for 50
touchdowns, Brady had one game in which he threw for 6 touchdowns. You may make
the argument that Brady has a better supporting cast than Bridgewater does, and that is certainly a
fair one. You may also ask why compare Brady and Bridgewater . One of the most common arguments
brought up about Teddy is that he simply finds a way to win games. The Patriots
went undefeated that regular season, and Brady actually was the one leading the
team to that mark. “Game Manager” is a term that was invented to make sure
nice-guy quarterbacks weren’t thrown too far on the bus, and Bridgewater is simply a game manager at this
point in his career. This isn’t even taking into consideration the fact that
now he only has one healthy leg. When Bridgewater
is actually able to sense pressure (sure couldn’t against Denver
and Arizona when he fumbled to end both games)
Bridgewater won’t
be able to escape in the pocket and good luck with that throw to the sidelines!
Bridgewater doesn’t have the arm strength or
accuracy deep to make critical late throws, something Bradford
was simply amazing at and Keenum has been decent at in his starts.
Simply
put, throwing Teddy into the starting lineup just because he managed to work
his way back from an injury is a terribly idea. Bridgewater would not only make the offense
suffer, but would divide the team and cause them to miss the playoffs; something
which is unacceptable for this roster. So no, I am not ready for “Teddy Time”
and if you have any common sense whatsoever you shouldn’t be either. The
Vikings are in the business of winning games, not making sure good kids have
jobs. He can go get one somewhere else.
Article completely disregards the fact that Teddy played in Norv's Air Coryell offense, running plays consisting of 5-7 step drops from under center with a terrible offensive line. Bradford and Keenum have both played largely under a Pat Shurmur offense that runs quick reads from the gun.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm not saying Teddy is the Viking's savior, I am saying that for a site that claims to be based around sports, you don't seem to have much knowledge of the quarterback position or changing in offensive schemes of Minnesota sports in the past year. Be better.
As CEO of Minnesota Sports Unlimited I stand by my writer he gave some really valid points why to not say teddy is the answer. I may not agree with him but I stand by him.
ReplyDelete