Zimmer’s Stubbornness Could End the Bradford Era

(by Jonathan Lewis MSU Contributor)

Hidden deep within the Vikings 20-17 win at Chicago Monday night was a storyline that will be fascinating to follow for the rest of the season. The Vikings coaching staff and training staff made the determination that quarterback Sam Bradford was ready to take the field after missing the last 3 games with a knee injury (more on that later). Whether it was Bradford talking his way into the starting lineup, or Zimmer believing more than seeing that Bradford was ready, someone made a huge mistake.

Bradford from the beginning of the game was clearly not healthy. Not only could Bradford not plant and step into deep throws, he could barely move up in the pocket to avoid pressure. This was evident from the opening series on offense and yet Bradford was not pulled until just before the first half was done. I’m not sure what game the Vikings coaching staff was watching, but it didn’t take medical experts to diagnose that Bradford was not right physically. Frankly the way the situation was handled was inexcusable, and the Vikings are very lucky that Bradford was not seriously hurt while he was on the field. The Vikings staff was adamant that they believed Bradford was ready to go, but the difference between Case Keenum after he came in and what Bradford was trying to do out on the field was appalling.

This leads us to an interesting theme throughout the Mike Zimmer era. Zimmer has routinely shut down attempts by the media to get further information on the status of injured players. Zimmer as an old school coach lives by the mentality that any information an opponent can get is an advantage. This is even when everyone else on the planet can see that a qb is not ready to play and will not play. This Bradford situation was Zimmer’s latest attempt to fool everyone into thinking he knows better. And hopefully he learns his lesson, or the Vikings will end up not only losing players, but games as well.