Sam Bradford's season over, headed to IR, Kennum starting

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720pete
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Sam Bradford's season over, headed to IR, Kennum starting

Post by 720pete »

Well it could be the end of the Sam Bradford era in Minnesota with Bradford going on IR today. Zimmer says Teddy is ready to play, but Case Keenum will start this week against Washington.
Teddy Bridgewater‘s season may soon begin, and Sam Bradford‘s season is over.

The Vikings made it official today, announcing that they have activated Bridgeawter to the 53-man roster while putting Bradford on injured reserve.

It’s the most encouraging news yet for Bridgewater, who suffered an injury so severe in training camp last year that there were concerns he might never play again. Now it appears a return to live game action is close.
But it’s another setback for Bradford, who has been plagued by injuries throughout his career and managed to play just 16 games for the Vikings after they sent a first-round pick and a fourth-round pick to Philadelphia to acquire him last year.

It’s unknown whether the Vikings will bench Case Keenum, who has played well since Bradford got hurt, for a healthy Bridgewater. But Bridgewater is now healthy enough to raise that question. That in and of itself is a great comeback story.
and

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... or-season/
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer has confirmed something that has been known from the moment quarterback Teddy Bridgewater received clearance to practice three weeks ago: He’s ready to play.

Zimmer made the proclamation to reporters on Wednesday, the same day the Vikings moved Bridgewater to the active roster. However, Zimmer also said Case Keenum will start on Sunday. Bridgewater will dress and serve as the backup.

The next question becomes whether Bridgewater will supplant Keenum, and if so when. Keenum is 4-2 as a starter, but he picked up another win against the Bears after Sam Bradford exited late in the first half. However, the schedule is about to get a lot tougher for Minnesota.

Keenum has bested the likes of Brett Hundley, Mitchell Trubisky, DeShone Kizer, Jameis Winston, and Joe Flacco. Coming up are games against Kirk Cousins, Jared Goff, Matthew Stafford, Matt Ryan, and Cam Newton. At some point, the Vikings likely need Bridgewater, if they hope to hold off the Lions and win the NFC North.

Complicating matters is the fact that Bridgewater has never played for offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. Instead, Bridgewater spend two years and the preparations for a third working with Norv Turner.
Currently, Vikings have a two-game lead over Detroit. But Detroit has beaten the Vikings in Minnesota; if the Lions can complete the sweep in 15 days, they’ll need to pick up only one more game to force a tie and, in turn, capture the crown.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... rt-sunday/
mansquatch
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Re: Sam Bradford's season over, headed to IR, Kennum startin

Post by mansquatch »

And so it begins. We now have all the ingredients for a genuine QB controversy.

I have no real knowledge on this, but here are my initial thoughts:

1.) The WR group TB last threw to did not include Adam Thielen.
2.) Teddy has never taken a game day snap behind 4 of the 5 current OL starters
3.) Teddy has not played a single snap with Shurmer as the OC

Now all that being said, the Vikings were able to get SB up to speed in just 3 weeks last season. TB has had three weeks to practice, including a bye week. Given that we are mid-season, I'm guessing this is more challenging that what SB faced last September, but maybe not that much worse.

4.) SB was considered "ready to play" and played in that awful first half at Soldier Field. So is TB really ready or he is just medically cleared? We won't know the answer to this one until we see him on a Sunday.

I can't shake the gut feeling that they will rush Teddy to the detriment of the franchise. They did it with Sam and ownership has done it before a la the Josh Freeman game in 2013. I have factual basis for that statement, it is just my gut on it.

At the same time, I really believe that the ceiling of this season is a lot higher with a healthy TB or SB vs. Keenum. Keenum is not accurate enough and he leaves a lot of plays on the field. That will come to haunt us before the season is over, with increasing liklihood as we get deeper in the playoffs. It isn't conjecture to say the Coaches know this. They totally know it. Otherwise we wouldn't hear the language and see the posturing about Teddy. If they felt they could win with Keenum the message we'd be getting is "Case is the hot hand and we are going to stick with Case." We are not hearing that at all.

One more reason why the Next 4 weeks will determine the season.
Winning is not a sometime thing it is an all of the time thing - Vince Lombardi
DK Sweets
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Re: Sam Bradford's season over, headed to IR, Kennum startin

Post by DK Sweets »

mansquatch wrote: Vikings were able to get SB up to speed in just 3 weeks last season. TB has had three weeks to practice, including a bye week. Given that we are mid-season, I'm guessing this is more challenging that what SB faced last September, but maybe not that much worse.
Teddy has been in every meeting all year long, and he's been around the facility, he just hasn't been able to take reps until 3 weeks ago. I would also be shocked if he didn't do a ton of work before this summer. I wouldn't worry about his grasp of the offence or his rapport with Rudolph, Diggs, McKinnon, or even Thielen (which we disagree on) because a) they have been on the same team for 4 years and b) Thielen's greatest strength is catching the ball no matter where it's located. He's going to be one of the easiest receivers to get rapport with.

Teddy getting up to speed is the least of my worries, it's all about that knee.
Last edited by DK Sweets on Wed Nov 08, 2017 3:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Sam Bradford's season over, headed to IR, Kennum startin

Post by mansquatch »

Oh don't get me wrong, I agree on the knee. Basically this whole thing is predicated on his knee being healthy. However, I think we have to give the coaching staff at least some benefit of the doubt on that one. If his knee was totally shot he'd never have been reactivated. So to me the question is more is his knee healthy as in 100% or "healthy" as in Sam Bradford at Soldier Field. (Or RGIII as a rookie in the playoffs...)

Regardless, we won't know that until we see him play in a game, so my post was more about the rest of it. All that other stuff is also a factor.

The main positive is the staff has been through a similar transition. Time will tell.
Winning is not a sometime thing it is an all of the time thing - Vince Lombardi
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Re: Sam Bradford's season over, headed to IR, Kennum startin

Post by soflavike »

It's great to have Teddy back... I hope his injury is fully healed and he's ready to go... That being said, they would have to be clinically insane to start Bridgewater right now. Unless Keenum gets hurt or royally messes up, Teddy will look fine with a baseball cap and a clipboard. This is Keenum's team until further notice.
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DK Sweets
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Re: Sam Bradford's season over, headed to IR, Kennum startin

Post by DK Sweets »

mansquatch wrote:Oh don't get me wrong, I agree on the knee. Basically this whole thing is predicated on his knee being healthy. However, I think we have to give the coaching staff at least some benefit of the doubt on that one. If his knee was totally shot he'd never have been reactivated. So to me the question is more is his knee healthy as in 100% or "healthy" as in Sam Bradford at Soldier Field. (Or RGIII as a rookie in the playoffs...)
This very well could be hope blinding my objective opinion, but Teddy's comeback (so far) has reminded me more of Adrian Peterson than Sam Bradford. I feel like Teddy (like Adrian) had confidence in the work he put in and he also had faith in his knee. That's not something I saw out of Sam Bradford, but we'll see in due time.

Honestly, if Teddy had his way I think he never would have hit the PUP, so I wonder if we aren't being perfectly cautious, perhaps even overly cautious...but this is all conjecture!
Regardless, we won't know that until we see him play in a game, so my post was more about the rest of it. All that other stuff is also a factor.

The main positive is the staff has been through a similar transition. Time will tell.
Couldn't agree more. This team has been through a lot of adversity, and I see a lot of strength and flexibility built from that.
mansquatch
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Re: Sam Bradford's season over, headed to IR, Kennum startin

Post by mansquatch »

One thing is for sure: This is probably going to be one of the more exciting Novembers we've seen in quite awhile around here. Lots of stuff going, major playoff and divisional implications, QB controversy, and so on. It's a good time to be a fan. Always the risk of them falling apart, but I just do not feel that right now. The Defense is legit and will keep them competitive.
Winning is not a sometime thing it is an all of the time thing - Vince Lombardi
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Re: Sam Bradford's season over, headed to IR, Kennum startin

Post by Pondering Her Percy »

mansquatch wrote:One thing is for sure: This is probably going to be one of the more exciting Novembers we've seen in quite awhile around here. Lots of stuff going, major playoff and divisional implications, QB controversy, and so on. It's a good time to be a fan. Always the risk of them falling apart, but I just do not feel that right now. The Defense is legit and will keep them competitive.

Agreed 100%. These games do worry me. I guess the only ones out of the next 5 that worry me are Washington and Detroit. It seems like we can never beat either team. I think we can handle Carolina and their gross OL. Atlanta has taken a significant dip and I think we rattle Goff at our place.

This is going to be interesting. Only thing I'm worried about with Teddy is the "in game action" part of it. I'm honestly not worried about the knee. He's had a lot of time to heal. They wouldnt be putting him out there if it isnt going to hold up. If it wasnt going to hold up that would mean his career is done and its not. We will always worry about it but unless he takes a blow straight to the knee cap, he'll be fine.
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