Young Theodore Bridgewater

[Pondering Her Percy]

I think his yards per attempt numbers (which you didn't include above) are what really mark him as below average right now. Frosted understandably rounded that stat up to 6.0 but it's actually 5.97 over the last 5 games. Either way, it's bad and I think it casts some of the other stats in a different light. A completion percentage of 61.2% doesn't look too great when combined with a YPA of just under 6.0. With such a low average per attempt, you'd expect a higher percentage of completions. Instead, those two stats combined are indicative of the issues Teddy has had throwing the ball down the field. He's done a great job of taking care of the ball but that's not surprising over a stretch where he was criticized for checking down too often.

It's good to see his TDs up and he played good, efficient football last week. If he keeps that up, he'll be on his way. It will be interesting to see how he performs against some of the better defenses he'll face in the coming weeks.

I agree Jim. It's a good point. Obviously that needs to come up as well. I'll throw it out now....I'm predicting Teddy will throw for 3 TDs and 250 yards this week vs NYJ

[Purple bruise]

I understand what you're saying PB. But if you look close at the guys I listed above, Wilson, Stafford and Dalton are all blessed with pretty good defenses as well and they are putting up very similar if not, worse numbers than Teddy

That is a valid comparison. Do not mistake me. I really like Teddy and would be thrilled to see him take over this team and lead them to the long lost promised land

[losperros]

Stronger passing attack or more efficient?

I don't think we oughta get bogged down in thinking that the Vikings need a 4,000 yard passer to win again. The key for me, is turnovers. Teddy limits them, especially of late. I think that's much more a key to winning than passing yardage is.

The team needs a better passing attack all the way around. Call it what you want.

Nobody is getting bogged down by anything, aside from the Vikings passing game being bogged down from inefficiency on multiple levels.

As for the key to winning, I can promise you that the final score of the game has everything to do with it.

[chicagopurple]

He is a rookie who doesn't turn the ball over much, who stays calm under fire, who shows pretty good mechanics at age 22! He had very little training camp time to learn. The important question is WHO in the organization is the quarterback coach that will take this young kid and train him this off season? He has a lot to learn and is certainly willing. The Vikes haven't successfully trained a young quarterback since Culpepper!

[Pondering Her Percy]

He is a rookie who doesn't turn the ball over much, who stays calm under fire, who shows pretty good mechanics at age 22! He had very little training camp time to learn. The important question is WHO in the organization is the quarterback coach that will take this young kid and train him this off season? He has a lot to learn and is certainly willing. The Vikes haven't successfully trained a young quarterback since Culpepper!

Well the QB coach is Turners son, Scott. They seem to be pretty close from what I have seen because Scott is the one calling the shots down on the field while Norv is up in the box

[mosscarter]

in my opinion you guys overrate culpepper. culpepper was an average qb at best; enter randy moss. what did culpepper ever do after he didn't play with moss? nothing. and he did have several chances. bridgewater has really impressed me overall as a rookie. if we can surround him with the proper elements, he will be even much better than culpepper ever was.

[720pete]

Here are your rookie QB stats this season through today. How do we all feel about Bridgwater?



EDIT - oops got Attempts and completions backwards.

[Grashopa]

Aside from Bortles' interceptions they are all very similar right now. Unfortunately i would expect for bridgewater to be better than the rest. I do believe that in time Bridgewater will pull away from this group.

[Mothman]

I merged the rookie stats 720Pete posted into this thread since they basically represent a continuation of the conversation about Bridgewater.

[Mothman]

I agree Jim. It's a good point. Obviously that needs to come up as well.

Thanks. He got a nice start on raising that stat last week. Let's hope your prediction below holds true and he's able to get that 250 yards on 25-30 attempts.

I'll throw it out now....I'm predicting Teddy will throw for 3 TDs and 250 yards this week vs NYJ

[Mothman]

And it's starting to piss me off as a fan. I'm not sure what can be done about it, but it seems like a no-brainer that the Vikings have needed a stronger passing attack for quite some time.

It has been a no-brainer. They've just failed to put together a strong passing attack they could sustain for more than a season. They've essentially managed to do it once in the past 10 seasons (including this one).

[PurpleKoolaid]

Also, what did Favre and #7 have in their good years Teddy doesn't? The best RB in the game. Just the threat of him back there helped the passing game. They also had better receivers. CP was considered our #1 WR at one point, now, he isn't even starting. Lets ease up on the nit picking till he actually is losing us ball games week after week.

[PacificNorseWest]

in my opinion you guys overrate culpepper. culpepper was an average qb at best; enter randy moss. what did culpepper ever do after he didn't play with moss? nothing. and he did have several chances. bridgewater has really impressed me overall as a rookie. if we can surround him with the proper elements, he will be even much better than culpepper ever was.

Completely agree.

[Purple Reign]

Here are your rookie QB stats this season through today. How do we all feel about Bridgwater?

Based on the teams of the rookies being compared, I would hope Teddy would be better but they are all pretty similiar. I think the Vikings as a team are quite a bit better than Oakland, Jacksonville and Tennessee so you have to take that into account as well.

[Mothman]

Completely agree.

I completely disagree about the Culpepper/Moss stuff. That drives me nuts and always comes across to me like Moss fans trying to glorify their hero at the expense of another good player. Moss and Culpepper needed each other and they thrived together because their skills were complimentary.

What did Culpepper do without Moss? Well, his best season as a Viking came during one of Randy's worst as a Viking, a season in which Moss missed 3 games and produced nothing in 2 others (I can't recall if he just played in those 2 games briefly but he's listed as playing). He spent a great deal of time limited by injuries that year and ended up with 767 yards receiving, by far the lowest total of his career up to that point. He caught 13 TDs but Culpepper threw39 and also threw for 4717 yards. Note that 3950 of those yards weren't accumulated by Moss.

What did Culpepper do in the 3 games Moss completely missed that year? He went 65 of 95 for 765 yards, 7 TDs and 1 INT, clearly the work of "an average QB at best". Culpepper led the league in passing yardage that season and was second in passer rating and TDs only to Peyton manning, who had an unbelievable year, all despite Moss having a down year. When they were split up, Randy went to Oakland, had a few sub-par years (including the worst of his career prior to his final 2, over-the-hill seasons) and then was rescued by the Pats, who resurrected his rapidly declining career by putting him in a good situation again.

Meanwhile, Culpepper's 2005 season got off to a disastrous start but after two awful games, he bounced back with some strong performances, with Nate Burleson as his best receiving option, before blowing out his knee in week 7. His career never really recovered from that incident and he certainly never had the good fortune to land in the kind of great situation Moss eventually did.

The idea that Culpepper was just average when Moss wasn't on the field is hogwash.