Vikings @ Bears Game Day Discussion Thread -- Week 8

[IrishViking]

Slanted how? It's factual. Bridgewater is imply not an accurate thrower. To deny that is to simply keeps ones eyes closed to the obvious.

The Vikings have the 31st ranked passing offense in the NFL? But I'm the one slanting the argument?

Also...nice way to only read the first paragraph and responding with rage. I don't hate Bridgewater. I want him to succeed but he is a very inaccurate QB and I'm not buying that it's all the O-lines fault anymore.

But yeah you're right, our 31st ranked passing offense is a real juggernaut under Teddy. Just keep saying that to yourself. The facts simply don't back that up.

Well first, it isn't a bigger liability each week, he threw for 2 TD last week and over 300 yards, his peak of the season. And was basically the architect of that win. So, the facts don't back you up.

Second, your whole post implied that Teddy did nothing today, I assumed you must not have missed the final 5 minutes so I then assumed you didn't give him any credit for it, thus the luck statement. If you aren't giving him credit for that then, fine... you're entitled to that opinion. I just happen to thing its totally wrong.

Third, I never said he or our passing attack was a juggernaut. I think he has a lot he needs to work on. I just happen to think that he can improve because of the grit he shows in games like the final five minutes today, you should really watch it

Fourth, no rage at all here. I didn't use caps, I didn't throw an insult, I didn't accuse you of anything, all I did was gently poke at what I think is a narrow focused knee jerk reaction to the game.


Either way, we won and no matter what asterisk you want to add to the yards and the TD or how many footnotes you want to add to it Teddy pulled us out of the hole he mostly dug. I sincerely hope he stops digging holes but the fact remains the passing attack HE mounted at the end won us this game. Period.

[DK Sweets]

cstelter, I couldn't agree more. I gave up on those game threads in the preseason for the same reason. It's not all bad, but there are people who have turned it into a cesspool of negativity that I refuse to delve into.

[Bigwehrm]

You know-- I rarely read daily threads during the game-- sometimes I'll read through after the fact. Today I was reading many of the comments live and i must say I'll not be doing it anymore. Somehow it has become acceptable to predict the worst case scenario in all things with no penalty to one's character or voice. Somehow it is fine to do whatever one can to tear down rather than build up.

What is the penalty (apparently)?-- 3 words. 'I'm eating Crow'.

That's rediculous. No one eats crow. They only *say* that as though to legitimize antisocial behavior. It's wrong and I'm not ashamed to say so. I've had it. One of the worst experiences I have had watching a game was a Green Bay game I had to watch with brothers-in-law (Green Bay fans). They piled on any time the Vikings did something bad or GB did something good-- plus the Vikes lost that game (2000 season I think).

I'd rate reading through this thread during the game a very similar experience. If I invited a viking fan over to watch the game at my house and had to deal with comments like this-- I'd never invite them back. Tie Game, 7 minutes left: When the result of such excessively negative comments is either 'See, *I* told you how terrible they were' or 'OK, I'm eating crow', it's just stupid.

Be smarter! It's OK to hope for a miracle even though all evidence to the contrary. IMHO it's *NOT* OK to pile on about how bad things are going to end up and to harden your heart against *actually* hoping your team may do well. To what end? To be able to be more spitefully negative toward life if your ominous predictions come true??? I don't mind griping about the bad things, I don't mind mentioning bad outcome while rooting *against* bad things to happen-- (i.e. pls don't let Gould win this on a last second TD!), but for crying out loud. Enough with the stinkin doom and gloom predictions.

Ridiculous to *want* your team to lose just so that you can say 'see! I told you so!' just to protect yourself from actually *hoping* your team will do well and allow them to let you down. Pathetic.

I'm done now-- just had to get that off my chest. Back to basking in the joy of 5-2 (however long that lasts).

Waa. Waaa waaa. You want a participation trophy? We have our right to say what we think is gonna happen as much as you have, to think every play is gonna be a td. You haven't been a viking fan very long if your not expecting the worst on any given play.

[VikingPaul73]

You know-- I rarely read daily threads during the game-- sometimes I'll read through after the fact. Today I was reading many of the comments live and i must say I'll not be doing it anymore. Somehow it has become acceptable to predict the worst case scenario in all things with no penalty to one's character or voice. Somehow it is fine to do whatever one can to tear down rather than build up.

What is the penalty (apparently)?-- 3 words. 'I'm eating Crow'.

That's rediculous. No one eats crow. They only *say* that as though to legitimize antisocial behavior. It's wrong and I'm not ashamed to say so. I've had it. One of the worst experiences I have had watching a game was a Green Bay game I had to watch with brothers-in-law (Green Bay fans). They piled on any time the Vikings did something bad or GB did something good-- plus the Vikes lost that game (2000 season I think).

I'd rate reading through this thread during the game a very similar experience. If I invited a viking fan over to watch the game at my house and had to deal with comments like this-- I'd never invite them back. Tie Game, 7 minutes left: When the result of such excessively negative comments is either 'See, *I* told you how terrible they were' or 'OK, I'm eating crow', it's just stupid.

Be smarter! It's OK to hope for a miracle even though all evidence to the contrary. IMHO it's *NOT* OK to pile on about how bad things are going to end up and to harden your heart against *actually* hoping your team may do well. To what end? To be able to be more spitefully negative toward life if your ominous predictions come true??? I don't mind griping about the bad things, I don't mind mentioning bad outcome while rooting *against* bad things to happen-- (i.e. pls don't let Gould win this on a last second TD!), but for crying out loud. Enough with the stinkin doom and gloom predictions.

Ridiculous to *want* your team to lose just so that you can say 'see! I told you so!' just to protect yourself from actually *hoping* your team will do well and allow them to let you down. Pathetic.

I'm done now-- just had to get that off my chest. Back to basking in the joy of 5-2 (however long that lasts).

Sheesh ......seems like someone needs a visit to The View to talk about his feelings....

[me4get]

Cutlers TD wasn't.

[TSonn]

A lot of the attitudes around here make me realize that there's probably a reason why people are posting in the gameday thread instead of being invited to gameday parties with friends.

[Pondering Her Percy]

For the fans simply ignoring Teddy's play today, you need to take your goggles off. Do I believe Teddy is the answer? I think it's still up in the air. I think Teddy took a step forward vs Detroit but quickly took a step back today. My biggest worry is he's been playing weak defenses and has been sub par. I truly believe he is better under pressure because he had a ton of time today and looked horrible. Diggs and Johnson bailed him out today big time. He needs to find a way to play better.

[PurpleKoolaid]

For the fans simply ignoring Teddy's play today, you need to take your goggles off. Do I believe Teddy is the answer? I think it's still up in the air. I think Teddy took a step forward vs Detroit but quickly took a step back today. My biggest worry is he's been playing weak defenses and has been sub par. I truly believe he is better under pressure because he had a ton of time today and looked horrible. Diggs and Johnson bailed him out today big time. He needs to find a way to play better.

Dude, change your sig already.

[TSonn]

I'm not saying Teddy is Tom Brady here, but Teddy's game today reminded me a lot of Tom Brady from 2001-2004. Not asked to do too much all game but make big plays when necessary. I checked out the stats and in Brady's 2nd season and his first year as a starter (at age 24), he was only averaging 189 yards a game. He ended the season with 18 TDs and 12 INTs on 63% completion rate.

Remember how Brady won the Super Bowl MVPs those years? Everyone was upset because it was just "automatic" that he was going to win the MVP since he was the QB but didn't have great stats. In most games during those seasons and the Super Bowls, Brady was mostly quiet until a big play was needed to win or seal the victory. That's what Teddy did today.

Teddy may not ever be close to as good as Brady but today he didn't have great stats yet made plays when necessary to win on the road. He took the team 91 yards down the field to score the game tying TD! It's really dumb to write him off at this point considering his age and that he's got his team to a 5-2 record in his second season.

[Just Me]

I'm not saying Teddy is Tom Brady here, but Teddy's game today reminded me a lot of Tom Brady from 2001-2004. Not asked to do too much all game but make big plays when necessary. I checked out the stats and in Brady's 2nd season and his first year as a starter (at age 24), he was only averaging 189 yards a game. He ended the season with 18 TDs and 12 INTs on 63% completion rate.

Remember how Brady won the Super Bowl MVPs those years? Everyone was upset because it was just "automatic" that he was going to win the MVP since he was the QB but didn't have great stats. In most games during those seasons and the Super Bowls, Brady was mostly quiet until a big play was needed to win or seal the victory. That's what Teddy did today.

Teddy may not ever be close to as good as Brady but today he didn't have great stats yet made plays when necessary to take his team to 5-2 on the road.

Good post! That's exactly what I was getting at in an earlier post of mine. At this point in Teddy's career, he could end up as Christian Ponder, but he could also end up like Tom Brady. We just don't know. Have a back-up plan, but it's too early to claim "hopelessness" and bail on a kid who shows some promise...

[808vikingsfan]

For the fans simply ignoring Teddy's play today, you need to take your goggles off. Do I believe Teddy is the answer? I think it's still up in the air. I think Teddy took a step forward vs Detroit but quickly took a step back today. My biggest worry is he's been playing weak defenses and has been sub par. I truly believe he is better under pressure because he had a ton of time today and looked horrible. Diggs and Johnson bailed him out today big time. He needs to find a way to play better.

You forgot your "if Ponder orchestrated 2 scoring drives at the end of the game..." comment.

Seriously though, I'm really not sure what your beef is. Some are impressed with his pocket prescense, poise under pressure, work ethic, and heart. Yes, he needs to show more consistency but he guts it out and makes plays when it counts. With those attributes, Im fine giving him leeway on having a tough time in a tough , windy environment.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Dude, change your sig already.

ok?

[Hunter Morrow]

Greatness Under Maximum Pressure!

YOU CAN'T STUMP THE GUMP!

[TSonn]

Just for the record, Bridgewater already has 2 more game winning drives than Ponder had his entire career. Coincidentally, Bridgewater and Brady both had 5 game winning drives at the same point in their careers. Except that Teddy is 2 years younger.

His 5 minute and 2 minute drives show me more about his future than a windy overthrow and bad decision INT do.

[Pondering Her Percy]

You forgot your "if Ponder orchestrated 2 scoring drives at the end of the game..." comment.

Seriously though, I'm really not sure what your beef is. Some are impressed with his pocket prescense, poise under pressure, work ethic, and heart. Yes, he needs to show more consistency but he guts it out and makes plays when it counts. With those attributes, Im fine giving him leeway on having a tough time in a tough , windy environment.

Dude you guys act like I hate Teddy. It seems like you're only reading what you want to read. I like his pocket presence, work ethic, demeanor, heart, etc. When have I ever once said I didnt like those things about him??

What I don't like and what I am sick of is his average to below average play vs POOR defenses. And I don't want to hear the "tough windy environment" excuse. What was his excuse vs KC at HOME vs a BAD pass defense?? Wait until we have to play GB, Arizona and Seattle. Legitimate defenses that get after the QB and have good secondaries. Whats going to be our excuse then if he plays bad?? "Well they are good teams so we're going to cut him some slack"?? No.

He's had "those attributes" all year and he's had more bad play than good play against POOR defenses. So those attributes don't do a whole lot when you face a legit team. Bottom line is, he NEEDS to play better soon or else we are going to lose to a bad team or get blown out by a good team. He literally almost cost us that game single handedly today. Just like KC. If it wasnt for this defense, we would not be 5-2 right now.

It will be very interesting how he plays against a legitimate defense next week with St Louis. Luckily we are home. But he better learn to get the ball out much quicker than he did today or Robert Quinn and Aaron Donald are going to be eating him for lunch because there is no way our offensive line is holding up against those guys.

He HAS to play better in order for us to be contenders. No matter what you say. Quit making excuses for him like the "wind" because that isn't why he played poorly. I truly do like the guy and I cheer for him like no other but I'm done with the average to below average play. He needs to start taking steps forward and not backwards because thats what he keeps doing.