Adrian Peterson’s status as a Viking going forward is in limbo, and the direction of the franchise may alter drastically depending on how they handle the allegations surrounding their superstar. But another question has pushed itself to the forefront — when will the Vikings declare Teddy Bridgewater starter at quarterback?
Prior to the season beginning, there were factors to weigh before placing Bridgewater at the helm. Despite an outstanding college career at Louisville, there’s no clear-cut answer of how to introduce a young quarterback to the NFL. In the case of an all-timer in Peyton Manning, he started for the Indianapolis Colts from day one, struggling through his rough rookie season before blossoming into one of the greatest players ever. For every Manning that learns by being given the chance to work through mistakes, there’s a David Carr who crumbles because both team and player aren’t ready for the responsibility.
Bridgewater is no Carr; his college career at Louisville was nothing short of spectacular, and there was visible, dramatic improvement each year. Given more responsibility as the reps piled up, Bridgewater cut his interception totals every season while watching his touchdowns and completion percentage rise. By his senior year, he racked up 31 touchdowns against just four interceptions, connecting on 71 percent of his passes.
Beyond traditional statistics, Bridgewater impressed with his ability to direct Louisville’s offense with astute pre-snap decisions and subtle movements during the action. Coach Charlie Strong called on his quarterback to take control of and master the offense, and his pupil proved to be an adept study. While Bridgewater was ultimately judged for his passing proficiency, his instinctual defensive recognition led to numerous successful running plays on hot reads. Likewise, his knack for misleading opposing defenders with his eyes helped look receivers open that were otherwise blanketed.
The NFL isn’t the ACC, of course, so there are questions as to whether Bridgewater could replicate this success on the top stage, particularly right away. When the alternative is another season of Matt Cassel, though, there’s not much reason to give it a second thought.
To be fair to the Vikings, it’s not as if they have treated Cassel as the long-term steward of the franchise. Between the decision to trade up for Bridgewater in this year’s draft and the open competition for the starting job in training camp, Minnesota has indicated that they have plenty of belief in Bridgewater as the future of the franchise. Cassel, originally brought in to back-up (and challenge) Christian Ponder, is more of a stop-gap than anything else. He’s a known quantity that the Vikes evidently feel comfortable with.
Comfort and caution would be acceptable retorts if Cassel was an above-average starter, one that could help squeeze out a few wins at the end of Peterson’s prime. But he’s not; he’s a spectacularly average quarterback that has only eclipsed a passing percentage of 60 twice. Once came under the watchful eye of Bill Belichick in New England, the other in last year’s abbreviated campaign. There have been stretches where he’s had “the look” and his teams have had bouts of success over the years, but they are errant peaks that disguise the more frequent valleys. Plenty of quarterbacks can say they’ve produced in small samples, but the only ones worth having string them together consistently. He is a backup masquerading as a starter.
Fans are ready to see him step away in favor of their hopeful savior — they let him know as much by raining “Teddy!” chants down during Cassel’s four-interception performance against the New England Patriots. The outcry of impassioned supporters shouldn’t be an impetus for change, but in this case they are seeing the situation for what it is. Minnesota has the fifth-youngest roster in the league, and their most dynamic player may be second-year receiver Cordarrelle Patterson. He and the rest of the offense would be better served developing chemistry with the man they hope will be slinging the ball well into the future, rather than playing catch with a stopgap.
Cassel may be better prepared for the week-to-week battle of the NFL — he was a tad more accurate in the preseason — and he may even produce better results right now than Bridgewater could. But the Vikings aren’t a team that should be concerned with the immediate future. The difference between Cassel producing numerous turnovers and Bridgewater coughing the ball up is that Bridgewater’s mistakes come with the hope of correction and improvement. He is a mold-able player that can reasonably be expected to improve with experience, whereas Cassel is a finished product that isn’t quite good enough for mass consumption.
While some would argue that Bridgewater would be best served by holding a clipboard and continuing to dissect film until the perfect moment, his track record indicates that he would be better served with a hands-on approach. His attempts skyrocketed between his freshman and sophomore season at Louisville, and the increased burden led to his breakout season, culminating in a dissection of the Florida Gators in the 2013 Sugar Bowl. Correlation is not causation, but there’s more proof that Bridgewater would benefit from an advanced NFL crash course than there is for sudden, sustained excellence from Cassel.
In the wake of an ugly scandal pertaining to their long-time leading man, the Vikings could use a fresh face at the forefront. Head coach Mike Zimmer would set himself up well for the future by naming Teddy Bridgewater starter immediately, pushing Cassel into the backup role he is suited for. It is an investment for the future, and with the present murky at best, dividends of this size can’t be passed up.