Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater not satisfied with rookie season

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was not satisfied with his solid rookie season.

Teddy Bridgewater entered the 2013 college football season as the almost certain No. 1 overall pick. He ended his journey to the NFL on the very back end of the 2014 NFL draft, being selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the final pick of the first-round.

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In his lone season, he was quite impressive, especially for a rookie. But the quarterback, preparing for his second NFL season, had a different take on his rookie campaign. “I wasn’t impressed,” he told the Pioneer Press.

He continued, “We did some good things as a team, but we could have been much better finishing games. That’s what separates championship teams and determining whether you’re playing games in January or watching games in January.”

In fairness, Bridgewater faced a rookie season without the Vikings’ best player, running back Adrian Peterson. Yet Bridgewater threw 14 touchdown passes against just 12 interceptions in 12 starts.

Offensive coordinator Norv Turner is known as a run-first play-caller, but as someone who knows how to get the best out of his quarterbacks.

It is for that reason that Bridgewater has every chance to improve on what was, in truth, a very solid rookie season for the first-year signal-caller.

Bridgewater’s main offensive weapons were Matt Asiata and Jerrick McKinnon out of the backfield and tight end Kyle Rudolph. But the Vikings never were able to get Cordarrelle Patterson–a first-round pick out of Tennessee in 2013–going, nor make the most of the presence of veteran Greg Jennings.

Turner said earlier this offseason that Charles Johnson–the 216th pick (seventh round) in 2013–was the Vikings’ best receiver. Johnson was targeted by Bridgewater 59 times in 12 games, according to Pro Football Reference. He caught 31 passes for 475 yards (an impressive 15.3 yards per reception) to go along with two touchdown receptions.

Despite that burgeoning connection, Bridgewater still felt unsatisfied with his 2014 season. “I left a ton of plays out there, whether it was due to poor mechanics, bad ball placements, overthrows, underthrows”. Then he switched gears slightly, “We want to be a big-play offense, and I have to continue to execute and play at a high level to allow our guys to make those plays.”

To that end, last week the Vikings added playmaker Mike Wallace in the hopes of giving Bridgewater more playmakers to work with in the upcoming season.

For his career, the New Orleans native and Ole Miss Rebels alum, averages 15.6 yards per catch and has 47 career touchdowns in 95 games.

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