Kudos to Zimmer and a thought about Bradford

[VikingLord]

Bradford's willingness to wing it into the endzone even to guys who aren't clearly open is making a big difference, especially with Walsh still suffering from the yips. I just want to see the Vikes find ways to score on big plays and force defenses to respect, and even possibly fear, the deep ball. Bradford can clearly get it deep and I'd like to see a bit more willingness for the Vikes to test defenses deep. I thought they did some of that against the Giants but I would have liked to see more.

Also, the offensive line has definitely improved. In some ways they seem to be a better overall unit with Clemmings at LT and Sirles in at RT.

[losperros]

Bradford's willingness to wing it into the endzone even to guys who aren't clearly open is making a big difference, especially with Walsh still suffering from the yips. I just want to see the Vikes find ways to score on big plays and force defenses to respect, and even possibly fear, the deep ball. Bradford can clearly get it deep and I'd like to see a bit more willingness for the Vikes to test defenses deep. I thought they did some of that against the Giants but I would have liked to see more.

Also, the offensive line has definitely improved. In some ways they seem to be a better overall unit with Clemmings at LT and Sirles in at RT.

I agree with all your above points, Edward.

The OL seems to be gelling better as a complete unit. Who knows? Maybe the Vikings inadvertently upgraded the line with the backup players. OTOH, I believe what we're really seeing is good OL coaching combined with players getting comfortable with each other. Bradford gets the ball out quickly, which I still believe Bridgewater had trouble doing. Getting the ball out fast definitely helps the OL because they don't have to maintain a block for so long. So that may have something to do with it, too.

I really like Bradford in the shotgun. In fact, I liked the work by all the players in the shotgun last night. Maybe Norv's offense is beginning to click. I still get annoyed with some of the play calls, especially the more predictable ones, and I'd love to see the Vikes take better advantage of Bradford's arm and the WR speed with more downfield passes. OTOH, that puts more of a load on the offensive line to block longer.

Speaking of the WRs, almost all of them got involved in the game (including Patterson) and I think it opened things up a bit for the Vikings. Nice to see Charles Johnson make a couple medium deep grabs.

[mansquatch]

The OL, I thought, did OK last night. Not as much pressure as we've seen the past two weeks. Not perfect, but also not a total dumpster fire either. In the world of our OL, that is progress!

[IrishViking]

The OL, I thought, did OK last night. Not as much pressure as we've seen the past two weeks. Not perfect, but also not a total dumpster fire either. In the world of our OL, that is progress!

No sacks and only pressured 15.8% of the time.

that's pretty darn good for a game.

[J. Kapp 11]

Glad you mentioned Rhodes. I was really impressed with him. Rhodes plays aggressively and it worked well against the talented Giants WRs. In fact, the entire D secondary played full throttle throughout the entire game. It's great to see the Vikings D secondary finally developing into a formidable unit.

I have a buddy who plays golf with me on Mondays, and he was asking me yesterday "how the Vikings were ever going to stop OBJ."

My response? "Xavier Rhodes."

He laughed at me.

But I told him, "Beckham is good, but he's small, fast and shifty. Rhodes is especially good at jamming receivers at the line. Beckham won't be able to deal with Rhodes. You just watch."

Not tooting my own horn there. All of us on this site know how capable Rhodes is. We all watched him give Calvin Johnson fits before Megatron retired. But it just goes to show how little the rest of the NFL, especially media and fans, pay attention to not only Rhodes, but ALL the Vikings' defenders. Ask most fans or talking heads who Linval Joseph is, and they'll likely go, "Who?" Ask them about Anthony Barr, and they MIGHT go, "I think I've heard of him."

As for Zimmer, his approach as a head coach is so solid. Not just with his players, but with the media, as well. He's not as rude or dismissive as his mentor, Parcells, but he's to-the-point. He doesn't suffer fools, and he doesn't mince words. I love that. And even though he's probably hard on his players, I'm guessing they love it, too.

Bradford is a great arm talent. We've all known that since his Oklahoma days. Sometimes a guy just needs to be in the right situation, and Sam certainly seems to be thriving here. As for the article's reference to his immobility, Norv has gotten plenty of milage out of a couple of other statues named Aikman and Rivers. I also agree wholeheartedly with Jim's take that Bradford is playing miles above what Teddy played last year. That's not to say Teddy wouldn't have improved this year, but the eyes (and the numbers) don't lie. Sam's ballin'.

[losperros]

Bradford is a great arm talent. We've all known that since his Oklahoma days. Sometimes a guy just needs to be in the right situation, and Sam certainly seems to be thriving here. As for the article's reference to his immobility, Norv has gotten plenty of milage out of a couple of other statues named Aikman and Rivers. I also agree wholeheartedly with Jim's take that Bradford is playing miles above what Teddy played last year. That's not to say Teddy wouldn't have improved this year, but the eyes (and the numbers) don't lie. Sam's ballin'.

I'm starting to see things come together on the offense due in no small part to Bradford's skills as the QB. As I've said before, he has a quick release and it's really helping the offense move the chains, if not score more in the red zone. There's a confidence and maturity about him that transcends anything I've seen from Vikings quarterbacks for a while now. I feel as if I'm actually watching a QB lead the offense again and not just react to the opposing defense play after play.

I don't want to dump on Bridgewater at all, given his youth and only two years experience in the NFL. Who knows? He might have come out smokin' this year. All that said, I agree wholeheartedly with you and Jim about Bradford being a sizable upgrade over what the Vikings were getting from Teddy last season. I don't see it as even being close. That's not a knock on Bridgewater as much as it is praise for Bradford's skill set.

[PurpleMustReign]

I'm starting to see things come together on the offense due in no small part to Bradford's skills as the QB. As I've said before, he has a quick release and it's really helping the offense move the chains, if not score more in the red zone. There's a confidence and maturity about him that transcends anything I've seen from Vikings quarterbacks for a while now. I feel as if I'm actually watching a QB lead the offense again and not just react to the opposing defense play after play.

I don't want to dump on Bridgewater at all, given his youth and only two years experience in the NFL. Who knows? He might have come out smokin' this year. All that said, I agree wholeheartedly with you and Jim about Bradford being a sizable upgrade over what the Vikings were getting from Teddy last season. I don't see it as even being close. That's not a knock on Bridgewater as much as it is praise for Bradford's skill set.

I actually have confidence in the offense now, even though they are not running the ball well. Bradford seems to have command of the offense, and he has only been here three weeks.
It begs the question though... has our QB situation been that bad for the last few years that we see a QB who has been here for 3 weeks as better, or is Bradford really playing that well?

[dead_poet]

It begs the question though... has our QB situation been that bad for the last few years that we see a QB who has been here for 3 weeks as better, or is Bradford really playing that well?

I don't remember it but I saw stats that said that this three-game stretch is the best of Bradford's career. He's playing pretty well, especially given the circumstances.

[Mothman]

I actually have confidence in the offense now, even though they are not running the ball well. Bradford seems to have command of the offense, and he has only been here three weeks.
It begs the question though... has our QB situation been that bad for the last few years that we see a QB who has been here for 3 weeks as better, or is Bradford really playing that well?

Yes and yes.

[TSonn]

I don't remember it but I saw stats that said that this three-game stretch is the best of Bradford's career. He's playing pretty well, especially given the circumstances.

I think Bradford is a great fit for Norv's offensive system and we are seeing it play out so far this season. Teddy looked like he was getting better but Bradford is executing the offense better than Teddy had been. Bradford has much more Aikman and Rivers in him than Teddy does. If Bradford keeps this up all season Rick and co will have a very interesting decision to make next summer.

[dead_poet]

I thought this was interesting.

The interview that nearly ended Mike Zimmer’s head-coaching dream

http://www.twincities.com/2016/10/04/th ... ing-dream/

Zimmer started the interview with the AFC team’s four decision-makers, and over the course of five hours he came across as smart, experienced and likable. He wanted to draft and develop a quarterback, planned to have one of the league’s most ferocious and unpredictable defenses. After a few hours they took a break. “That was way better,” the former executive recently recalled thinking, “than what we thought.”

When they resumed, someone lobbed the question toward Zimmer. It seemed easy enough: If you get the job, who do you have in mind for the coaching staff?

Zimmer wouldn’t answer the question. He said he hadn’t thought about it. They pressed him. Still nothing.

Fine, the former executive said they allowed, how about a window into his philosophy — just something to indicate how he’d run their team and build his staff.

Nope, the personnel man would remember; Zimmer wouldn’t go there. He just kept saying he’d figure it out.

“What does that tell us?” the former executive recalled thinking. “It was just kind of unsettling.”

[PurpleHalo]

No sacks and only pressured 15.8% of the time.

that's pretty darn good for a game.

Not very often you see a game with zero sacks by both teams. And the Vikings didn't have to throw the ball to the ground to avoid! Ha

[PurpleHalo]

I thought this was interesting.

The interview that nearly ended Mike Zimmer’s head-coaching dream

http://www.twincities.com/2016/10/04/th ... ing-dream/

And we are all glad, they didn't like his answer!

[PurpleHalo]

I think Bradford is a great fit for Norv's offensive system and we are seeing it play out so far this season. Teddy looked like he was getting better but Bradford is executing the offense better than Teddy had been. Bradford has much more Aikman and Rivers in him than Teddy does. If Bradford keeps this up all season Rick and co will have a very interesting decision to make next summer.

I don't think theres any decision to be made. Sam can make throws Teddy can't, he has a plus arm. And he looks like he's made for this team! Teddy would make a nice backup. And besides, his injury could go beyond 2017.

[VikingLord]

I don't think theres any decision to be made. Sam can make throws Teddy can't, he has a plus arm. And he looks like he's made for this team! Teddy would make a nice backup. And besides, his injury could go beyond 2017.

Teddy's injury could be career ending to be honest. Not only is the injury itself severe, but how it happened on a non-contact drill is what concerns me. It's one thing if he was getting hit or took a sudden impact to the knee, but to have a knee do what his did on a simple drop back is highly unusual and might indicate he has a more general issue that could impact his ability to play football again.

If we assume that isn't the case and Teddy does come back, then I think it will come down to how well Bradford and the team performs over the course of this year. If the Vikings have a lot of success with Bradford at QB I agree with you that it is unlikely Bridgewater will even get the opportunity to compete for the starting job next year. If Bradford and the team don't have great success and Bridgewater comes back as good as ever, I think he does.