Lars wrote:I always respect your opinion Jim. You pay a lot of attention to this team. All I can say is: in the end, Ponder was a bust. He had a pretty good year in 2012. He had 18 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. Not great, but OK. But it's like he lost his confidence in 2013 and 2014. I don't know why... Maybe it was the pressure of producing at QB on a consistent basis in the NFL. In comparison Bridgewater has only 6 TD passes and has given up 6 interceptions this year. And I can understand that's very concerning to you -- and why it might be very concerning to him . But Teddy doesn't seem to have the confidence issues Ponder had after having one season under his belt (at least to this point) and that is what I'm getting at. And he wins. He's confident and comfortable even though he did not have the advantage of holding a clip board for Brett Favre for 3 years before becoming a starting QB like Aaron Rodgers.
Thanks for clarifying what you meant, Lars. I agree that Bridgewater plays with more confidence than Ponder (at least 2013-2014 Ponder). I was just disagreeing with the notion that Ponder lacked moxie.
Bridgewater is not producing like Derick Carr -- but the Viking offense is not built the same way as, for example, Oakland's offense is built. Oakland throws the ball and average of 10 more times a game than the Vikes and runs the ball 7 less times a game. The Vikings are 6th in the league in rushing attempts. Oakland is 30th. So Carr has more opportunities to shine in a pass orientated offense. That not taking anything away from him -- but it shouldn't take anything away from Bridgewater either. The Viking offense is built around the run. For better or worse, this is Adrian Peterson's team. And the Vikings have been winning more or less because of their good defense and special teams play. Bridgewater is playing well within the Vikings offensive system and that is what Zimmer is asking him to do. That's about all we can ask at this point, IMHO.
I respectfully disagree. The Vikings current offense may reduce passing attempts a little but it's not designed to limit pass
production. I don't think Bridgewater is playing particularly well within the system. He's missing opportunities to hit open receivers. The team is struggling to finish drives when they get into scoring position (Walsh has attempted 21 FGs already this year and the offense has scored 14 TDs, one of the lowest totals in the league). They have about a 50/50 run/pass ratio on the year so the offense isn't so run heavy that there's not more opportunity for production out of the passing game. 6 TDs and 1500 yards in 8 weeks is simply too low, especially when accompanied by an equal number of INTs. That's passing production at the level of the "old Brad Johnson/Tarvaris Jackson" offenses under Brad Childress. I'm not saying Bridgewater is solely responsible for that low production but as QB, he plays a big role in it.
Carr has more opportunities to shine but he's also making the most of those opportunities, finding and hitting open receivers downfield, etc. I think it's reasonable to ask for and expect more than the Vikes are getting from their current QB. He's playing at a level that Vikings fans have repeatedly made clear they found unacceptable over the past decade. Why should it be considered otherwise now?
It might all fall apart in the next 8 games for the Vikings and for Bridgewater. Actually I think people in the know are expecting them to. The schedule is definitely tougher on paper. But that's why they play the games. So far, it's been a fun season.
It has been fun and hopefully, it won't fall apart. I think one of the ways to prevent that is to get more out of the passing game and that starts with Bridgewater. He has to step up and make more plays. Peterson's drawing the attention they wanted him to draw and that's helping to create opportunities. If Bridgewater can't start taking advantage of those more often, the Vikings will have yet another bust at QB.
