Teddy Bridgewater Not Caught up in the Hype
Dec 28, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) throws in the first quarter against the Chicago Bears at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, the Minnesota Vikings’ 2014 No. 32 overall seems like a real franchise quarterback. He had a solid rookie season but that’s not it because Robert Griffin III had a better rookie season. It’s Bridgewater’s demeanor after a solid rookie season that separates him from R.G. III.
R.G. III started to get a little full of himself and thought the NFL was going to be easy for him after year one. Everyone had big expectations for R.G. III going into year two but his play fell off. He seemed to get too caught up in the hype that surrounded him after his phenomenal rookie season.
Bridgwater, on the other hand, didn’t have a phenomenal rookie season but it was solid. So solid that the NFL world has big expectations for him with running back Adrian Peterson coming back. They’ve added deep threat Mike Wallace to go along with him and the defense is plenty talented enough to shut teams down.
This has the NFL a good portion of the world to making the Vikings a trendy offseason pick to make the playoffs in 2015. And unlike R.G. III a couple of years ago, it doesn’t seem to have gotten to Bridgewater. Of course, he is optimistic about the Vikings’ chances but refuses to drink the Kool-Aid being passed around about his team.
He told USA Today’s Tom Pelissero, “Right now, we’re not as good as we think. We know that the ceiling is very high and the expectation level is very high — not only for the players, but from a coaching staff also. We know what’s being asked of us, but we have a long way to go.”
Now that’s the sign of a young quarterback that’s mature enough to handle the position he’s in.
Bridgewater is the polar opposite of R.G. III.