If on 14. Teddy Bridgewater is the biggest wildcard of all available players. The quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings could turn out to be by far the most spectacular steal of the upcoming Free Agent class – but his career could be over soon. What is Bridgewater all about? Where would it fit? SPOX scrutinizes the once promising youngster.
The story that is still told in Cincinnati today goes like this: In the draft of 1969, Bengal coach Paul Brown was able to catch Greg Cook in the first round quarterback. The combination with Offensive Coordinator Bill Walsh was more than promising, Cook was considered the most physically talented quarterback of his time – for some he still holds this status today. He was to lead the Bengals to new heights and, together with Walsh’s genius and Brown’s innovations, become one of the best quarterbacks of all time.
“He was great. A great arm, athletic. A Gunslinger, but accurate. He could place the ball perfectly anywhere. An incredibly good player,”enthused his college coach Homer Rice later on. In his rookie season, Cook recorded an outrageous 9.41 yards per pass attempt, when extensive downfield passing schemes weren’t the fashion. By comparison, Brady was 7.9 yards per pass in 2017, Roethlisberger 7.6 yards and Brees 8.1. Matt Ryan had 9.3 yards per pass in the spectacular 2016 season.
It is all the more impressive that he suffered a severe shoulder injury during his sensational season. Already on the third matchday Kansas Citys had caught Jim Lynch Cook so unhappy that he had to cancel the game for four games. And worse still, because medicine simply wasn’t that far advanced, Cook’s tear of the rotator cuff in the shoulder was not properly diagnosed, let alone properly treated.
“I received injections of cortisone and then played with pain,” the former prodigy told Sports Illustrated long after that time. I felt obliged to finish the season after having had such a good start to the season. I didn’t want to give that up.”
However, it soon became clear that Cook’s career would end prematurely and the impact of this injury is still palpable today: Because the Bengals had to re-arrange themselves at the quarterback position and a second Greg Cook was not available, Braun and Walsh went in a different direction.
Ken Anderson’s strengths were in rhythm and timing passing. Greg Cook was the most talented player we’ve ever had,”said Bengal owner and team president Mike Brown some time ago.” But after his injury, he could never play like this again.”
Where this little anecdote ends, that’s where the story of setting the course for another quarterback begins. Teddy Bridgewater is not a Greg Cook, he’s not an exceptional generation talent. But he was well on his way to becoming a very good NFL quarterback and the question that many teams are now asking himself is: can Bridgewater, after his serious injury, find his way back to his former level and continue his former development?
Or will Bridgewater sooner rather ask himself the question, what could have been, than to ask what will be?
Bridgewater is only 25 years old, he will be 26 in the middle of the coming season. Teams take a lot of risks for franchise quarterbacks, the enormous need for at least a competent and reliable quarterback drives up the costs. This could be observed with Jimmy Garoppolo and Kirk Cousins will probably go beyond this scope again, while it would hardly surprise if there are expensive trades for quarterbacks in the draft again.
This position is too important, the replenishment is too low. This combination makes Bridgewater the ultimate wildcard in front of the upcoming Free Agency. Immediately before the start of the 2016 season, he was seriously injured at the knee, dislocated his kneecap and tore the cruciate ligament and other ligaments, but was able to work his way back and made his comeback last season. Bridgewater trained with the team and was even allowed to celebrate a short return to the course.
“There were 24 similar injuries overall in sport. In half of these cases, the player never came back, and I don’t think anyone made their comeback in less than 24 months,”said coach Mike Zimmer after the end of last season.
Bridgewater’s ability to “train and even participate in a game speaks for him. I think he’s all right. He’s reached the point where he can play. Now it’s time to find out where he stands in sporting terms, because of course we could hardly judge him in game situations.”
Ultimately, no one knows which version of Bridgewater could be on the pitch in 2018 in terms of health and sport. What kind of quarterback was Bridgewater, what made his game before the injury? And how realistic is it that he reaches this level again?
To answer these questions, it is advisable to first look at the framework conditions. In Bridgewater’s 2014 rookie season, Minnesota’s offense was marked by a below-average receiving corps, a shaky offensive line and the suspension of Adrian Peterson.
Bridgewater nevertheless showed good approaches, especially with regard to the nuances and the intellectual part of the quarterback game: He was able to make more complex moves early on, analyzing defenses before and after the snap and showed very good pocket behaviour as well as good movement within the pocket against the pass rush. All these are elementary pillars for a quarterback, Bridgewater showed them impressively early and in a far from ideal situation.
The situation became even more difficult in 2015.
Offensive Coordinator Norv Turner built his offense in Bridgewater’s second season around Peterson instead of the quarterback. This made Minnesota one-dimensional and predictable in many respects: Peterson himself is one of the best runners of the last 20 years – but he is only of limited use as a receiver and in passport protection. In addition, it has to run almost from under-center formations to be effective, which limited Minnesota’s passing game and thus Bridgewater schematically.
According to football outsiders, Minnesota used the Shotgun formation in the 2015 season in only 45 percent of cases, which is not only the 29th place in the league. It was also a step backwards of more than 20 percent compared to the company’s own 2014 brand (66 percent). Constellations with three or more receivers also fell drastically in the Vikes from 2014 (59 percent) to 2015 (48 percent).
At first glance, one might think that Peterson’s presence should have relieved Bridgewater and opened doors for him – but tape and statistics speak a different language. As a result of the increase in under-centre line-ups and the decline in spread formations, Bridgewater’s passing game was more restricted and difficult, while he had a poorer overview of the defense before and after the snap than he had of Shotgun formations.
In addition, there were the deep dropbacks that Turner demanded from his young quarterback despite the fragile line and despite Bridgewater’s strengths (precision, timing, dissection of the defense before and after the snap) on the one hand, and his weaknesses (primarily the deep-passing game) on the other. He collected his bags after an average of 3.75 seconds, Pro Football Focus loaded only eight of the 46 bags Bridgewater himself.
And what does that mean? All this gives a promising picture of Bridgewater’s future. Assuming that his knee is functional, there is a real chance of a positive comeback. Bridgewater plays a lot with his head and subtle movements, he doesn’t live from his athleticism or daring behaviour inside and outside his pocket.
Rather, it is the ideal quarterback for the modern NFL Offense, if you build on the facilities he has already shown. Bridgewater’s understanding of the game and his quick grasp of the game are perfect for short and medium-length passes in combination with run pass options and versatile, complex passing schemes.
Bridgewater seemed to be well on his way to the next step and every NFL coach and NFL-GM will now be wondering if he can come back to it. One thing is clear: Whoever gets Bridgewater gets a leader like many coaches want. The 25-year-old is certainly not the loudest guy, but internally he enjoys a tremendous standing with his fellow players.
He is the kind of player who takes care of his fellow players internally and can put his own ego behind him in order to serve the team. He described himself as a “humble servant” via social media after the end of last season.
His own surprising conclusion for 2017, which Bridgewater drew at ESPN, fits in with this:”It was probably my favourite season by far, even though I couldn’t play much. This season has challenged my attitude, because while on the one hand I really wanted to play and be on the field with the boys, I had to accept a different role. I had to be mentally there for the boys, and I took on that role. That wasn’t easy, but there’s no way I’d trade for anything this year.”
While half the league looks to Kirk Cousins in the coming weeks, who as a franchise quarterback on the market himself is the kind of free agent that doesn’t actually exist in the NFL, Bridgewater could look back at the big steal of this free agency. He will have to settle for a short contract, presumably strongly influenced by bonus payments. The Vikings themselves are a hot candidate on Bridgewater, Zimmer is a big proponent – but Minnesota is also in the race for cousins.
What alternatives could make sense for Bridgewater? There are the Arizona Cardinals, who could change their offense completely and adapt it schematically to Bridgewater. With Larry Fitzgerald and David Johnson, there would be two pillars around him, and the offensive line would regain several regulars after injury.
A team like Denver is also conceivable, the Bills could also be on Bridgewater’s doorstep if they find a buyer for Tyrod Taylor – Bridgewater fits in perfectly with the offense Buffalo is accused of playing. It seems clear that Bridgewater wants at least a real chance to play in 2018. It is unlikely to be a clearly defined backup item.
He doesn’t let himself get upset by all this:”I’ll just focus on becoming a better player, tackling the off-season with the goal of getting stronger and doing everything in my power to show that I’m ready when the time comes. The best aspect of it: My dream lives on – my dream that I can play football next year. I’m going to play football next year.”