NFL: Teddy Bridgewater at the Jets: First impressions count

For Teddy Bridgewater, the New York Jets adventure is a second chance. The quarterback signed a one-year contract with the Free Agency and wants to attack again after his protracted knee injury. According to the first reports from the Jets-OTAs, he is said to have made a surprisingly positive impression. What are his prospects?

With the start of this year’s Free-Agency, Teddy Bridgewater ended an annoying chapter. It was the first of his NFL career. It was one that implied what Bridgewater was capable of doing and one that showed that his body may not be designed for NFL stress.

Bridgewater got a final goosebumps moment in Minnesota when he came back for a series against Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15, but the return was tantamount to saying goodbye to the always positive fan community of the Vikings. She, who had always believed in the return of the predestined franchise quarterback, said goodbye and wishes him all the best for his new chapter.

This new chapter brings Bridgewater to New York. To where stars and starlets reside. There, where once the “first superstar” of the modern NFL stepped on the field. That’s where people have been longing for Constance in quarterback position for years. At this location, Bridgewater, who has suffered such a serious knee injury, is to get his second chance, but will initially prevail in a three-way fight for the position of Under Center.

The jets provided Bridgewater with a one-year contract for a base salary of $5 million and a signing bonus of $500,000. The amount of money he’s got on the dead money books. A contract comoder for the franchise, which gives them the possibility to dismiss the quarterback in case of an unsuccessful comeback attempt to favorable conditions, to trade him or the chance leaves open that Teddy becomes the absolute Steal Deal with success.

“The team is moving in the right direction and consists of a great coaching staff and some guys who are determined to prove themselves in the league,” Bridgewater described the new environment. “As a guy with the same attitude, I think this is the best place for me to continue my career.”

Bridgewater faces competition from 39-year-old Josh McCown and the third pick of this year’s drag, Sam Darnold, 19 years younger. If coach Todd Bowles is convinced of one of these two options as a starter, Bridgewaters Stint could be over on the Hudson River before the start of the regular season. But it is also clear that the alternative Bridgewater offers the jets something that the other two don’t have.

McCown surprised with a good and constant game in the past season and brought a calm to the quarterbacks room, which the jets had been missing for a long time. However, in his 15-year career he has never started in all 16 games of a season and offers virtually no upside. If the veteran gets under pressure, he already had problems last year in terms of accuracy. Gang Green’s O-Line had the seventh-lowest pass blocking efficiency in the league after Pro Football Focus 2017 and remains a construction site after the commitments of Spencer Long and Travis Swanson.

Darnold, on the other hand, would have to pull off outstanding performances in the preseason for the jets to throw him hastily into NFL territory. A rather unlikely scenario. In principle, the franchise is well advised to keep its first-round pick as long as possible. But if the season is unhappy right from the start and Coach Bowles comes under strong media pressure and pressure, he wouldn’t be the first coach who would probably throw an immature quarterback into the ring for personal reasons.

Bridgewater, on the other hand, is the middle way for the jets. That’s what former jet quarterback Chad Pennington thinks.

“For the time being, I think McCown has been of enormous importance in getting stability on the quarterback position last season,” he told the Jets-website: “Then they got Bridgewater and at the same time the luxury of not having to throw Darnold in the cold water too soon. I think the jets are in a great situation to evaluate which quarterback can give the team the best production for the moment.”

A fitter Bridgewater, who can build on his performance before the serious knee injury that put a big spanner in the works during the 2016 Training Camp, could even lead the jets back to the promised country. He did this in his second campaign with the Vikings when the franchise unexpectedly entered the playoffs after an 11-5 season. And the squad at the time still looked very different from the current one.

Players like Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen were far from their performances in the past season. The offensive line played for hair pulling and Adrian Peterson offered the only relief in the run-first offense. Bridgewater nevertheless threw a league-wide best score of 79.3 per cent Adjusted Completions and the fifth-best Adjusted Completion Percentage against Pressure after Pro Football Focus.

A high Adjusted Completion Percentage is often synonymous with a rather conservative playing style. This is also the case at Bridgewater. More than half of the passing yards in his entire career came about after the catch. In his last complete season in 2015, only 45.2 percent of his passing yards were in the air in front of a reception.

The jets enter the new season with a wider offense. In addition to last season’s options, Jermaine Kearse, Robby Anderson and Bilal Powell, further reinforcements have been signed with Isaiah Crowell, Thomas Rawls, Terrelle Pryor Sr. and Clive Walford. The return of Quincy Enuwma is also expected.

However, the philosophy of jets-openness does not necessarily correspond to the style of play Bridgewater practiced during the Vikings era. Only 1,589 yards were recorded by the men in green in the past season after the catch, making it the eighth-lowest value in the league. McCown’s passing yards were 57.2 percent ahead of the catch. A significantly higher figure than 2015 at Bridgewater.

Now it is up to the newcomer to prove himself through the OTAs, to adapt his game to the jet philosophy or to give the coaching staff enough reasons to build up the offense more around his abilities. And lo and behold: Apparently the first impression was positive, because according to media reports it was absolutely convincing in the first week.

The New York Daily reported that Bridgewater showed the best performance of all three quarterbacks on day one. ESPN wrote that he played well all week and that his style could prevail in the quarterback mix of the jets. NFL insider Tom Pelissero also said he heard from Bridgewater’s teammate that the arm looked even stronger than before the injury.

No matter how Bridgewater performs. He knows that he is not the chosen one of his new franchises. Sooner or later, Darnold will take over the reins. He knows that he could not even play for this team after August. Strong performance in the OTAs logically increases its trade value. And he knows that his body could rip him out of his comeback attempt at any time.

“If I learned anything from my injury, it was that I am human,” Bridgewater last revealed. “As crazy as it sounds, I’ve always tried to convince myself that the injury couldn’t hold me back. But I have found out that I am human. The plan you make for yourself is not always like the plan that God holds ready for you. You find out who you really are.”

Ex coach Mike Zimmer also made it clear after the end of last season: “Altogether there were 24 comparable injuries in sport. “Only in half the cases did the player come back and I don’t believe anyone within 24 months.”

Bridgewater’s repaired knee is not tested under competitive conditions before the first preseason game. If it does, then it is undoubtedly an incredibly interesting option for New York.

Quarterbacks are the most valuable commodity in the NFL. Teddy is currently the ultimate wildcard. For a franchise that has been looking for quality in the quarterback position for years, the potential payout for the risk invested is enormous.

In the best scenario, Bridgewater becomes a well-producing starter in New York, while Darnold is prepared in the background for his era. The jets would then have two valuable options in the most important position in football.

For Teddy, the career can take a happy ending after all. And what better place to do that than New York?