Teddy Bridgewater
- QB
- ,
- 32
- 212 lbs
- 6' 2"
- Louisville
- N/A
- Week 13 Projection
- Dfs Projection
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The Minnesota Vikings began Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers with the goal of getting Teddy Bridgewater in a rhythm early, and they succeded. Bridgewater hit his first five throws of the day, all on short passes or a screen that Charles Johnson took for 24 yards, and finished the day throwing 15 of his 21 passes less than 10 yards, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Bridgewater
But the Vikings want to build an offense that can stretch the field, and it was on the two downfield throws Bridgewater made that coach Mike Zimmer saw progress. He put a 45-yard throw just beyond Johnson's reach in the third quarter -- on a play where Johnson wanted interference on Panthers cornerback Josh Norman and Zimmer said he "thought we could have went up and got after a little bit better" -- and came back four plays later with a 35-yard strike to Jarius Wright on third-and-3.
On both plays, Bridgewater passed up shorter options to take shots downfield when his read of the Panthers' coverage told him he could do so. That, Zimmer said, was a sign of maturity.
"It's third-and-[3] and he's throwing the ball 40 yards down the field and puts the ball on [the] money," Zimmer said. "He got the right look. There were a couple times he had the right look defensively and went to the right place even though it wasn't the safest throw. Those kinds of things are the things I'm talking about when I see his progression and he's always getting better."
The story went on to say that Bridgewater has talked about his need to play faster on several occasions this year, and as he said on Sunday, that has more to do with making quicker decisions than it does with the speed of his release. When Bridgewater is able to trust what he's seeing before the snap and know where to go with his first read, he's more confident in his ability to find his receivers downfield. It also doesn't help that WR Cordarrelle Patterson didn't see a lot of playing time, which took away that guy who was supposed to be their biggest threat. The Vikings will have a lot of work to do on the offense before 2015, and the hope is Bridgewater starts to show up on the QB2 fantasy radar by then.
Vikings beat writer Ben Goessling answered a question about the Vikings WRs:
I wouldn't say Charles Johnson separated himself from the group. But the fact that this is even an open question tells you how little has gone according to plan for the Vikings' passing game. It's difficult to separate the performance of the Vikings' receivers from the play of a rookie quarterback and the poor job the Vikings' offensive line has done protecting Teddy Bridgewater, but when they invested $18 million guaranteed in Greg Jennings and gave up three picks to get Cordarrelle Patterson in 2013, they should be getting more than they are.
Jennings is a prime candidate for a contract restructuring after this season; he's scheduled to count $11 million against the cap in 2015, when he will turn 32, and has no guaranteed cash left in his deal. With 40 catches through 11 games, it's doubtful he'll play at that cap figure next year.
The story makes a great point about how Charles Johnson being the team's best receiver shouldn't be a topic, but the team hasn't got much of anything from Patterson - as fantasy owners know first hand. HC Mike Zimmer said last week it may even take a while for Patterson to get it. He's struggled with running patterns throughout his career. Either way, Viking WRs will make for risky fantasy plays.
Slow starts offensively are becoming an issue for the Carolina Panthers and quarterback Cam Newton.
During a five-game losing streak the Panthers (3-7-1) have scored only 26 points combined in the first three quarters, an average of 5.2 points per game.
They had only three points through the first three quarters of Sunday’s 19-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, who came into the game with the worst rated pass defense in the NFL. The Panthers scored a combined 48 points in the fourth quarter, including 28 the past two weeks against Philadelphia and Atlanta.
Newton hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in the first three quarters since a 3-yarder to Kelvin Benjamin six games ago in a 37-37 tie at Cincinnati.
The story goes on to say over the last five games, Newton has no touchdowns and five interceptions in the first half. In the second half, he has five touchdowns (all in the fourth quarter) to three interceptions. Newton’s passer rating this season is 80.3, worse than every quarterback except Oakland rookie Derek Carr (76.0), Minnesota rookie Teddy Bridgewater (75.0), Jacksonville rookie Blake Bortles (72.2) and New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith (65.6). With a bye in Week 12, the hope for Newton owners is he can heal and come back strong for the final stretch of the fantasy season. But owners are likely finding it tough to trust him and may have already moved on.
Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph "practiced a little bit" on Monday as the team returned from its bye week, coach Mike Zimmer said, and the team remains hopeful Rudolph will be able to return from a six-game absence on Sunday in Chicago.
Rudolph hasn't played since sustaining a sports hernia on Sept. 21 in New Orleans, and was originally projected to be out for six weeks, meaning a return against the Bears, after the Vikings' bye week, always seemed like a plausible option. Rudolph said last week a return for the Bears game "has been my goal the whole time," though he added he wouldn't run the risk of a setback by trying to return too quickly.
Still, it seems the Vikings could be on track to get one of their key receiving options back this weekend.
"He ran routes, and did a little bit, more than individual stuff," Zimmer said. "We'll see as the week goes on."
One has to figure Rudolph is eased back into it at least this week. The story went on to say that TE Chase Ford developed into a solid receiving option in Rudolph's absence, and the team has effectively used two-tight end sets as their base offense. The return of Rudolph -- who was slated to play a key role in both the Vikings' passing offense and their run-blocking scheme -- could be a significant addition to their offense and QB Teddy Bridgewater.
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