Quote of the Week: Teddy Bridgewater CAN Throw the Deep Ball

The rhetoric around quarterbacks, especially young quarterbacks, is that they need to make every “NFL throw.” From the 10-yard out to the end zone fade, a quarterback in today’s league has to be able to “thread the needle” and hit their target with near-perfect accuracy. Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater understands this — he’s aiming to complete more than 70 percent of his passes this season.

If Saturday’s preseason game against the Cowboys was any indication, Bridgewater is well on his way to exceeding his lofty goal. He was 7-of-7 passing for 76 yards, and despite his “struggles” throwing deep, connected with Mike Wallace for a beautiful 39-yard reception down the right sideline. It was the duo’s first “wow” play of the preseason, and an overdue step in the right direction for the Vikings’ deep threat receiver.

For Bridgewater, it was a proverbial “hush” to those who doubted his ability to throw the ball deep. And for head coach Mike Zimmer, it was just one of Bridgewater’s impressive plays from the night:

[quote_box_center]“It was a great throw,” Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer said. “It’s important for us, I know everybody wants to see Wallace get a bunch of deep throws and so do I, but it’s important for us to go through our progressions and make the reads, make the correct throws. That’s why his completion percentage was 100 percent, because he continues to do those things. It’s not always about throwing the ball to one guy. It’s about making the reads, making the correct throws and taking a 4-yard gain as opposed to throwing incompletions.”[/quote_box_center]

Think about it — Bridgewater completed ALL of his passes against a 2014 playoff team. Granted, it’s only the preseason, but Bridgewater wasn’t lining up against backups or practice squad players. According to Zimmer, the Cowboys showed his second-year quarterback “a bunch of different looks and pressures” and tried to make pre-snap reads and audibles difficult for Bridgewater.

That plan, while smart, failed. On the streak to Wallace, Bridgewater broke the huddle ready to hand the ball to McKinnon. However, he noticed the Cowboys had loaded the box with two A-Gap blitzers, and checked to a passing play. Without safety help, Bridgewater knew Wallace would be covered one-on-one by Brandon Carr; a matchup the Vikings expect Wallace to win 10 times out of 10.

Bridgewater stood in the pocket and heaved the ball down the sideline, fully aware he’d take a hit from a free-rushing blitzer. It was the perfect audible, the perfect throw, and the perfect play to show off some of Bridgewater’s superior talents, including his command of Norv Turner’s offense and his accuracy at any point on the field.

Below, a look at one of Bridgewater’s smarter, if more-conservative decisions from Saturday night’s win:

While I agree that Bridgewater could’ve hit Wright over the linebacker’s head, I like his decisiveness in taking the shorter throw to Wallace. Right before Bridgewater releases the football, he pump fakes, creating a cushion between Wallace and the cornerback that allows for the 7-yard completion. It’s a savvy veteran move, and a play that shows just how comfortable Bridgewater is operating within the offense.

After Saturday night, Bridgewater is 29-of-35 passing (82.9 percent completion rate) for 295 yards with a passer rating of 111.3 in the Vikings’ four preseason games. His exhibition appearances are likely over, but Bridgewater’s play thus far is exactly what fans and the organization were hoping for after his five-game stretch to end the year in 2014.