Teddy Bridgewater Debut Review

I normally try to be diverse in covering the NFL. I am aware that the majority of my friends on Facebook are Vikings fans, and the Vikings are the one team I watch week in and week out, never missing a play. But I try to keep an even perspective when looking at the league, try to explore each and every team as equally as possible.

This week, I don’t give a damn. This week is about Teddy Bridgewater, and anyone who says differently can go to hell. Oftentimes it seems like being a football fan brings more pain than joy, but weeks like this are what keep me going. Nothing else that happened in football this weekend could bring me down. Right now all I can think about is Teddy Bridgewater, so damn it, I’m going to write about Teddy Bridgewater.

The statistics from the game speak for themselves. 19 of 30 for 317 yards. No touchdowns and no interceptions, but he added a rushing touchdown as part of his 5 carries for 27 yards. (Yes, I did rattle of those numbers without having to look them up.) He played a clean, efficient game, and he was the number one reason the Vikings managed to pull off the upset against Atlanta. The stats support all of this, but there was a lot more of interest to see watching the game than just the numbers could say. Bridgewater’s arrival was like a breath of fresh air, both as a player and as a part in an innovative offensive scheme.

Let’s start with the scheme. When Norv Turner was hired, most people assumed we knew what the Vikings were getting. Turner comes from the Don Coryell school of offense, emphasizing deep passes to stretch the defense the length of the field. This was the scheme he ran with Troy Aikmen in Dallas, with Philip Rivers in San Diego, and with Josh Gordan in Cleveland. There were reasons to be concerned with how he would fit in Minnesota. The Vikings lack a true deep threat at wide receiver (especially since the release of Jerome Simpson) and their planned quarterback of the future fell deep in the draft partially due to his struggles throwing the ball downfield. I admit that I was a bit nervous we would be stuck watching Teddy Bridgewater spend all game heaving the ball downfield to Cordarrelle Patterson and Greg Jennings, growing increasingly frustrated as the offense stalled again and again. This was not what I saw, not at all. The offense the Vikings ran yesterday bore little to no resemblance to the offenses Turner has run in the past. It bore little to no resemblance to the offense the Vikings ran a week ago. It was innovative, it was creative, and most importantly, it was successful.

The Vikings started the game with two called screen passes, picking up only three yards. On third down the Falcons showed blitz prior to the snap, causing Bridgewater to audible to another wide receiver screen. It was a perfect call against the defense being shown, and looking at the positioning of the blockers and defenders in the image below, it’s a wonder that Jarius Wright only gained 52 yards.

The Vikings continued with these screen passes throughout the first half, but Atlanta quickly adjusted defensively, bringing their cornerbacks up to play tighter coverage against the receivers. Minnesota didn’t miss a beat, recognizing this adjustment and responding in kind. They began attacking down the field, and their production did not fall off one bit.

All of this was very nice to see, but it wasn’t the most interesting part of the Vikings offense on Sunday. Everything I mentioned above was part of their scheme with Matt Cassel at quarterback (even if they didn’t execute it nearly as well.) What was most intriguing was what they added with the change in quarterback, plays designed to simplify the game for Bridgewater and make him as comfortable as possible. Their offense yesterday was heavily inspired by what Chip Kelly has done at Oregon and in Philadelphia, and with Bridgewater they have a quarterback better suited to run these schemes than Nick Foles.

I’ll get into this more with my Friday post, but the heart and soul of Philadelphia’s scheme are what are known as “packaged plays.” A packaged play is an offshoot of the traditional option, giving the quarterback the opportunity to read the defense as the play is ongoing to decide who he should give the ball to. But unlike the traditional option or the more modern read option, package plays give the quarterback the choice to deliver a quick pass to a receiver in the flats or running up the seams rather than keeping the ball himself.

The vast majority of Bridgewater’s snaps in the game against Atlanta came out of the shotgun, facilitating his ability to run packaged plays. The clip below is a clear example of such a play. Because he is in shotgun, he doesn’t have to turn his back to the line of scrimmage in order to get deep enough to hand the ball off. He is able to keep his eyes downfield the entire play, and he holds onto the ball for as long as possible before letting the running back take it from him. At any moment he could have pulled the ball out and thrown a screen to the left side of the field, but the defenders on that side remained disciplined enough that he decided to hand the ball off for a small gain.

 

Compare that to the next clip. As you can see from the way the offensive linemen fire into the defenders in front of them, this was a called running play from the beginning. But when Bridgewater sees Atlanta’s linebacker remaining in the box rather than running out to cover the flats, he pulls the ball away from the running back and throws it to his wide open tight end for a huge gain. 

 

These packaged plays were not part of the Vikings offense under Matt Cassel. They were not even part of the offense when Bridgewater came in against the Saints following Cassel’s injury. This was something Norv Turner and the rest of the offensive staff decided to add this past week, realizing they have a quarterback with the quick decision making abilities to make this scheme work. Atlanta was not expecting this, and they were clearly thrown off balance by this new wrinkle in Minnesota’s scheme. Defenses in the future will be more ready to defend against these plays, but they will likely still remain a large and successful part of Minnesota’s scheme.

I want to take a moment to discuss another of the Vikings rookies who shined against the Falcons. No one knew what to expect from Jerick McKinnon this season. The transition from Georgia Southern’s triple option scheme to the NFL has to be staggering, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had taken what was essentially a redshirt year. The suspension of Adrian Peterson changed things, forcing him into a larger role with the team. And after his performance this past weekend, it’s hard not to think that he is the best running back on Minnesota’s roster. It didn’t look like he was a huge part of their game plan coming into the game, but he excelled enough as a change of pace back that he received eighteen carries by the end of the game, taking almost every snap as they tried to milk the clock once they had built a lead. He is still probably behind Matt Asiata on the depth chart, but I expect that will last only another couple of weeks. He looked extremely good as a runner, and surprisingly competent as a pass blocker. He is also a perfect fit for the shotgun running scheme the Vikings employed with Bridgewater. He identifies and cuts through holes better than Asiata, and he provides a bigger threat as a receiver out of the backfield. He will be a major part of this offense going forward, and I’m sure Turner can find plenty of creative ways to use one of the most athletic running backs in the NFL.

The scheme the Vikings used was a major part of their success on Sunday, but that doesn’t diminish the excellence of Bridgewater’s performance. He was helped a great deal by the game plan of his coordinator, but he also made plays in a way no Vikings quarterback has since Brett Favre. He ran the ball more often and more effectively than anyone expected, and he was much more effective stretching the field than Cassel or Ponder ever were. From ESPN Stats and Information, in the roughly ten quarters he played this season Cassel went 1-11 on throws 10 or more yards downfield. In the six quarters he’s played, Bridgewater is 8-12 for 163 yards on such throws. There were concerns about his ability to stretch the field out of college, but even though he wasn’t hitting anything deep down the sideline this week, Bridgewater definitely showed that he can take advantage of the opportunities presented all across the field.

As one would expect from a rookie quarterback, there were a few plays in which Bridgewater looked out of his depths. One of his passes likely should have been intercepted, an overthrow across the middle of the field that bounced off Desmond Trufant’s chest. Another pass sailed over the head of a wide open Jarius Wright on what should have been a touchdown pass deep down the left sideline, a slightly troubling result considering the issues he had throwing the deep ball at time in college. We’ll have to keep an eye on this going forward, but right now there is nothing to be concerned about.

I also want to talk about the last drive before the half. The Vikings received the ball on their own fifteen with 1:25 left and two timeouts. At first they appeared interested in trying to run the half out, handing it off twice for small games while Atlanta burned through their timeouts in an attempt to get the ball back. But on third down the Vikings managed to get a first down, leading them to use their first timeout and change their strategy. After that they let Bridgewater attack downfield, and he was spectacular moving them into scoring position. He was composed in the pocket, he didn’t try to force the ball to covered receivers, and he made full use of the entire field, knowing he had all three timeouts available if he needed them. There are probably fewer than ten quarterbacks in the league who could have led this drive, and the fact that Bridgewater managed it in his first start is absolutely stunning.

However, the drive did not end in as promising a manner. The Vikings ended up with second and goal from the 1 yardline with 13 seconds remaining. (This was largely due to a blunder by head coach Mike Zimmer, but that’s not what I’m here to deal with.) With one timeout remaining this should have been plenty of time for two shots to the endzone, but Bridgewater made the mistake of scrambling around and trying to extend the play, eventually throwing a jump ball into the back of the endzone that his tight end couldn’t come down with. The pass itself was highly questionable and could have been intercepted, but more troubling was the time he wasted trying to escape the pocket. Only 5 seconds remained after the incompletion, and the Vikings had no choice but to run the field goal unit onto the field. I am sure the coaching staff will explain his error to him, and I’m sure he will not repeat the mistake in the future. But this was the biggest blemish on his first start, and I have to mention it.

The final thing I want to touch on is Bridgewater’s effectiveness as a runner. Bridgewater is a fairly athletic quarterback, but he isn’t on the same level as players like Cam Newton, Colin Kaepernick, or even Russell Wilson. There still exists a perception that he is a runner (likely due in part to his race) but there is an equally misguided group of people who believe he is a traditional pocket passer, as evidenced by articles like last week’s Breaking Madden (a series you should all read whenever possible.) Bridgewater is a capable runner, but he is better off scrambling on his own terms than as part of a scheme, like Aaron Rodgers or Andrew Luck.

Most of the plays in which he was reading the defense were designed to be an option between handing the ball off and passing it, but based on comments from McKinnon it sounds as if Bridgewater had the option to keep the ball on several occasions. He is much better when he runs as part of a called passing play, when he can get into the open field where he has a better opportunity to slide. Bridgewater is not large for a quarterback, and it would be best for him to avoid contact as a runner as much as possible. The one time he did keep the ball on a read option play was the run in which his injured his ankle. I don’t think the Vikings should tell Bridgewater not to run, but I think they should refrain from calling the sort of designed runs that would involve him carrying the ball into a crowded area.

All in all, Bridgewater’s debut was a tremendous success. He showed great promise as a long term answer for this franchise, and the coaching staff gave every indication that they will put him in the best possible position to succeed. Of course, one good game isn’t nearly enough to guarantee success in the long term. Atlanta’s defense is highly questionable, and their pass rush is nonexistent. We will need to see how he fares going forward, but no one could have asked for a better start to his career.