It is officially Teddy Bridgewater time in Minnesota. The Vikings have lost starter Matt Cassel for the season following a foot injury suffered in Week 3 and now the rookie takes over as the full-time starter after sitting on the bench for the first three weeks. This was certainly not how Minnesota saw their season going, originally intending to sit Bridgewater for the year. However, the way recent events have unfolded, things cannot get worse. Bridgewater admits that despite injuries to the offense, he has full confidence in his abilities as a quarterback.
Prior to the season starting, head coach Mike Zimmer told the media that Cassel was the team's starter and there was not quick hook to get Bridgewater on the field. The Vikings wanted another Christian Ponder situation and had no intentions of rushing the rookie along, but injuries happen and now Bridgewater is the starter. He stepped in during Week 3, completing 12 of 20 passes for 150 yards while rushing the six times for 27 yards. He is confident in improving those numbers.
"It's no pressure on me and it's not all about me,'' Bridgewater said, via ESPN.com. "It takes a team effort to win football games and we have 11 guys on defense who are going to play their tails off. We have 11 guys on special teams and 10 other guys on the offensive side of the ball that are going to be out there competing for one another. There's no pressure for me to have to fill the needs or anything. ... It's just all about the team.''
The issue for Bridgewater is the amount of injuries the team has on offense at the moment. First, they are missing their No. 1 guy, Adrian Peterson. Following an arrest on child abuse chargers, the running back is likely done in Minnesota for at least the season, but maybe more. Not having Peterson in the backfield is certainly no ideal when putting in a rookie quarterback. Matt Asiata is now tasked with providing stability for the quarterback.
Kyle Rudolph is also out, meaning Bridgewater is already down a top offensive target. The tight end suffered a sports hernia and now may need surgery to repair the injury. The Vikings are expecting him to be out for at least six weeks. This puts a great deal of pressure on players like Cordarrelle Patterson and Greg Jennings to step up in relief. Jarius Wright could also be a player to keep an eye on as he grows into a reliable threat in his third year with the team.
