The pressure is on Teddy Bridgewater as he enters his second season with the Minnesota Vikings. After showing a lot of promise in his rookie year, the Vikings have made a lot of improvements to make sure the momentum continues to trend upwards for the quarterback. As offensive coordinator Norv Turner praises the improvement and potential of Bridgewater, Adrian Peterson could be the biggest reason why Minnesota and the quarterback are successful in 2015.
In a recent ESPN poll with compiled input from coaches and executives, Bridgewater was only ranked No.23 among the NFL's quarterbacks. Turner simply laughed at the idea. He told the media that Bridgewater has all of the tools to be elite in this league and he remained very confident that would come true his season.
"The one evaluation we care about is ours," Turner said, via MFL Media's James Palmer. "And based on where we got to last year and where we think we're going, I think we have a top flight quarterback."
While Bridgewater might rank low in terms of skill sets, his position players are what will make him successful. The Vikings won the offseason by getting Peterson back on the roster following an NFL suspension and contract battle. The running back is immediately set back into the starting role as Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata are now left batting for time on the field. They might be seeing a lot less playing time than they believe as Peterson is aiming to get the rushing record this year.
"I always keep the mark at twenty-five (2,500), so if I get close to that, that's not bad," Peterson said, via the Vikings' official site. "I want to try to set the ball higher than that. I want to make it the 2,500 club. ... It's definitely out there. I feel like it's definitely attainable."
Peterson is not the only upgrade the Vikings got. Mike Wallace joins the wide receiver rotation and according to the Pioneer Press will occupy a starting spot alongside Charles Johnson and potentially Jarius Wright. That leaves Cordarrelle Patterson on the outside looking in during a crucial year. The Vikings have made it clear the wide receiver needs to make a big jump this season if he intends on returning the year after. If Patterson cannot rebound from two quiet seasons, the Vikings could make adjustments moving forward. Turner has denied that Patterson is on the hot seat this year, but nothing is guaranteed next offseason.
