Vikings' Bradford, Shurmur have a good thing going that breaks offense wide open

[purplefaithful]

With 51 seconds left in the first half Monday night, Sam Bradford set up in the shotgun and stared at eight New Orleans Saints defenders crowding the line of scrimmage. Bradford looked to his right, motioned tight end Kyle Rudolph closer to right tackle Mike Remmers and told slot receiver Adam Thielen to take several steps in toward the line.
The Saints brought six defenders after Bradford, but with Rudolph and running back Dalvin Cook in to block, the Vikings had plenty of protection to give Bradford time. And when Cook's step in front of Bradford froze Saints cornerback P.J. Williams for a split-second, Bradford had a wide-open throwing lane to find Thielen over the middle for what turned into a 44-yard gain.
"When they presented that coverage, and Sam made the check, I knew I was going to have a chance to get open," Thielen said. "They brought full pressure, and it was man-to-man, one-on-one across the board."
The play turned a drive that began with the aim of running out the clock into the Vikings' second touchdown march of the quarter. And it showcased a quarterback in thorough command of an offense that's been calibrated to his strengths.
http://www.startribune.com/vikings-sam-b...444319163/

[Guest]

Bradford said the occasions where he completely changes a play at the line of scrimmage, though, are "very rare.
"Honestly, you hope that you call the right play," he said. "And that's why you watch film, and that's why you prepare and why we game plan, hoping that what we're calling is going to work. The goal is not to get up there and change every play. That's going to slow you down. The goal is to only do that when you need to."
The flexibility Bradford is afforded, though, stands in some contrast with the Vikings' recent past, when former offensive coordinator Norv Turner often kept a tighter rein on his play calls at the line of scrimmage.
After Dwight Freeney's strip sack of Teddy Bridgewater on a slow-developing play sealed a 23-20 Cardinals win over the Vikings in Dec. 2015, Bridgewater said he did not have the option to check out of Turner's play call. When asked about Bridgewater's comments a couple of days later, Turner retorted, "It's a good play. There's no reason to check out of it."
Even route adjustments and protection changes like the ones Bradford made Monday night, though, can help the Vikings be more productive. They provided a springboard for the offense in the first win of the season.