Bridgewater: 'This season has been a test of my character'

@"purplefaithful" said:

@"Geoff Nichols" said:

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"Geoff Nichols" said: From the Vikings side, now isn't the time to commit to any of the QB's and give them any indication. From the players side you want to be the starter and don't suggest you'd take a hometown discount. Not to say its scripted, but this happens every year everywhere at the end of the season. 

its a stare down, until something happens to set the game in motion.   You really think they will wait and see what happens at the start of FA with guys like brees and smith? ( i really dont think a lot of cousins so I will leave him out here... knowing full and well that he will likely end up being our #1 next september)

I think they will try to drag it out until they at least know what else is going to be available. Of course they'll have the intel and know before players hit the actual market. But the transition tag does have one major benefit for the Vikings. If they slap Case with the transition tag and he wants to shop the market for a longer term deal the Vikings could continue to look at other options and rescind the transition tag if they find another option.

Wow, that's great for us fans and franchises...Could suck for the players though. 

@"Clanzomaelan" said:

@"JimmyinSD" said: I am so conflicted on what direction I would like to see the team take.

I am absolutely in the same boat as you. Sam's arm with a solid line in front of him is amazing to watch. Teddy's knee scares the crap out of me. Case is like Favre's brain minus the cannon for an arm. Where to go from here?

Lets just go get Brees and win a damn Super Bowl...

Smith has been coached by know it all idiots who love to throw bombs on 4th and inches and rely too much on gadget plays, Jor-El.

He's a savvy winner with several years left in the tank and absolutely the best fit IMO. I do like Couains but think he's looking for the Home Run contract and will probably get it somewhere.

As for the trade cost for Smith, shouldn't be much. Reid wants his shiny new toy to start next year and every team knows it. That will drive the price down significantly.

But I totally agree with your premise. Rick can say all 3 QBs had minuses to counterbalance their plusses so it made more sense to look externally.

If I were GM I'd make noise about targeting Brees and Cousins and offer both good deals you know they will reject. Then grab Smith while telling the fans you did everything you could to land one of the two big fish. But hey, that's just me.

@"PSBLAKE" said: You know we may just end up with Bradford as the starter next year if he comes at a decent salary.

I think it’s hard to make a fair decision on this without
knowing the price they would be expecting and without seeing Bridgewater or
Bradford in practice.  I really believe
they are all fairly equivalent at this point if you trust their knees, and I don’t want to give any of
them a long contract.  I think price
weighs a lot into my thinking.  If one of
them can be had for $10M cheaper than the others, that’s $10M available to
spend on an OLinemen or a 3T if they’re available.

@"Jor-El" said:

@"Clanzomaelan" said:

@"JimmyinSD" said: I am so conflicted on what direction I would like to see the team take.

I am absolutely in the same boat as you. Sam's arm with a solid line in front of him is amazing to watch. Teddy's knee scares the crap out of me. Case is like Favre's brain minus the cannon for an arm. Where to go from here?

I disagree about "Favre's brain" - I think Keenum makes a lot of throws that are not smart, and he got lucky this year about many of them. Favre was no genius but he knew he had the arm to make tough throws. Keenum thinks he can do things his body isn't able to do.

I really think we may see a surprise move - Spielman likes to make a splash. Right now, he has 3 QBs and is probably afraid of picking the wrong one. (I think he is still susceptible to criticism over the Bradford trade.) Bring in someone else entirely and he can let all 3, or 2 of them, walk and say this new QB option trumped all of those. If the price is right, I think he would trade for Alex Smith. Mobile, smart, and very few turnovers, so he fits Zimmer's desires. OTOH, Zimmer might be getting nervous about developing a bad playoff record, and Smith has not been a postseason winner.

IMO Teddy (depending on what they saw in practice) has the best long term future.  Bradford could be the bridge to Sloter or the next big thing. 

Still not sure about Case. good leadership and big balls, but not good enough to win games where he needs to step up and put the team on his back IMO. 

@"Ilovebigtd's" said: if we move on from teddy then he definitely has a case for being mistreated.....just cast him off to the side because of hus injury? thats bullshit.

wherever teddy lands next year and starts he’ll definitely prove the doubters wrong. 

I didn't see Teddy favoring his knee during the Cincinnati game. He looked excited to be out there. I certainly didn't see any sort of deer in headlights going on. But making any sort of assessment based on a few plays is meaningless. The season was a test of his character but he handled it well. And I get that he wants to play. 

As far as Case is concerned. He probably feels he has earned a shot. He worked hard and was a good teammate. I think he wants to stay here but I also think he is trying not to give too much away. It's early days yet so we will have to see which direction the team goes. 

@"Ilovebigtd's" said: if we move on from teddy then he definitely has a case for being mistreated.....just cast him off to the side because of hus injury? thats bullshit.

wherever teddy lands next year and starts he’ll definitely prove the doubters wrong. 

Zimmer said an interesting thing at his presser today: He felt Bradford's knee wouldn't be a problem in the future.

@"StickyBun" said: Zimmer said an interesting thing at his presser today: He felt Bradford's knee wouldn't be a problem in the future.

@"greediron" said:

@"StickyBun" said: Zimmer said an interesting thing at his presser today: He felt Bradford's knee wouldn't be a problem in the future.

But do you really trust what Zimmer sez about injuries in a presser?

Not sure he has reason to lie at this point, but to me, it is more a "keeping my options open" statement. 

@"greediron" said: IMO Teddy (depending on what they saw in practice) has the best long term future.  Bradford could be the bridge to Sloter or the next big thing. 

Still not sure about Case. good leadership and big balls, but not good enough to win games where he needs to step up and put the team on his back IMO. 

I will say this though...I think 3 years from now, the QB most likely to have us regretting the decision to let him go is Teddy Bridgewater...with the caveat that I obviously haven't seen him in practice post-knee. 

Unlike '98, I think we have a pretty smart GM and head coach. I'm going to (nervously) trust that the decision they make is the correct one, provided of course that they take some time with it. And it sounds like they plan to. 

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"greediron" said: IMO Teddy (depending on what they saw in practice) has the best long term future.  Bradford could be the bridge to Sloter or the next big thing. 

Still not sure about Case. good leadership and big balls, but not good enough to win games where he needs to step up and put the team on his back IMO. 

It's a tough call. There's no doubt about that. That's why so many smart, reasonable people disagree. And you know what? I'm betting there isn't a consensus even in the Vikings organization either. 

I will say this though...I think 3 years from now, the QB most likely to have us regretting the decision to let him go is Teddy Bridgewater...with the caveat that I obviously haven't seen him in practice post-knee. 

Unlike '98, I think we have a pretty smart GM and head coach. I'm going to (nervously) trust that the decision they make is the correct one, provided of course that they take some time with it. And it sounds like they plan to.