Zulgad: Vikings likely to put their trust in Teddy
As the Vikings’ feel-good season of 2017 played out before our eyes we knew this day was coming. We just didn’t know when and members of the franchise, and fans alike, were hoping it would be after a Super Bowl parade.That possibility came to an abrupt and ugly end on Sunday as the Eagles ran the Vikings off the field in Philadelphia in the NFC title game. So on Tuesday coach Mike Zimmer gave his end-of-season press conference at Winter Park, fielding a variety of questions about the direction of the franchise.
None was more important than the ones involving the Vikings’ plan at quarterback. For all the success the Vikings had in going 13-3 this season, and then winning an NFC Divisional playoff game against New Orleans in miraculous fashion, this team has little certainty at the most important position in sports.
Case Keenum, the starting quarterback for much of 2017; Sam Bradford, the guy who entered the season as the starting QB and lasted one game before a sore knee wrecked his year; and Teddy Bridgewater, who is on the mend from a gruesome knee injury suffered in August 2016, all are due to become free agents this March.
The national folks assume that Keenum is a slam dunk to return, either playing under the franchise tag or with a rich multiyear contract that he couldn’t have possibly expected when the career backup signed a one-year, $2 million contract with Minnesota last spring to serve as Bradford’s backup.
Keenum, who will turn 30 on Feb. 17, was 11-3 as the Vikings’ starter, throwing for 3,547 yards with 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Keenum had never started more than nine games in his previous four seasons and his success, and likability, made for a great story.
His teammates rallied around him and his struggles in the Vikings’ opening playoff game were overshadowed by his last-second 61-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs that provided one of the most memorable moments in Vikings history.
The feeling was that if Keenum had gotten the Vikings to the Super Bowl it would be impossible not to bring him back, even though Zimmer never seemed to be completely sold on him. Evidence that Zimmer lacked faith in Keenum was everywhere. He refused to name Keenum his starter for much of the season. He said Keenum had a “horseshoe” after a 24-7 win in November over the Rams. He said he became comfortable with Keenum “four or five weeks ago,” in late December.
Zimmer seemed to always be ready for Keenum’s magic to disappear. That began to happen in the second half against the Saints. It was fully gone by Sunday as Keenum threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the red zone against the Eagles.
So where do Zimmer and the Vikings turn now?
The feeling here is it won’t be to Keenum.
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/01/zulgad-vikings-likely-put-trust-teddy/
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
@"MaroonBells" said:@"Zanary" said: One mention is in here, by Chris Simms:http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2753429-chris-simms-picks-for-nfl-offseason-qb-carousel
That seems a little hard to fathom. Subtle favoring of a knee in traffic is one thing, but if a QB were "walking" with a limp (which would seem to indicate either pain or restriction), activating him, clearing him for practice and then putting him in a game would seem nearly criminal.
I am guessing Simms hasnt seen him in person for at least 6 months or more.
@"StickyBun" said:@"Zanary" said: I've seen a number of very recent articles stating that Teddy is still obviously favoring one knee...and knowing Zim's affection for the kid, seeing him deactivated in the playoffs was pretty sobering.
Complete B.S. I've never seen one article that said anything about him favoring his knee. He wouldn't have been allowed off of IR if that were the case. Z said he was 100% ready to go.Yes, agreed it was sobering that he was deactivated, because that tells a story. And not a good one for Teddy. If as an organization you feel that the offense needs to be more dynamic and you don't feel that can happen with Keenum or Bridgewater, so be it. I've seen more excuse making for Teddy's deactivation on this board, its mind blowing. Its pretty black and white to me: the coaches felt he wasn't the best option in important games. Not sure what else you could take from it unless you firmly have your purple goggles in place. Teddy's 'test of my character' comment came because he's healthy and frustrated that he was bypassed.
Sorry, it wasn't complete BS...and I saw other articles, but the comments were similar to Simms: brief and in passing.I guess we saw different articles.
I find the whole topic of Teddy to be as singularly maddening as our QB situation (again) because...what do we know? He never showed a great long pass game, but supposedly had improved in practice just before his knee blew up. It's impossible not to like the kid, but his tangibles have never been better than mid-pack and it's impossible to gauge where they'd be with a better line and more seasoning among the skill players without seeing more footage. What little we did see was...unfortunate.
On the other hand, Case looked seriously limited as the pressure grew. That said, the whole team seemed to wilt as the spotlights got brighter...something Zim HAS TO FIX or he's going to be the latest "almost, but..." Vikings coaches.
I still find Sam kind of intriguing, because he's far-and-away the best pure passer of the bunch, albeit the least mobile and with very questionable knees. To me, he is the biggest risk/reward QB of the lot...kind of like Jeff George without the massive personality failings.
In any case, we have the heal(ed? ing?) but largely unknown, the plucky-but-limited underdog, and the talented-but-fragile former #1 pick to (initially) choose from. I'm kinda glad I'm not Rick Spielman right about now.
@"MaroonBells" said:@"JimmyinSD" said:@"Zanary" said: I've seen a number of very recent articles stating that Teddy is still obviously favoring one knee...and knowing Zim's affection for the kid, seeing him deactivated in the playoffs was pretty sobering.Then again, Case looking a lot like he'd slammed into his ceiling wasn't too easy on the ol' brain, either.
Meanwhile, our snakebitten former #1 pick may be truly recovered...or not.
My brain hurts.
Could you link them? I've only heard that from a poster who is very anti teddy so I kind of blew it off.
Yeah, ditto. I haven't seen anything like that. If true, then it could mean that Teddy's "test of my character" comment could be more about knee frustrations than the lack of playing time and deactivation.
Not sure if you are referring to me, but I'm not Anti-Teddy. I would love nothing more than to see him make a complete recovery and be our franchise QB.As I mentioned in another thread, I heard it on KFAN. PA had Adam Kaplan on discussing the Philly game because he covers that team in detail and they started discussing each team's QB situation. He mentioned to PA that reports on Teddy are that he is still favoring his knee. He didn't divulge where he got that info from so you can either believe him or not. PA didn't say a word or try to dispute it but I wouldn't expect him to since he is also a Viking employee and has to be careful on what he can say, especially in the days leading up to a playoff game where Zimmer hadn't named his backup QB yet. You won't see any official Viking sources talk about it to the press.
Personally, I don't buy into Zimmer's reasons for benching Teddy in favor of Sam since Teddy had clearly put in a lot more time preparing his body and brain to be the backup once they activated him. That decision seemed very abrupt and out of character for Zimmer who is Teddy's biggest supporter. That still doesn't mean his knee is or isn't recovered, but it definitely shows a lack of confidence in Teddy at that moment IMO.
Or it might have meant that as soon as Bradford was cleared to practice again Shurmer lobbied for him to be the backup due to their long history together and Pat's short history with Teddy.
@"FSUVike" said: Or it might have meant that as soon as Bradford was cleared to practice again Shurmer lobbied for him to be the backup due to their long history together and Pat's short history with Teddy.Possibly. Unfortunately we will probably never know the real story. It doesn't really matter at this point until they decide on their QB. If they re-sign Teddy, then that should put to rest any doubts about their belief in his abilities to lead this team as their starter because I doubt he will come back without that guarantee.
@"FSUVike" said: Or it might have meant that as soon as Bradford was cleared to practice again Shurmer lobbied for him to be the backup due to their long history together and Pat's short history with Teddy.....and that was the right decision because he's a superior QB. Might be that, too. In fact, it is that. Zimmer has the final say.
@"TBro" said:@"MaroonBells" said:@"JimmyinSD" said:@"Zanary" said: I've seen a number of very recent articles stating that Teddy is still obviously favoring one knee...and knowing Zim's affection for the kid, seeing him deactivated in the playoffs was pretty sobering.Then again, Case looking a lot like he'd slammed into his ceiling wasn't too easy on the ol' brain, either.
Meanwhile, our snakebitten former #1 pick may be truly recovered...or not.
My brain hurts.
Could you link them? I've only heard that from a poster who is very anti teddy so I kind of blew it off.
Yeah, ditto. I haven't seen anything like that. If true, then it could mean that Teddy's "test of my character" comment could be more about knee frustrations than the lack of playing time and deactivation.
Not sure if you are referring to me, but I'm not Anti-Teddy. I would love nothing more than to see him make a complete recovery and be our franchise QB.As I mentioned in another thread, I heard it on KFAN. PA had Adam Kaplan on discussing the Philly game because he covers that team in detail and they started discussing each team's QB situation. He mentioned to PA that reports on Teddy are that he is still favoring his knee. He didn't divulge where he got that info from so you can either believe him or not. PA didn't say a word or try to dispute it but I wouldn't expect him to since he is also a Viking employee and has to be careful on what he can say, especially in the days leading up to a playoff game where Zimmer hadn't named his backup QB yet. You won't see any official Viking sources talk about it to the press.
Personally, I don't buy into Zimmer's reasons for benching Teddy in favor of Sam since Teddy had clearly put in a lot more time preparing his body and brain to be the backup once they activated him. That decision seemed very abrupt and out of character for Zimmer who is Teddy's biggest supporter. That still doesn't mean his knee is or isn't recovered, but it definitely shows a lack of confidence in Teddy at that moment IMO.
It wasn't abrupt when you consider that it happened the very moment Bradford was activated from the IR.Also, I have no reason to doubt what you heard. I'm only saying that I haven't heard or read any kind of confirmation of that. Could very well be true. But if Teddy truly were favoring a knee, I would imagine it would be fairly big news in the local papers.
I will say this, though: coaches never undermine players entering free agency. They typically want to give them a fighting chance. So if there was concern about Teddy's knee, you wouldn't hear it from the Vikings. I think there might have been a little bit of that in Zimmer's comment that Sam is "past his knee issues."
My biggest problem is that too many tend to see all Viking QB discussion through a binary lens. As if there are "sides" to this discussion. A pro-this or an anti-that point of view, which happens I guess, but is ridiculous in my opinion.
@"StickyBun" said:No doubt Bradford is the better QB. But why would Zimmer have final say on who the backup QB is instead of Shurmer?@"FSUVike" said: Or it might have meant that as soon as Bradford was cleared to practice again Shurmer lobbied for him to be the backup due to their long history together and Pat's short history with Teddy. ....and that was the right decision because he's a superior QB. Might be that, too. In fact, it is that. Zimmer has the final say.Seems like that would be robbing your OC of his authority and really micromanaging the Offense, which isn't exactly Mike's M.O.
@"FSUVike" said:@"StickyBun" said:No doubt Bradford is the better QB. But why would Zimmer have final say on who the backup QB is instead of Shurmer?@"FSUVike" said: Or it might have meant that as soon as Bradford was cleared to practice again Shurmer lobbied for him to be the backup due to their long history together and Pat's short history with Teddy. ....and that was the right decision because he's a superior QB. Might be that, too. In fact, it is that. Zimmer has the final say.Seems like that would be robbing your OC of his authority and really micromanaging the Offense, which isn't exactly Mike's M.O.
How many times do you think Zimmer told Shurmur start calling conservative plays my defense can hold the lead?
I would think Rick, Zim and the OC would discuss QB's. But really don't know who would have the final say.
I think it's a default number wherein Shurmer knew before the season even started that if the team was up but X points at Y time of the game it was Ground & Pound the rest of the way.
The new OC will get the same formula and be expected to adhere to it. Zimmer just doesn't strike me as a guy who's going to decide what player is in which backup spot on Offense every week.
Of course QB is a different animal. Maybe he did make the call based on observed practices, gut feeling, etc. Without context though I just can't see how anyone can definitively state it means anything one way or the other that Sam was #2 for the mugging in Philly.
One would think that a good power structure would just discuss it when it happens. Bradford was hurt, Teddy was available, so Teddy is the best option. Bradford is healthy, Teddy is too, so they discuss who best suits the game plan, who is a better fit.
Or maybe Rick trumped them all and told his coaches that he traded picks for Bradford and was paying him too much money to be #3.
@"FSUVike" said:@"StickyBun" said:No doubt Bradford is the better QB. But why would Zimmer have final say on who the backup QB is instead of Shurmer?@"FSUVike" said: Or it might have meant that as soon as Bradford was cleared to practice again Shurmer lobbied for him to be the backup due to their long history together and Pat's short history with Teddy. ....and that was the right decision because he's a superior QB. Might be that, too. In fact, it is that. Zimmer has the final say.Seems like that would be robbing your OC of his authority and really micromanaging the Offense, which isn't exactly Mike's M.O.
He's the head coach. The buck stops with him in everything. He's the CEO of the team. You know better than that, but I guess that narrative doesn't fit your thought here.
And good leaders know when to delegate. But you know that.
Seriously good debate here. Geoff, do HCs usually decide who the backup QB is on a weekly basis? Does it being the Playoffs change things?
I don't recall that I've ever heard it goes one way or the other. No brainer when the HC also calls the plays. But what about a defense minded guy?
Does Carroll decide who Wilson's backup is? Or Tomlin with Big Ben? We know Bellicheat makes every decision about everything in NE. Is he the exception?
Inquiring minds want to know.
@"StickyBun" said:@"MaroonBells" said:@"StickyBun" said:@"Zanary" said: I've seen a number of very recent articles stating that Teddy is still obviously favoring one knee...and knowing Zim's affection for the kid, seeing him deactivated in the playoffs was pretty sobering.
Complete B.S. I've never seen one article that said anything about him favoring his knee. He wouldn't have been allowed off of IR if that were the case. Z said he was 100% ready to go.Yes, agreed it was sobering that he was deactivated, because that tells a story. And not a good one for Teddy. If as an organization you feel that the offense needs to be more dynamic and you don't feel that can happen with Keenum or Bridgewater, so be it. I've seen more excuse making for Teddy's deactivation on this board, its mind blowing. Its pretty black and white to me: the coaches felt he wasn't the best option in important games. Not sure what else you could take from it unless you firmly have your purple goggles in place. Teddy's 'test of my character' comment came because he's healthy and frustrated that he was bypassed.
Yeah, it couldn't possibly be because of Bradford's familiarity with Shurmur and his offense, or his familiarity with both the Dennis Allen and the Jim Schwartz defenses, or the fact that Bradford has actually played football in the last two years, or the fact that Bradford destroyed the Saints the last time he played them.No, it must be because the coaches suddenly think Teddy sucks. Where's a good eyeroll emoji when you want one? The level to which some of you want to read secret truths and alternative facts into simple, plausible, logical decisions is just mind-numbing.
Plausible?? To whom? LOL. Secret truths? What's secret about deactivating your #2 QB who had been practicing with the team since what, November 8th, almost 2 months and Bradford hadn't practiced since end of September?We also have a few on this board that feel the picture below is also 'plausible'.
Ken Ham is a Vikings fan?.....nice!!!
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