- Joined
- Feb 9, 2014
- Messages
- 20,922
- Name
- Peter
http://mmqb.si.com/2015/03/27/teddy-bridgewater-marcus-mariota-nfl-draft/
Leon Halip/Getty Images
The Next Bridgewater?
Teddy Bridgewater was nitpicked extensively before the 2014 draft but he quieted the critics in a standout rookie campaign. Will the Vikings QB's success pave the way for a similar QB in the '15 class? Plus notes on Rex Ryan, drug tests, more
By Greg A. Bedard
PHOENIX — At about this time last year, Teddy Bridgewater was getting raked over the pre-draft coals.
So, after all was said and done, how much did any of those pre-draft concerns factor into Bridgewater’s game?
“It really didn’t matter,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said at the league meetings earlier this week. “That’s the thing about scouting. You think you have the right guy. You never really know. We didn’t really know.
“Like the players, I’ve just been really impressed [by Bridgewater]. In practice he might miss three throws. His accuracy in games but also in practice—it’s like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ I’m excited to get him into the dome, where we have eight games, and then Detroit [the Vikings’ ninth indoor game every season]. He has a chance to really be something.”
This year it’s Marcus Mariota’s turn to be torn up during the pre-draft process.
“Just because a guy doesn’t yell and scream at a guy when he doesn’t run the right route, ask any of those guys if they’d take Eli Manning,” said Chip Kelly, Mariota’s coach at Oregon before Kelly went to the Eagles. “I don’t see Eli Manning screaming and yelling at anybody. But you talk about a stone-cold killer in the fourth quarter, look how many fourth-quarter comebacks Eli’s had.
“It’s the silly season. I’ve said it before. The NFL draft hype is the craziest thing in the world. Guys are going to go up, guys are going to go down. Cam Newton couldn’t play; there’s no reason to draft him in the first round. All of a sudden he goes No. 1. It’s crazy.”
Zimmer, who had been known as a smart and cocky defensive coordinator before getting his head-coaching shot with the Vikings, admitted he was one of those guys who wanted to see some swagger out of his quarterback. Zimmer might not have been as adamant about it as other coaches, but he certainly considered that factor a plus.
Bridgewater has made him a believer.
“Well, I did learn a lot about that, to be honest with you,” Zimmer said. “He’s a guy who leads by how hard he works, by the improvement he makes in practice every day, the way he wanted to learn how to enunciate the plays, just all the extra effort the guy put in. … He’s not one of those guys who is going to get in your face, but the players all gravitate toward this guy. He’s always got a smile. He’s confident but not cocky. It’s never about him, so it’s always about, How can I help this guy do this better, or the team?
“Maybe it’s not your leadership style that everybody is thinking about, but it was really effective this year. So I learned quite a bit.”
Mariota shares many of Bridgewater’s personality traits. Has Bridgewater erased “too quiet” from the negatives list for a quarterback, and laid the groundwork for players like Mariota? We’ll find out next month.
One more note on Marcus Mariota. Thought the comments from Browns coach Mike Pettine were interesting considering the team’s new quarterbacks coach, Kevin O’Connell, trained Mariota for the combine before going to Cleveland. “The mental part, on that he’s very advanced,” Pettine said when asked what O’Connell told him. “This was a guy who I think understood coming in from the system he was playing in, that it’s not similar to potentially a lot of systems he would be playing in in the league.
So he understood that and addressed, it and that’s one of the reasons he worked with Kevin. Because Kevin understands more of the offensive structure he’s going to have to play in. He attacked a weakness. Everybody who’s had him on the [white[ board [to diagram plays and talk about schemes and coverages] said he’s just blown them away just because of how he’s essentially turned that weakness into a strength.”
Leon Halip/Getty Images
The Next Bridgewater?
Teddy Bridgewater was nitpicked extensively before the 2014 draft but he quieted the critics in a standout rookie campaign. Will the Vikings QB's success pave the way for a similar QB in the '15 class? Plus notes on Rex Ryan, drug tests, more
By Greg A. Bedard
PHOENIX — At about this time last year, Teddy Bridgewater was getting raked over the pre-draft coals.
- Too skinny. Will get hurt.
- Hands are too small. You can’t pick him if you’re a cold-weather team.
- What a terrible pro day, especially on deep passes. Who needs a glove to throw?
- Too quiet. Not enough of a leader.
So, after all was said and done, how much did any of those pre-draft concerns factor into Bridgewater’s game?
“It really didn’t matter,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said at the league meetings earlier this week. “That’s the thing about scouting. You think you have the right guy. You never really know. We didn’t really know.
“Like the players, I’ve just been really impressed [by Bridgewater]. In practice he might miss three throws. His accuracy in games but also in practice—it’s like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ I’m excited to get him into the dome, where we have eight games, and then Detroit [the Vikings’ ninth indoor game every season]. He has a chance to really be something.”
This year it’s Marcus Mariota’s turn to be torn up during the pre-draft process.
- Subpar pro day.
- Skinny.
- Hasn’t shown the ability to make all the throws.
- Too quiet. Won’t be able to command a huddle.
“Just because a guy doesn’t yell and scream at a guy when he doesn’t run the right route, ask any of those guys if they’d take Eli Manning,” said Chip Kelly, Mariota’s coach at Oregon before Kelly went to the Eagles. “I don’t see Eli Manning screaming and yelling at anybody. But you talk about a stone-cold killer in the fourth quarter, look how many fourth-quarter comebacks Eli’s had.
“It’s the silly season. I’ve said it before. The NFL draft hype is the craziest thing in the world. Guys are going to go up, guys are going to go down. Cam Newton couldn’t play; there’s no reason to draft him in the first round. All of a sudden he goes No. 1. It’s crazy.”
Zimmer, who had been known as a smart and cocky defensive coordinator before getting his head-coaching shot with the Vikings, admitted he was one of those guys who wanted to see some swagger out of his quarterback. Zimmer might not have been as adamant about it as other coaches, but he certainly considered that factor a plus.
Bridgewater has made him a believer.
“Well, I did learn a lot about that, to be honest with you,” Zimmer said. “He’s a guy who leads by how hard he works, by the improvement he makes in practice every day, the way he wanted to learn how to enunciate the plays, just all the extra effort the guy put in. … He’s not one of those guys who is going to get in your face, but the players all gravitate toward this guy. He’s always got a smile. He’s confident but not cocky. It’s never about him, so it’s always about, How can I help this guy do this better, or the team?
“Maybe it’s not your leadership style that everybody is thinking about, but it was really effective this year. So I learned quite a bit.”
Mariota shares many of Bridgewater’s personality traits. Has Bridgewater erased “too quiet” from the negatives list for a quarterback, and laid the groundwork for players like Mariota? We’ll find out next month.
One more note on Marcus Mariota. Thought the comments from Browns coach Mike Pettine were interesting considering the team’s new quarterbacks coach, Kevin O’Connell, trained Mariota for the combine before going to Cleveland. “The mental part, on that he’s very advanced,” Pettine said when asked what O’Connell told him. “This was a guy who I think understood coming in from the system he was playing in, that it’s not similar to potentially a lot of systems he would be playing in in the league.
So he understood that and addressed, it and that’s one of the reasons he worked with Kevin. Because Kevin understands more of the offensive structure he’s going to have to play in. He attacked a weakness. Everybody who’s had him on the [white[ board [to diagram plays and talk about schemes and coverages] said he’s just blown them away just because of how he’s essentially turned that weakness into a strength.”
