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Rams hope youth isn't served Sunday vs. Bridgewater
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_5ff00961-8613-5e75-ade9-1f625f3db506.html
The Rams have faced a lot of veteran quarterbacks so far this season, guys who have been around, played in Super Bowls, been to Pro Bowls, have some pelts on the wall, as they say.
Now comes Teddy Bridgewater, age 22, who will make just his 20th NFL start Sunday when his Minnesota Vikings play host to the Rams in a noon kickoff at TCF Bank Stadium.
With Jay Cutler, Joe Flacco, Andy Dalton, Carson Palmer and Matthew Stafford coming up on the Rams’ horizon, he’s the youngest, most inexperienced QB the Rams will face between now and Tampa Bay’s Jameis Winston in mid-December.
Can the Rams’ ascending defense take advantage of the Minnesota youngster? If they can, even the presence of the great Adrian Peterson at running back may not be enough to prevent the Rams from winning their third straight game — something they haven’t accomplished since late in the 2012 season.
Bridgewater isn’t lighting up scoreboards, ranking 22nd in the league in passer rating (85.5). The Vikings are Rams-like when it comes to the passing game, which isn’t a good thing, ranking 30th in the league in passing offense.
Then again, Bridgewater he isn’t acting his age when you watch him play. He seems cool, calm, collected in the pocket. Doesn’t get the happy feet. Generally gets the ball out quick, and doesn’t take a ton of chances. But he’s not rushing through his reads, either.
“Very patient and poised, yeah,” Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said. “The things is, the game unfolds — as the game moves along — he gets better. It shows you a guy that’s very confident in his abilities.”
Chosen with the final pick in the first round in 2014 out of Louisville, No. 32 overall, Bridgewater didn’t start against the Rams in last season’s opener. They saw Matt Cassel instead, so this will be their first look at Bridgewater.
“You see an accurate quarterback,” free safety Rodney McLeod said. “Very efficient on third downs. Controlling the offense very well. He’s doing a good job back there, being a leader.”
Be it college or the NFL, Bridgewater has always been accurate. He doesn’t have great arm strength but is completing 64.5 percent of his tosses for the 5-2 Vikings. He’s doing some of his best work on third down, ranking 10th in third-down passer rating (93.3).
In comparison, St. Louis counterpart Nick Foles ranks 26th, with just a 62.7 passer rating on third down. Little wonder that the Rams rank last in third-down conversion rate (25.9 percent). Bridgewater and the Vikings are a more respectable 17th (36.7).
“He takes check-downs,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “He knows where to go when it’s time to (throw) outside. He goes outside and he goes there quickly. He effortlessly throws very accurately. That’s the thing that’s impressive. You watch him on tape, the ball’s right where it should be.”
The ability to avoid mistakes and make the right decisions is a great starting point for a young quarterback. And Bridgewater has one of the game’s wise “old heads” in Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner to guide him through the early stages of his pro career.
“I have tremendous respect for Norv Turner,” Williams said. “He does a very good job developing young talent at the quarterback position.”
Back in the day, Turner helped guide a young Troy Aikman to back-to-back Super Bowl titles after the 1992 and ’93 seasons in Dallas.
“I can see a lot of the things that Norv wants his guys to do (in Bridgewater), following coaching instructions,” Williams said. “And then, he’s also adapted some of the things to Teddy that Teddy does well.
“You can tell he’s a sharp kid in how he recognizes defensive things, and how he is able to make changes at the line of scrimmage. A lot of young quarterbacks can’t do that, especially (against) somebody that’s as multiple as we are.”
A key to defending Bridgewater, particularly with Turner in his ear, is disguising coverages and not being too predictable.
Otherwise, as linebacker James Laurinaitis said, “Teddy is good enough. He’s gonna know where to go with the ball. He’s well-coached.”
Even with those assets and that coaching, Bridgewater hasn’t always taken advantage of opportunities. For example, he missed a wide-open Mike Wallace on what would’ve been a long touchdown pass last week in the third quarter against Chicago.
Despite his reputation for taking care of the football, he showed poor judgment on a second-quarter throw against the Bears that was intercepted, setting up a Cutler touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery in the final minute of the half.
In almost every major statistical category, his numbers are very similar this year to what they were as a rookie in 2014, prompting some observers to wonder why he hasn’t made the second-year jump that many young quarterbacks make in the NFL.
But he has shown flashes, throwing for 316 yards and spreading the ball around to 11 receivers two weeks ago in a 28-19 victory over Detroit.
After a slow three quarters last week in Chicago, Bridgewater led the Vikings to a touchdown and a field goal in the final 5 minutes for a 23-20 comeback victory. He completed six of seven passes for 106 yards and a TD on those final two drives.
“I’m proud of him,” Peterson told St. Louis reporters earlier this week on a conference call. “He has a lot on his plate. He’s learning each week, and he’s trying to fix things that he can do better and that give us the best shot to go out and win.”
The last thing the Rams want is to contribute to that growth and development this Sunday.
============
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_5ff00961-8613-5e75-ade9-1f625f3db506.html
The Rams have faced a lot of veteran quarterbacks so far this season, guys who have been around, played in Super Bowls, been to Pro Bowls, have some pelts on the wall, as they say.
Now comes Teddy Bridgewater, age 22, who will make just his 20th NFL start Sunday when his Minnesota Vikings play host to the Rams in a noon kickoff at TCF Bank Stadium.
With Jay Cutler, Joe Flacco, Andy Dalton, Carson Palmer and Matthew Stafford coming up on the Rams’ horizon, he’s the youngest, most inexperienced QB the Rams will face between now and Tampa Bay’s Jameis Winston in mid-December.
Can the Rams’ ascending defense take advantage of the Minnesota youngster? If they can, even the presence of the great Adrian Peterson at running back may not be enough to prevent the Rams from winning their third straight game — something they haven’t accomplished since late in the 2012 season.
Bridgewater isn’t lighting up scoreboards, ranking 22nd in the league in passer rating (85.5). The Vikings are Rams-like when it comes to the passing game, which isn’t a good thing, ranking 30th in the league in passing offense.
Then again, Bridgewater he isn’t acting his age when you watch him play. He seems cool, calm, collected in the pocket. Doesn’t get the happy feet. Generally gets the ball out quick, and doesn’t take a ton of chances. But he’s not rushing through his reads, either.
“Very patient and poised, yeah,” Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said. “The things is, the game unfolds — as the game moves along — he gets better. It shows you a guy that’s very confident in his abilities.”
Chosen with the final pick in the first round in 2014 out of Louisville, No. 32 overall, Bridgewater didn’t start against the Rams in last season’s opener. They saw Matt Cassel instead, so this will be their first look at Bridgewater.
“You see an accurate quarterback,” free safety Rodney McLeod said. “Very efficient on third downs. Controlling the offense very well. He’s doing a good job back there, being a leader.”
Be it college or the NFL, Bridgewater has always been accurate. He doesn’t have great arm strength but is completing 64.5 percent of his tosses for the 5-2 Vikings. He’s doing some of his best work on third down, ranking 10th in third-down passer rating (93.3).
In comparison, St. Louis counterpart Nick Foles ranks 26th, with just a 62.7 passer rating on third down. Little wonder that the Rams rank last in third-down conversion rate (25.9 percent). Bridgewater and the Vikings are a more respectable 17th (36.7).
“He takes check-downs,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “He knows where to go when it’s time to (throw) outside. He goes outside and he goes there quickly. He effortlessly throws very accurately. That’s the thing that’s impressive. You watch him on tape, the ball’s right where it should be.”
The ability to avoid mistakes and make the right decisions is a great starting point for a young quarterback. And Bridgewater has one of the game’s wise “old heads” in Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner to guide him through the early stages of his pro career.
“I have tremendous respect for Norv Turner,” Williams said. “He does a very good job developing young talent at the quarterback position.”
Back in the day, Turner helped guide a young Troy Aikman to back-to-back Super Bowl titles after the 1992 and ’93 seasons in Dallas.
“I can see a lot of the things that Norv wants his guys to do (in Bridgewater), following coaching instructions,” Williams said. “And then, he’s also adapted some of the things to Teddy that Teddy does well.
“You can tell he’s a sharp kid in how he recognizes defensive things, and how he is able to make changes at the line of scrimmage. A lot of young quarterbacks can’t do that, especially (against) somebody that’s as multiple as we are.”
A key to defending Bridgewater, particularly with Turner in his ear, is disguising coverages and not being too predictable.
Otherwise, as linebacker James Laurinaitis said, “Teddy is good enough. He’s gonna know where to go with the ball. He’s well-coached.”
Even with those assets and that coaching, Bridgewater hasn’t always taken advantage of opportunities. For example, he missed a wide-open Mike Wallace on what would’ve been a long touchdown pass last week in the third quarter against Chicago.
Despite his reputation for taking care of the football, he showed poor judgment on a second-quarter throw against the Bears that was intercepted, setting up a Cutler touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery in the final minute of the half.
In almost every major statistical category, his numbers are very similar this year to what they were as a rookie in 2014, prompting some observers to wonder why he hasn’t made the second-year jump that many young quarterbacks make in the NFL.
But he has shown flashes, throwing for 316 yards and spreading the ball around to 11 receivers two weeks ago in a 28-19 victory over Detroit.
After a slow three quarters last week in Chicago, Bridgewater led the Vikings to a touchdown and a field goal in the final 5 minutes for a 23-20 comeback victory. He completed six of seven passes for 106 yards and a TD on those final two drives.
“I’m proud of him,” Peterson told St. Louis reporters earlier this week on a conference call. “He has a lot on his plate. He’s learning each week, and he’s trying to fix things that he can do better and that give us the best shot to go out and win.”
The last thing the Rams want is to contribute to that growth and development this Sunday.
============
Does anyone know how many time Bridgewate has been sacked this season!?