The Vikings won’t make the playoffs in 2014, but offensive coordinator Norv Turner feels pretty sure that they’ve found themselves a quarterback.
Turner opened up his press conference on Thursday with a long statement about how impressed he’s been by the play of rookie Teddy Bridgewater this season that seemed to be a defense against criticism of Bridgewater’s two interceptions against the Lions last Sunday.
Turner said he’s seen many quarterbacks struggle when faced with a shifting supporting cast -- eight offensive linemen, three different running backs, three different tight ends and a wide receiver who was signed off the Browns practice squad, for example -- and that he hasn’t seen those struggles from Bridgewater, who Turner says has been asked to handle more than any other young quarterback he’s worked with.
“It’s pretty incredible to me what he’s done, how he’s handled it, the things he’s gotten done and what he’s really done is made everyone around him better and that’s a quality that you’re looking for … the thing that excites me is he can make any throw you need to make -- he does it with people around him, he does it with people hitting him, he does it when he has to slide in the pocket. He knows how to play football and that’s the starting point of the quarterback position. He’s got the intangibles you need and he’s going to continue to get better and better,” Turner said, via Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
There’s obviously room for growth from Bridgewater, but the Vikings probably feel pretty good about that taking place if his performance this season is his floor. And they almost certainly feel better about the quarterback position than they did at this point last year, which is one positive to take away from the season.
