Minnesota Vikings’ Teddy Bridgewater: True Rookie of Year?
Be honest for a second.
When you heard that the Minnesota Vikings traded back into the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft to select Teddy Bridgewater, you were surprised and slightly confused. Many thought Matt Cassel was the quarterback of the team, at least short-term. But after an untimely injury, it was Bridgwater’s turn. He had his ups and downs, but after he finally got his bearings, he showed true class and made a solid case for why he should have been the AP Rookie of the Year, not Odell Beckham Jr.
For the record, both Bridgewater and Beckham had terrific rookie years in the NFL. Some might say that Bridgewater struggled. But when a player takes over a team at quarterback in Week 3 and gets his bearings as fast as he did, took some terrific talent.
With an award like the Rookie of the Year being so hotly contested, the voters really needed to look at the value of a player to their respective team. Bridgewater led the Vikings to a 7-9 season and almost made the playoffs. Beckham scored a lot of touchdowns but was on a New York Giants team that finished 6-10.
Albeit their records are just one game away from each other, yet the Vikings would not have been able to even hit seven wins this season had it not been for Bridgewater. And if a few other things had gone their way, there was no reason to think the club could have won at least another two or three games.
Rookie quarterbacks are judged under a harsher microscope then any other position in football. The quarterback position is the most difficult but also the most rewarding. Look at some of the great quarterbacks to ever play the game: Joe Montana, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. Those guys all had to fight to be great and deserve all the recognition that goes with their names.
Bridgewater made fantastic advances in his career in just a single season. He finished off the year with a 6-6 starting record, throwing 14 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. Just for comparison, Rodgers went 6-10 his first season as a starting quarterback, albeit he was no longer a rookie, but he still had to take over a team after Brett Favre left. Brady did not see the field except for one game during his rookie season. Yet when he officially took over as starter in 2001, he only threw 18 touchdowns that year (by the way, the Patriots did win Super Bowl XXXVI).
Yes Brady and Rodgers are both examples that happen to be a little different from the norm. But the point being that just because a player is elite now, they were not when they started out.
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Winning an award like the Rookie of the Year is very important to any player. Beckham saw his popularity skyrocket after his earth shattering one-handed catch against the Dallas Cowboys. From that moment, his name would forever be on the lips of all NFL fans. Meanwhile, back in Minnesota, Bridgewater continued to stay under the radar and kept the Vikings in the run for an outside shot at the playoffs, something Beckham’s Giants certainly were not about to do.
Bridgewater orchestrated three game-winnings drives, along with three fourth-quarter comebacks. Once again, the proven value of a player like Bridgewater should have swayed voters into choosing him instead of Beckham. Unfortunately, because of his titanic catch, the media world loved Beckham more than Bridgewater, and rightfully so. The man defied physics to make one of the best catches in NFL history. The sports world loves a good player to bandwagon on, so since Johnny Manziel crashed and burned this season, Beckham seemed like the perfect fit for that role.
The nice thing about Bridgewater is that he has a lot of time on his side and there is plenty of time to win other awards down the road. In no way am I taking away from him winning the Pepsi Rookie of the Year award, but fans of the NFL know that the AP Rookie of the Year honor is more prestigious.
Minnesota fans know that having Bridgewater on their team is reward enough. Next season will be a great one for the young quarterback as well as the Vikings organization.