To some, it might seem like there aren’t a great deal of differences between Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and his predecessor, Christian Ponder.
Like Bridgewater, Ponder was a first round draft pick for the Vikings, and Pro Football Talk suggests that the pair are closely matched in terms of physical qualities, with Ponder maybe even having the edge.
But that’s where the similarities stop, at least according to one of their teammates – Adrian Peterson, who has been praising Bridgewater’s mental qualities on Wednesday.
Peterson has played with both Bridgewater and Ponder while they were young quarterbacks and AP offered an interesting comparison Wednesday afternoon during a conference call with the Denver media.
https://twitter.com/GoesslingESPN/status/649267231705157632
Ponder spent the majority of three seasons as the Vikings starting quarterback, but they were 18-29-1 in games he started during that time.
While Peterson helped to lead the Vikings to the playoffs in 2012 when he ran for 2,097 yards with Ponder as the quarterback, ESPN’s Ben Goessling notes that AP and some of his teammates grew impatient when Ponder struggled during an 0-3 start to the 2013 season.
While Bridgewater still has a lot to learn, he’s just in his second-year, but Goessling says he is already shown himself to be ahead of Ponder and AP agreed Wednesday.
“That’s something that Bridgewater has, he’s very competitive. He doesn’t get down on himself too much. He knows that, ‘Hey, you have to go to the next play and keep looking forward and not dwell.’ Got to have a short memory when you’re playing the quarterback position.”
Before the Vikings traded back into the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, Goessling notes they did a detailed study of the quarterback class. He says what moved Bridgewater to the top of their board was seeing his success against the blitz at Louisville.
