If people are concerned about the Vikings quarterback situation, you wouldn’t know it by listening to Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner.
Turner told KFAN Monday that they have a “really good group.”
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer hasn’t tipped his hand about who will start for the team when the season opens on Sept. 7 at St. Louis. Turner didn’t offer much insight on who will start, he praised all three competing for the job.
“We get between 120 to 140 snaps during a training camp day and that is plenty enough time for all the guys to work a rotation and give them bigger reps and evaluate them,” Turner said Monday.
According to Pro Football Talk, many believe that veteran Matt Cassel will be the starter Week One, especially since Turner wanted him last year in Cleveland, but others believe Teddy Bridgewater is being groomed to take over sooner rather than later.
“I think Matt Cassel has had an outstanding spring and is getting himself ready to really have a good year,” Turner said. “And we know Teddy’s been really, really impressive and a lot further along than I expected him to be.”
Bridgewater’s minicamp performance really caught the attention of those in attendance. Turner himself admitted to being impressed with Bridgewater’s deep ball accuracy.
The Star Tribune reports there’s a noticeable difference when Bridgewater throws the ball.
Bridgewater has looked very impressive up to this point and there’s a noticeable difference when he throws the ball compared to Matt Cassel and Christian Ponder. The touch has always been there but his passes don’t flutter out of his hands. It’s a smooth, quick release that even the untrained eye will tell in training camp that Bridgewater throws a better ball than Ponder and Cassel.
But Turner could just be saying nice things about all of the quarterbacks on the roster. Turner also said he has been impressed with Christian Ponder, whose struggles prompted the team to select Bridgewater in the first round.
Former Vikings quarterback Rich Gannon, an NFL analyst for CBS Sports, also had some thoughts on the situation. Gannon thinks the Vikings’ coaching staff is in a more comfortable spot than Cleveland’s.
The Browns drafted Jonny Manziel at 22nd instead of Bridgewater, allowing the Vikings to pick up Bridgewater with the last pick in the first round.
“You look at the Manziel situation,” Gannon told the Pioneer Press. “I think unless Hoyer gets out and lights it up and the team is starting to win, (he’s in jeopardy). If they don’t, if they start 1-3, they’re going to be clamoring for Manziel.”
Gannon said for the Vikings they have a rookie without the hype of Manziel’s and a proven veteran in Cassel, while Cleveland has a rookie in Manziel with a lot of hype and a veteran in Hoyer who has only started a few games in his six-year NFL career.
