What has Teddy Bridgewater learned in his two career starts? –> http://t.co/KMhChm8RYY pic.twitter.com/2724l6UtmH
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 16, 2014
Minnesota Vikings rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater put much of the blame for the eight sacks last Sunday against Detroit on himself.
“We all could have played better, starting with me,” said Bridgewater to reporters on Wednesday. “In the passing game, I have to be much quicker in my decision making and get the ball out much faster.”
Bridgewater said the Lions did a nice job covering Vikings’ receivers, but he said there were a number of plays when he held the ball with receivers running open through the Lions secondary.
Contrary to what Bridgewater said, according to ESPN his average throwing time was just 2.49 seconds – the ninth-fastest time among all 30 quarterbacks who played in Week 6. His average time in the pocket was only 2.29 seconds – also the ninth-fastest.
The report does point to two plays where Bridgewater could have avoided a sack by getting rid of the ball a little sooner, but he also took four of the eight sacks on third down when the Vikings needed more than just a few yards.
On top of the sacks, Bridgewater also threw three interceptions against the Lions, and one of them was in the red zone early in the game.
“It was first down, ball on the 15 yard line, and it’s a time I could have been much smarter in my decision-making,” said Bridgewater. “I could have worked the inside guy, which I believe was Greg Jennings. All week in practice I got reps throwing to the outside guy and I got a little complacent.”
Bridgewater told reporters that offensive coordinator Norv Turner noticed less hesitation during his debut against Atlanta, when the rookie threw for 317 yards without an interception in his first career start.
Head coach Mike Zimmer says the difference between the Vikings’ two wins and four losses is pretty simple. He notes that in the team’s two victories the quarterback has not been sacked and the Vikings haven’t turned the ball over.
Buffalo won’t be much easier. The Bills come into the contest with 19 sacks on the season, including five by defensive tackle Marcell Dareus.
