Teddy Bridgewater doesn’t have to look far for the quarterback he’d most like to emulate.
“If I could be like any other quarterback that played in the National Football League, I would have to say Brett Favre is the guy,” Bridgewater told the Pioneer Press. “Besides the injuries and the hits and everything, he had a pretty successful career. He’s a Hall of Famer for sure, multiple Super Bowls, and that’s something that I look forward to doing.”
For the record, Favre won only one Super Bowl.
Bridgewater answered the question and a few others for the newspaper in an interview that was done to commemorate his 2014 Pepsi Rookie of the Year Award.
If Bridgewater is hoping to have a career similar to Favre’s, he’s already got a head start. As a rookie, Bridgewater threw for 2,919 yards with 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Favre threw just four passes his rookie season with Atlanta – and none of them were completed.
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The Star Tribune’s Master Tesfatsion took a look back at all of Bridgewater’s games last season and compared them to another rookie quarterback: Oakland’s Derek Carr. After studying the film Tesfatsion concluded:
“Both franchises should be pleased with the way the 2014 NFL Draft played out because they snagged franchise quarterbacks with the 32nd and 36th overall picks. However, once you watch the film on both quarterbacks, it’s clear Bridgewater had the a better year. He was more consistent given the adversity both quarterbacks had to face all season.”
While the Pepsi Rookie of the Year award and some of the other accolades are nice, Bridgewater isn’t satisfied with that. He told the Pioneer Press he’d much rather help the Vikings win the first Super Bowl in franchise history.
“You play the game to win, and that’s why I’m in Minnesota,” Bridgewater said. “I want to win championships, and that’s our goal.”
But if that’s the goal, even Bridgewater knows that he will have to improve. He told reporters last month that if he doesn’t improve he knows the team will be staring down the barrel of another 7-9 season.
Bridgewater and the Vikings begin organized team activities next week. Bridgewater tells the newspaper that one area he’d specifically like to improve is with his decision-making skills.
