Despite Matt Cassel's Horrific Showing It's Still Not Time for Teddy Bridgewater

If those in attendance at TCF Bank Stadium on Sunday had their way, the Minnesota Vikings would be pulling quarterback Matt Cassel and starting rookie Teddy Bridgewater immediately. 

Chants of "TEDDY! TEDDY! TEDDY!" could be clearly heard throughout Minnesota's 30-7 blowout loss to the New England Patriots, but the shouts for change were loudest after a number of the game-changing mistakes made by Cassel, who threw four interceptions and took six sacks. 

While the public made its intentions known, the time for Bridgewater's debut is not now. 

The Vikings made Cassel their starting quarterback because he played well during the preseason and won the job in August. One poor game—and Sunday's performance was undoubtedly poor—should not provide the basis for a reversal of that decision, especially just two weeks into the season. 

Head coach Mike Zimmer left no room for interpretation about Minnesota's quarterback situation post-game. Asked if Cassel would be his starter in Week 3 against the New Orleans Saints, Zimmer replied with a simple but sufficient response of "yes." 

However, he was also adamant about his commitment to demanding the best, regardless of position.

"I'm going to hold the quarterback position to the same standard," Zimmer said. "I also said I wasn't going to have a quick hook. Matt needs to play better."

Cassel will want to forget about a performance that included an interception during every quarter and a final passer rating of just 39.1. The Vikings went seven plays and 80 yards—including four completions and a 25-yard touchdown from Cassel—to score on their first drive, but then failed to get back on the scoreboard over the offense's next 12 possessions. 

Cassel was especially reckless with the football. 

In the first quarter, he misread Patriots safety Devin McCourty, who ranged over and intercepted a deep ball. Two series later, he made an ill-advised attempt on Darrelle Revis. The All-Pro cornerback smothered Minnesota's Greg Jennings and made an easy pick when Jennings stopped his route. 

The game was put to bed in the second half, when Cassel was intercepted trying to find Cordarrelle Patterson over the middle during the third quarter. His final pick—which came off the hands of running back Matt Asiata—happened with Minnesota down 23 points. 

Sandwiched in between the two sets of interceptions was a blocked field goal returned by the Patriots for a score right before the half. The 10-point swing turned a potential 17-10 game into a 24-7 halftime scoreline. 

"Any time you have four turnovers and a blocked field goal for a touchdown, you're going to get beat," Zimmer said. 

Starting a rookie quarterback in New Orleans against Drew Brees and the win-starved Saints sounds like another way to get beat. Brees in the rowdy atmosphere and fast track of the Superdome is about as deadly as it gets as an opponent. And after starting the season 0-2, New Orleans will certainly want to come home and play well next Sunday.

Starting the rookie in such a setting would be negligent.

Bridgewater is the future of the franchise, but the Vikings have committed to bringing him along at their own pace. Cassel, a 10-year veteran, provides Zimmer and his staff that opportunity. Starting Bridgewater in the Superdome next Sunday would represent a knee-jerk, reactionary decision. Any maybe, most importantly, it would be a sudden trashing of the team's plan for Bridgewater.  

Of course, this opinion isn't meant to excuse Cassel and his performance. Accountability matters, especially at the quarterback position. If Cassel continues throwing the football to the other team in coming weeks, the Vikings can revisit the idea of playing Bridgewater, but with a more solid base of information.

The assumption should be that Cassel will get at least through Week 5, when the Vikings welcome the Green Bay Packers to Minnesota for a Thursday night matchup. If Minnesota is still struggling, and Cassel isn't playing well, it might make sense for Bridgewater to make his debut at home in Week 6 against the Detroit Lions. 

For now, Sunday's disastrous result represents nothing more than Minnesota's dominating opening win in St. Louis, where Cassel threw two touchdowns and had the fourth-highest passer rating of any quarterback in Week 1. 

"Just like last week was one week, this week is one week," Zimmer said.

Teddy Bridgewater will eventually get his chance. It just won't be now, and it won't be because of one bad game from Matt Cassel. 

Zach Kruse covers the NFC North for Bleacher Report. 

Follow @zachkruse2