Teddy Bridgewater's Success as a Rookie Will Be Determined by Vikings Playmakers

The future has arrived in Minnesota with Teddy Bridgewater's era as the Vikings starting quarterback officially starting in Week 4 against Atlanta. While the expectations will be high from outside observers, his success ultimately depends on what's around him. 

Bridgewater has been thrust into the starting role sooner than Mike Zimmer wanted due to an injury Matt Cassel sustained in a Week 3 loss against New Orleans. Cassel was officially placed on injured reserve Wednesday, ending his 2014 season.

Like all rookie quarterbacks, Bridgewater will endure growing pains. You could see the good and bad of his development after playing against the Saints. He finished that game 12-of-20 for 150 yards and 27 yards on six carries. 

A lot of those passing yards were created by the players on the receiving end. Bridgewater's longest pass went for 41 yards on a screen pass that Matt Asiata turned into a big play. It sounds like a criticism of how the rookie quarterback was used, but that's precisely what the Vikings must do to make this a smooth transition. 

Coming out of a pro day that was by all accounts a disappointment, Bridgewater's scouting reports changed dramatically. He went from being the best quarterback and No. 2 overall prospect in the 2014 draft, according to ESPN's Todd McShay (subscription required) in May 2013, to a fringe first-round pick. 

In that report, McShay praised Bridgewater's "quick release, above-average accuracy" and called him a good athlete able to "pick apart defenses with his brain and arm."

After the pro day, McShay's report changed (subscription required) to downgrade Bridgewater's arm strength to average and wondered how he would respond to NFL punishment before saying he "reads coverage, anticipates well and shows excellent footwork in the pocket. His ability to handle and beat pressure also stands out. "

Once it became clear that Bridgewater was a quarterback who was going to need a lot of help to succeed, the situation he went to would become crucial. Avoiding punishment shouldn't be a problem because the Vikings finished in the top 10 of pass blocking and run blocking last season, according to Pro Football Focus. 

So with protection in front of him, Bridgewater needed to be put in a situation where there were playmakers around him to save him from himself. 

This is where the situation gets dicey for the young quarterback. The Vikings do have one of the great home run hitters in the NFL, Cordarrelle Patterson. Unfortunately, the coaching staff has done a bad job of integrating him into the offense. 

Bill Haber/Associated Press

Even though Patterson was limited in practice last week with a chest injury, he still has just 15 touches on offense through three games (11 receptions, four rushes). He is a prominent part of special teams, with 191 yards on seven returns, though that 27.3-yard average is down more than five yards from his 32.4-yard average last season. 

Last year, Patterson had nine total touchdowns (four receiving, three rushing, two returns). So far this year, he has just one. The season is still young, so the second-year wideout has time to turn things on. 

However, after Patterson, where are the big plays going to come from? Greg Jennings did have a nice rapport with Bridgewater against New Orleans with five receptions and 70 yards, including a 30-yard completion. 

Jennings hasn't been a difference-maker since leaving Aaron Rodgers after 2012. He's got 80 catches in 18 games with Minnesota, but a paltry 11.7 yards per reception shows that he's become more of a possession guy at this stage of his career. 

You can't say Jennings' yards per catch are a product of Minnesota's offense because in his last year with the Packers he averaged 10.2 yards per reception. 

The quarterback's best friend and safety net is a tight end, but Kyle Rudolph is out for at least six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia, according to NFL Network's Albert Breer: 

The running attack in Minnesota has undergone a dynamic shift and is currently averaging less than 100 yards per game. Bridgewater doesn't have the toys to play with right now, outside of Patterson, to be a dynamic quarterback. 

We are going to see a lot of what we saw in Week 3, with short passes that have to be turned into big plays by the receivers in order for the Vikings to score points. Bridgewater is smart enough to not make stupid mistakes, but turnovers happen with young players. 

Without a running game and more than one big-play threat on the outside to turn to, Bridgewater will have his work cut out for him. It's just too bad that Rudolph is out for more than a month and only one receiver has breakaway speed. 

It's good that Bridgewater is able to get this experience now, whether the Vikings intended for it to happen this soon or not, so he will be better prepared moving forward. He's just in a situation that doesn't maximize the things he's capable of doing right now. 

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