Patience Required for Both Teddy Bridgewater, Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings have two wins and five losses to start the 2014 season, and rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has one touchdown pass against five interceptions in four appearances and three starts.

But even in today's win-now, results-based business of the NFL, patience is required for both the Vikings and Bridgewater as long-term entities. 

Head coach Mike Zimmer told reporters Monday—less than 24 hours after a last-second 17-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills—that his expectations for 2014 "have not changed whatsoever." He talked about "unfortunate learning experiences," including the play of his rookie quarterback and young secondary, and even his own handling of a late situation that had a major impact on the final result of last Sunday's contest. 

Bridgewater threw two first-half interceptions, Bills rookie receiver Sammy Watkins burned Minnesota for 122 yards and two scores and Zimmer did not call timeout before Buffalo converted a 4th-and-20 play on the game-winning drive. Learning experiences for all. 

Zimmer is as honest and forthright as any head coach in football. But even he would never directly say that the Vikings are in a transition year—in which a rookie coach, a rookie quarterback, a young, improving defense and an offense dealing with the loss of the franchise's most talented and recognizable player have all coalesced into a two-month period of chaotic football, both on and off the field.

Teams in the midst of such upheaval don't typically find themselves in position to contend for division titles or Lombardi trophies right away.  

For now, the Vikings remain an unrefined group of many talented individual pieces.  

Bill Wippert/Associated Press

On defense alone, Minnesota boasts a pass-rusher (Everson Griffen, second in the NFL in sacks), a freak-athlete linebacker (Anthony Barr), an underrated but sound safety (Harrison Smith), a physically ideal modern cornerback (Xavier Rhodes) and a massive nose tackle (Linval Joseph). All five could be considered building-block pieces. Linebacker Chad Greenway, cornerback Josh Robinson, defensive end Brian Robison and defensive tackles Sharrif Floyd and Tom Johnson are better than adequate role players. 

For the most part, Zimmer has coached the bunch into a respectable group. The Vikings rank in the top half of the NFL in points and yards allowed while setting a pace to improve on numerous other categories, including completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns allowed. 

However, Griffen is a full-time starter for the first time in his career. Barr is a 22-year-old rookie working on just his third year as a linebacker. Smith has played like a Pro Bowler at times, while Rhodes is still improving under Zimmer's watchful eye. Bottom line: A young defense is learning and growing together for a coach who always gets it right on that side of the ball.

Give Zimmer and this green collection of talent another year together, and it's certainly not out of the question to think the Vikings could be a top-10 defense in 2015 and beyond.

Bridgewater requires the same kind of patience.

Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

The numbers are certainly bad—the Vikings rank last in the NFL in passing yards per game (183.9), and Bridgewater is currently 35th out of 35 qualified quarterbacks in passer rating (67.4) this season. The rookie is the only quarterback with at least 80 attempts to not throw at least two touchdown passes, and his five interceptions are the most among those with 150 or less attempts. 

Then again, he's a 21-year-old rookie playing behind a turnstile of an offensive line. He's supposed to have a few ups and a lot of downs. There's still a steep learning curve in the NFL, and facing pressure on every other dropback only exacerbates the difficulty of the process.  

The likes of Andrew Luck and Cam Newton have changed the perception of rookie quarterbacks, certainly to the detriment of other first-year players at the game's most difficult position. Not every rookie quarterback is as physically and mentally prepared to play the game as Luck, or as athletically dominant as Newton. They are the rare exceptions to the rule. 

Also, not every quarterback lands in a comfortable situation like Russell Wilson, who had an elite defense and a dominant running back behind him in 2012. But even Wilson, who is now a Super Bowl winner, struggled early on. 

	Cmp/Att	Yards	Yrd/Att	TD/INT	Rating
R. Wilson	60/100	594	5.9	4/4	73.5
T. Bridgewater*	69/113	812	7.2	1/5	67.4

Over his first four games with the Seattle Seahawks, Wilson completed 60 percent of his passes, averaged 5.9 yards per attempt, threw four interceptions and had a passer rating of 73.5. During his first four in 2014, Bridgewater has completed 61.1 percent and averaged 7.2 yards per attempt, with five interceptions and a passer rating of 67.4. 

The moral of this story: Patience is a virtue with young quarterbacks. 

Bridgewater also hasn't played as poorly as his numbers suggest. 

Two of his five interceptions could be put on the intended receiver, and one other was just a terrific defensive play. He made a bad read in the red zone against the Detroit Lions, but decision-making hasn't been anything near a glaring problem for Bridgewater early on. 

And let's not forget, Bridgewater has faced two of the game's best defensive fronts in back-to-back weeks. The Bills and Lions are both top-10 defenses and a tough assignment for any quarterback, veteran or rookie. 

Most importantly, Bridgewater rebounded Sunday from a two-play stretch in which he threw back-to-back interceptions to complete 12 of 18 passes for 136 yards and his first NFL touchdown, a short throw to receiver Cordarrelle Patterson. He also connected with Greg Jennings for a 38-yard completion down the seam and hit Jarius Wright to convert a third down.

It may seem like nothing more than a moral victory, but his ability to bounce back from a horrid start certainly says something about how Bridgewater operates mentally. 

However, seven games can only say so much about the state of a transitioning football team, and three starts is far from long enough to get a gauge on Bridgewater's potential as an NFL starting quarterback. Both the Vikings and their rookie quarterback require patience. 

Transition seasons are difficult, and rookie quarterbacks can be frustrating. But they are each necessary evils on the path back to respectability. 

Zach Kruse covers the NFC North for Bleacher Report. 

Follow @zachkruse2