-Sammy Baugh, Hall of Fame quarterback
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has borrowed some of Baugh's practice habits. Bridgewater has instituted an "Odd Ball Thursday" into his weekly practice schedule. "Odd Ball Thursday" is pretty much the same routine that Baugh describes. He throws the ball in different and difficult positions. Awkward body positions and locations on the field. With the laces and without. Basically, he tries to become comfortable making throws when it's uncomfortable. On game day not every pocket is clean. Not every situation is routine. Good quarterbacks find new and better ways to do things. Even in practice. Great quarterbacks, like Sammy Baugh, squeeze everything that they can from every practice. They use every opportunity away from the game to be better in the game. They never stop getting better. Baugh won an NFL title in his rookie season. That didn't stop him from striving to get better. Teddy Bridgewater didn't come close to an NFL title in his rookie season but he's given everyone involved with the Vikings hope that he will find a way to win one, and more. He's definitely putting the practice habits in place to get there. "Odd Ball Thursday" follows "Wet Ball Wednesday." That one is pretty self-explanatory. The kid wants to get better. He's going to get better.
When you don't have a "franchise" quarterback to lead your team there's an incredible amount of pressure to find a "franchise" quarterback to lead your team. The Vikings have been looking for that quarterback since Fran Tarkenton threw his last pass for them in 1978. They thought that they had something with Tommy Kramer, Wade Wilson, Brad Johnson, and Daunte Culpepper. They really thought that they had their guy with Culpepper but he was never the same after a knee injury. Injuries also kept Kramer from becoming the quarterback that his skills teased. The Vikings found great, often spectacular, seasons from grey-beards like Warren Moon, Randall Cunningham, and Brett Favre but those were fleeting moments usually lasting a single season. The Vikings have rarely been comfortable at the quarterback position in my lifetime. It appears that's finally changed.
There's a great sense of comfort in heading into a draft without QB at the top of a needs list. The Vikings truly got lucky that teams put so much stock in Teddy Bridgewater's "poor" Pro Day last year. That allowed the Vikings to draft the talented passer with the last pick of the first round. He would have been available on the second night of the draft if the Vikings hadn't traded with the Seattle Seahawks to make the last pick of the first night. Inconceivable! All because of a stupid Pro Day. Inconceivable! I watched a few of Bridgewater's games while he was at Louisville. I was impressed with the calm manner in which he carried himself and led his team. It verged on eerie. That calm was even more evident through his first year in the NFL. A time and a place in which remaining calm would seem impossible. I was also impressed with his touch and his ability to lead his receivers. I was sold on Teddy Bridgewater during the pre-draft shenanigans of ESPN and Jon Gruden. The former NFL coach has been cornering quarterbacks for a few years now on his pre-draft television program. In particular, he puts the soon-to-be NFL quarterbacks on the whiteboard to diagram and explain plays. Most quarterbacks shy away from this. Some even look as if they want to run from it. They are being challenged in front of Gruden and a television audience and don't like it at all. Teddy Bridgewater embraced the challenge. He loved talking football. Route concepts, protections, and strategies. I thought that Gruden was going to have to haul Bridgewater away from the board. After seeing that I was sold on the kid. The Minnesota Vikings were extremely lucky that so many other teams forgot that actual football games weigh much more than Pro Days. Some thought that quiet calm meant an inability to lead when all that it really meant was "I got this." The Minnesota Vikings were extremely lucky that Teddy Bridgewater was still waiting at the end of the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Even more important than having the ability to play quarterback in the is the understanding that the process never stops. No great quarterback is satisfied. No great quarterback stops learning. All great quarterbacks find new ways to get better. "Odd Ball Thursday." "Wet Ball Wednesday." Like Sammy Baugh nearly 80 years ago, Teddy Bridgewater understands that he has to put in the work. Sometimes unique work. On the field. In the film room. He can never rest. And he knows it.
No comments:
Post a Comment