Teddy Bridgewater should start at quarterback for the New York Jets.
Teddy Bridgewater was better than Sam Darnold against the Atlanta Falcons. Some thought that was a fluke. Then, the 2014 NFL Draft star bested Darnold again, last night, against the Washington Redskins.
Teddy Bridgewater must be wondering what else he has to do to prove he’s deserving of the New York Jets starting quarterback job over 2018 NFL Draft 3rd Pick-In-The-1st-Round Sam Darnold. First, Bridgewater has league experience, and only a wild seemingly-career-ending injury kept him from being the Minnesota Vikings star of the future.
Teddy Bridgewater: dime
And that snag ? (via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/Hid1WuJhtb
— ESPN (@espn) August 17, 2018
Second, after two years of successful rehab, Teddy Bridgewater is not only back as an NFL QB, but better than ever, and now really motivated to do more than just pick up where he left off with the Vikings. Bridgewater’s playing like he wants a ring – now. Anyone who knows the game of football understands that in order to properly evaluate talent, you go with what you see – you don’t explain it away.
Teddy Bridgewater is not just putting up good numbers – 17 of 23 passes for 73.9 percent, 212 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and a 113.0 passer rating. Bridgewater is doing the little things well, like throwing the ball to a spot on a receiver tha’ts so textbook effective I have to wonder if the late San Francisco 49ers Head Coach and creator of the West Coast Offense Bill Walsh is whispering into his ear things like “Throw the right corner end-zone pattern to the outside shoulder of the wide receiver, just before his outer number and his inner number on the front of his chest, and after one hitch-step”?
Walsh in his ear or not, Bridgewater is light-years ahead of Darnold. Sam Darnold is two years away of being anywhere near the kind of QB Teddy Bridgewater is right now. Bridgewater has the little things that add up to efficiently running the New York Jets Offense down-pat: the play calling, defensive recognition, moving in the pocket to create throwing chances, and grace-under-pressure that it takes to bring a championship to New York.
Yes, I did write that. I’ve seen enough: Teddy Bridgewater has what it takes to lead the New York Jets to the Super Bowl in Atlanta – Super Bowl 53. If the Jets Defense can discover run gap control (they gave up big runs in a fashion that can be fixed) punch their ticket to Atlanta.
Teddy Bridgewater gives the New York Jets Tom Brady level play. He’s ready to lead.
If Jets General Manager Mike Maccagan has any brains and confidence, he gets behind Teddy Bridgewater and junks the idea of trading him. Sam Darnold is not the QB to lead the Jets anywhere other than over to the 21 Club for dinner, and even then he’s too green to know how to ask about sitting at Frank Sinatra’s old table – let alone have the confidence to sit there.
Stay tuned.