Making Dough
There are a great
many things that ... as they age with time ... they become masterpieces in all
manner of forms. For example, Scotch can become exceptional with
time. Many of the art masterpieces are achieved not in the masters youth
but at the end of his life's work. The same is true for Teddy Bridgewater
because at some point ... to be consistently successful ... he's going to need
to see himself playing in this league 10 years down the
line.
Maybe the best example in life is in mixing dough. Now consider a
daughter, a mother and a grandmother all making pies for an upcoming
Thanksgiving feast. Who's pies always come out to be the best. Of
course it is grandma's pie but seldom does anyone consider why? Of course
the daughter is impatient ... probably multitasking in all the
preparations. Both the mother and daughter have sufficient strength to
really work that dough whereas the grandmother no longer has that strength where
she gets the dough to a point and moves on. Dough doesn't like to be
over-mixed. In fact, poor mixing is preferred and it usually results in a flaky
crust. For Teddy, football is like dough where 10 years from today ... if
he's still playing ... he won't be able to do the things that he can do today or
at the very least ... he will no longer consider what he's doing now to be
successful.
Take a good look at those films. Too often Teddy left the pocket way too
soon learning that when that alarm goes off in his head ... sprint for the side
lines. In fact, the way they are now playing Teddy, the defense is daring
Teddy to beat our defense from the pocket ... pouncing on the lanes of a spooked
Teddy. This isn't about the bravery and toughness of Teddy Bridgewater ...
it's about the poor decisions that Teddy is making. Now look at those
D-lineman. Many didn't even pursue Teddy knowing that they didn't need to
chase Teddy's sprint to the sidelines. They would allow an edge defender
to clean up the play for at most a short gain. In all ... another wasted
opportunity.
Now look at Favre in 2009. He didn't have Teddy's sprinting skills.
He learned to side step the rush ... just a few yards to the right or left and
then plant his feet ... for that down the field throw. Rarely did Favre
leave the zone between the numbers still leaving him the entire field to throw
to ... not just one third of it. In fact, he could even still throw across
his body to secure that late over the middle throw for an interception ... but
hey ... there could be a receiver wide open in that zone.
Today, Teddy is trying to secure positive yards with his feet ... sprinting
toward that sideline. There are very limited times when that is a good
thing however, in doing so, there is a lost opportunity cost. Just like
knowing that you can't toss a touchdown pass if you're handing the ball off to
Adrian Peterson ... so it is as true sprinting for that sideline. In
facing the Sea A-hole Sea Cocks for the 2nd time this season ... what you have
is opportunity. All you need to do is take advantage of that
opportunity.
The question posed to Norv Turner should be succinct and direct. Would you
rather have a 1 or 2 yard gain having Teddy sprint toward the side line for a
small positive gain or would you rather settle for having to throw the ball out
of bounds? The caveat to having the later option is that Teddy would also
get to plant his feet for maybe a second or two, by just avoiding or side
stepping the rush, for a throw down field where Teddy's feet would be located
somewhere between the numbers. In other words, having Teddy pretend in his
head that this year is 2026 ... where he would no longer consider a sprint
versus an opportunity at a down the field throw. The answer ... if you're
a betting man ... it that Norv would select the down field opportunity first and
foremost. Why? Because that is what Hall of Fame quarterbacks have
done throughout the ages.
Hey, in time Teddy may even graduate to the next level ... known as the
"Tarkenton Effect". This is where Teddy not only side steps the
rush but he in fact reverses the direction of the original side stepping motion
running in the opposite direction. Of course this is counter intuitive but
Sir Francis clearly understood that defenders where not only chasing an elusive
quarterback carrying hundreds of extra pounds on their frame ... these defensive
lineman were also being chased by offensive lineman that were about to light
them up when they were forced to reverse direction. This simple maneuver
made Fran Tarkenton one of the most hated quarterbacks to have ever played the
game.
The Viking Ghost Writer
http://MyVikingBlood.org
Date: January 5, 2016
