I listened to the KFAN game commentary last night, but that’s a big difference from actually watching the action. Matt Cassel and the first team offence put in a creditworthy opening, then Teddy Bridgewater took over. Bridgewater got some time with most of the first team still in the game, then worked with more of the second team through the rest of the first half. Christian Ponder took the field in the second series after halftime.
It was the first time that new head coach Mike Zimmer’s team faced an opponent, so it was re-assuring that the team did fairly well. Especially hopeful was that the defence managed to hold the Raiders out of the end zone until the final few minutes of the game (last year’s defence was historically bad). That is quite clearly showing the impact of Zimmer and his new coaching staff: if they can manage to coax even a league average performance out of the defence this year, the Vikings have a chance to be playing meaningful games in December.
At The Viking Age, Dan Zinski says the game was positive overall and that the team looked well-coached, with few penalties:
It was exactly what you wanted to see from your first team in the preseason opener: signs that things are coming together. A veteran QB running a unit filled with experienced players ought to look fairly sharp even at this early stage, and the Vikings did look sharp.
The offense slowed down some after Teddy Bridgewater came in, but it wasn’t really Teddy’s fault, as a couple of penalties negated some good plays. The second unit struggled for the most part with Teddy in charge, but you can chalk a lot of that up to predictable rookie issues.
Defensively, the Vikings also looked on top of their game early. The first unit held the Raiders’ first team in check, getting after quarterback Matt Schaub with some surprisingly aggressive blitz looks (so much for the unwritten rule about not blitzing in preseason). Rookie Anthony Barr got on the stat sheet with his first half-sack of the preseason, and Kurt Coleman put himself in a nice position in the race for that open starting safety spot by recording an interception.
The Star Tribune‘s Chip Scoggins said that the two quarterbacks looked exactly as you’d expect: Cassel looked like a veteran, while Bridgewater looked like a rookie.
Teddy Bridgewater hadn’t even taken a snap in his first NFL preseason game Friday night when he received a hero’s welcome from a Vikings fan base starved for a savior at quarterback.
Ted-dy! Ted-dy! Ted-dy!
Hey, no pressure, kid.
“I was so tuned into the game that I couldn’t hear anything that was going on around me,” he said.
If the Vikings quarterback competition was a popularity contest, Matt Cassel wouldn’t win if he handed out free drink coupons at the stadium entrance while promoting peace and love.
Alas, fans hoping to see Bridgewater light up his NFL debut like a bonfire and take a Usain Bolt lead in the quarterback competition were forced to show some patience.
Bridgewater received his baptism as a pro, but Cassel bolstered his case to be the starter as the Vikings opened their preseason schedule with a 10-6 victory over Oakland at TCF Bank Stadium.
In other words, nothing that transpired came as a huge surprise. Cassel looked like a veteran, Bridgewater like a rookie.
Cassel threw for 62 yards on 5 of 6 pass attempts, while Bridgewater ended the night 6 of 13 for 49 yards, a fumble (recovered by Matt Kalil), and two sacks.
