Monday Morning Thoughts: Teddy is More Than a Game Manager
After the first five weeks of the regular season, the Carolina Panthers are tied at the top of the NFC South division at 3-2 with Tampa Bay and potentially New Orleans should they beat the Chargers tonight. If you told anyone that the Panthers would be tied for first with Christian McCaffrey sidelined for three of the first five games, you would have likely been called nuts. But here we are.
A big part in the Panthers' early success has to do with the play of quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Since the day he stepped foot on a NFL field, he has been labeled a "game manager." It's a compliment to some, but not in this case. Does he manage the game well? Absolutely, but that's not the sole reason he is successful.
Bridgewater does a good job of taking what the defense gives him and doesn't force throws into tight windows, which is why he's currently 2nd in the NFL in completion percentage (73%). The level of comfort that he has in the offense is through the roof and he trusts his receivers to go make plays.
The one knock on Bridgewater that makes people turn to that "game manager" label is his inconsistency with the deep ball. It's been something that has given him some trouble over the years, but he's continuing to improve on it. Although it wasn't a 50 yard bomb down the field, the throw down the sideline to Robby Anderson on Sunday was a perfect example of how he is developing that area of his game. He led Anderson and put it in a place where only Anderson could catch it. The tough he had on this throw is a work of art. Here's a look incase you missed it.
The more throws like this you see Bridgewater make, the faster that label gets ripped off of him. I mean let's be honest, many teams around the league are going to this dink and dunk offense where they just hit you with a bunch of quick passes and let their receivers go to work. It's almost become a rarity in the league to see a quarterback go through a number of reads and progressions before delivering a throw.
Is Bridgewater good enough to lead this team to the playoffs in 2020? It's hard for me to believe that this group is going to rattle off enough wins to do that, but these first five weeks have proven me wrong so who really knows at this point. I think if he can lead you to seven, maybe eight wins that's a positive sign for the team moving forward.
At the end of the day, you don't pay game managers $60+ million dollars to lead your team. That's the type of money thrown at a guy that can go win you ballgames with his arm and Bridgewater has the ability to do so.
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