Minnesota at Tampa Bay: 3 Things We Learned

1. Teddy Bridgewater Could Be The Answer

Bridgewater is playing like a rookie; some great, bad, and ugly. He has led the Vikings to 2 victories against weak NFC South competition. He hasn't played well against two of the better defenses in the league, Buffalo and Detroit. He also played well in his first start AT New Orleans. They only lost by 11 in New Orleans where the Saints are unbeatable as we saw last night against the Green Bay Packers.

Bridgewater has played very well in their victories, posting QBRs of 71 and 85. This may be due to the one red flag many executives flew over Bridgewater before the draft, confidence. When his team is playing well,they have a chance to win, he has played great. When his team is losing and he is not performing, we have seen QBRs of 47, 15, and 2. 

He is not working with a lot of talent on offense. His top receivers are Greg Jennings and Cordarrelle Patterson. One of the leagues best running backs, Adrian Peterson, has been suspended. Hopefully the Vikings will surround Bridgewater with some more weapons, his confidence can continue to soar, and we will see more impressive games leading to Minnesota victories. 

2. The Bucs Have No Identity

28th in passing, 29th in rushing, 30th in pass defense, 23rd in rush defense

The Bucs have not done anything well this season. They have two 6'5" talented wide receivers that they cannot seem to get the ball to. They have young stars on defense that cannot seem to slow down any quarterback. What is going on in Tampa? Do these young players not fit in these schemes? Is the Tampa 2 defense too simple for today's high scoring NFL? They have been competitive at times; their first 2 losses were by a combined 8 points, they have lost 2 OT games but they have been blown out twice this year. 

There are many questions surrounding these Tampa Bay Bucs. There is not 1 answer to them all. Perhaps Marcus Mariota could answer a few of these questions. 

3. Doug Martin's Days In Tampa Are Numbered

Trade rumors have already been swarming around Tampa running back Doug Martin. He started off his career in Tampa with an incredible rookie season; 1,454 rushing yards and 11 TDs to go along with 472 receiving yards and 1 more TD. In the last two seasons, since his breakout rookie year, Martin has only played in 11 out of 23 games because of injuries. He is also averaging a dismal 3.3 yards per carry since his rookie year. 

He came out of the game again Sunday against the Vikings because of an ankle injury. Running backs have little to no value in the NFL right now. The Bucs would be lucky to get a 4th round pick for him, but it may be time to cut ties with the former star rookie and find the next answer at running back.