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11	April 2019

The Vikings� quarterback decision looks pretty good

so far Going into the offseason Stefon Diggs Jersey , the Minnesota Vikings had three quarterbacks on their roster that many considered to be, at the very least, solid options. They had Case Keenum, who was coming off of the best season of his career in leading the Vikings to the 2017 NFC Championship Game. They had Sam Bradford, who looked amazing in the 2017 opener before getting injured and giving way to Keenum. And they had Teddy Bridgewater, who fought back from a gruesome knee injury to get back on the field and had endeared himself to many of the Vikings� faithful despite not putting up huge statistical numbers.Yet, when the time came to give out a big quarterback contract in March of 2018, Vikings� GM Rick Spielman, head coach Mike Zimmer, and offensive coordinator John DeFilippo decided that the answer to that question was �none of the above.� Instead, they wined, dined, and eventually gave the first fully-guaranteed contract in the NFL�s free agency era to Kirk Cousins. Cousins had bided his time in Washington, playing under the franchise tag for two consecutive years, but was never really embraced by the coaching staff in the nation�s capital. . .or the majority of the fan base, for that matter.It�s still early in the season, but to this point it appears that the people that run the Vikings might kind of sort of have an idea about what they�re doing.We�ll skip Bridgewater, who hasn�t seen the field in 2018 because he�s backing up Drew Brees in New Orleans.In Arizona, Bradford started the first three games of the season for the Cardinals (who the Vikings will see this coming Sunday). In those three games Harrison Smith Jersey , he threw for a total of 400 yards, including a 90-yard performance in a shutout loss against the Rams. He was pulled late in the team�s Week 3 loss to Chicago in favor of rookie Josh Rosen. In each of the last two games, not only has Bradford not played, he hasn�t even been active. That means that not only was he behind Rosen on the depth chart, he�s now behind Mike Glennon.Yes, Mike Glennon. But at least he�s getting about $20 million this year to not dress on game day.In Denver, things haven�t been much better for Keenum. He got off to a decent enough start, throwing three touchdown passes (and three interceptions) in a season-opening victory over Seattle. Then, he had no touchdown passes in Week 2.Or Week 3.Or Week 4.He finally got back on track against the Jets on Sunday with two more scoring throws, but the Broncos are now riding a three-game losing streak after winning their first two games.Cousins, on the other hand, has been pretty good.With Brees yet to play in Week 5 action, Cousins is currently second in the NFL in passing yardage (behind Jared Goff), and is currently completing over 71% of his passes, despite being one of the most pressured quarterbacks in the National Football League so far this season. He�s thrown 11 touchdown passes through the team�s first five games, and has thrown only two interceptions, both of which came on passes that really should have been caught by their intended receiver. He�s on pace to shatter just about every Vikings� single-season passing record.I understand that Cousins gets the benefit of an incredibly talented supporting case, with Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs comprising the best receiving duo in the NFL and Kyle Rudolph continuing to do his thing as well. Keenum and Bradford undoubtedly benefited from having those players to work with as well. However, Cousins was good before he got the opportunity to work with this group of skill position players. The Vikings knew that Cousins� skills would be even more enhanced by getting to work with those guys. Keenum and Bradford Adam Thielen Jersey , on the other hand, got the benefit of playing with those players as well but couldn�t get the Vikings to the promised land.I can�t imagine that there are a lot of holdouts left in the pro-Keenum or pro-Bradford or pro-Bridgewater camps after the first five weeks of this season. However, at this early juncture, it sure does look like the Vikings have made the right decision. Aaron Rodgers channeled a fictional prize fighter to describe how he felt after playing the Minnesota Vikings."If you've seen (the movie) 'Rocky III,' you know Clubber Lang has a prediction before the fight: 'Pain,'" Rodgers said with a smile on Wednesday. "That's kind of what it felt like."Rodgers said that he remained a "little sore" following the 29-29 tie against Minnesota last week when he played with a brace to protect his injured left knee.It's not the only pain that he felt.With limited mobility, Rodgers was knocked around by the Vikings' top defense for four sacks and nine quarterback hits.Rodgers played well, though, and completed 30 of 42 passes for 281 yards and one touchdown. He even rushed three times for 8 yards, including a 7-yard scramble to convert a third-and-7 on the Packers' first touchdown drive."The heat and the adrenaline definitely helped, but it's just going to be something you've got to deal with for a while," Rodgers said. "Take it week by week. It doesn't seem like there's a major setback at this point, so just being smart about it and trying to get ready to play Sunday."Rodgers didn't practice on Wednesday.Coming off a Sunday night victory over Chicago in Week 1 and playing 10 additional minutes against Minnesota in Week 2, coach Mike McCarthy scrapped practice in favor of a walk-through as his team began prep for the road game Sunday against the Washington Redskins."We're pretty beat up coming off a night and then 4 2/3 quarters on Sunday. Just trying to be smart about it," Rodgers said.McCarthy wouldn't commit to Rodgers practicing on Thursday, which is typically the Packers' heaviest practice day of the week."We're still in a day-by-day mode," McCarthy said.Rodgers, who acknowledged the injury could get worse before it gets better, practiced on Saturday before facing Minnesota. He would like to practice at least once this week to get ready for Washington."I'm going to need to see certain looks in the walkthroughs to replace those reps I may or not get in practice and try and get out there at least one day this week and feel good about the stuff we have moving on into Sunday Kirk Cousins Jersey ," Rodgers said.MATTHEWS PENALTYThe NFL announced this week that it would use linebacker Clay Matthews' roughing-the-passer penalty on Minnesota's Kirk Cousins as part of its weekly teaching video provided to teams. A similar hit on Rodgers by Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks would also be part of the video.The flag on Matthews overturned an interception by cornerback Jaire Alexander that could have allowed the Packers to run out the clock for a win."We haven't changed anything with the way we're coaching our players," McCarthy said.Rodgers, who suffered a broken collarbone following a hit by Minnesota's Anthony Barr last season, said the league has gone too far in protecting quarterbacks."I think we enjoy the protection below the knee and above the shoulders, but I don't know many quarterbacks who want those calls," he said. "The one on me, I don't think that's roughing the passer, either.Added Rodgers: "There's a goal to limit these hits but they're pretty obvious when you see them � you know, a guy picking somebody up and full weight on them. What do you say to Clay? His head is out of it. His hand is on the ground. That's not roughing the passer. Same thing with Kendricks. What do you say to him on that?"Rodgers said he did not get up from the turf after the hit from Kendricks looking for a penalty. He called himself a traditionalist."I've watched the game and loved the game for a long time, and some of the rules I think help," Rodgers said, "but some of the rules maybe are going the wrong direction."Notes: RB Aaron Jones is back following a two-game suspension, but his "role will be secondary" to that of Jamaal Williams and Ty Montgomery, McCarthy said. ... The team released CB Deate Burton to make room on the roster to activate Jones. ... McCarthy did not expect CB Kevin King (groin) to play this week, though he did not think it would be a long-term issue.