Minnesota star running back Adrian Peterson, who recently said the Vikings can win it all this season, compares quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s game to Tom Brady.
Peterson feels the 23-year-old Bridgewater is ready to come into his own as a third-year starter while making the comparison to the four-time Super Bowl champion quarterback of the New England Patriots.
“He reminds me of a Tom Brady because Tom Brady is great at those mediocre passes,” Peterson said on Friday’s Pro Football Talk Live on NBC Sports Radio. “Those short passes and midrange passes and that’s exactly what Teddy does as well. He’s the type of guy that needs the receiver that runs routes and that’s at a specific location that you’re practicing.
“So I feel like with the additions that we’ve made to the offensive line and of course me envisioning what I’ll be able to bring to the offense as well I think that’s going to make his job a lot easier. With that he’ll feel more comfortable and he can really get back there and just play his game. So I’m expecting big things from Teddy this year.”
The Vikings reached the playoffs last season for the first time in three years as Peterson returned to the field following his 2014 suspension.
The Vikings will be seeking more from their offense as they try to build on an 11-5 season in 2015.
Improving the offensive line, which allowed 83 sacks of Bridgewater in his first two seasons, was one of head coach Mike Zimmer’s top priorities this offseason.
The Vikings added offensive guard Alex Boone and offensive tackle Andre Smith during the offseason.
–Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank wants to see more data to make sure Las Vegas can support an NFL team.
Blank wants to study whether the gambling capital of the world is fully committed after Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis increased the ante of where his team will play in the future by pledging $500 million last month toward the building of a proposed $1.4 billion domed stadium in Las Vegas.
Such a move would require approval from at least 24 of the 32 league owners.
“I think whether or not there are enough people in Las Vegas to support a team is a question,” Blank told ESPN.com Friday. “I haven’t seen the data on that to support it or not support it. It’s certainly a dynamic market. It’s a growth market. It’s got tremendous tourism, a lot of convention business. So it’s certainly a consideration. We’ll see what the facts bear.
“I want to see all the research on whether (Las Vegas) can support a franchise or not. It’s no different than any other city we look at.”
Davis has stopped short of guaranteeing a move to Las Vegas but made his intentions clear with comments like turning “the Silver State into the silver and black state.”
“I think, obviously, we’d have to build a wall around the football operations and the franchise itself, which I think they can do effectively,” Blank said. “That (gambling) opportunity exists in any market.”
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell seems to be softening his position on gambling conflicts after Davis’ recent visits to Sin City.
–Star wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals graduated from college on Saturday to fulfill the promise he made to his mother more than a decade ago.
The 32-year-old Fitzgerald received his degree from the University of Phoenix, majoring in communications with a minor in marketing. He first enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh in 2002.
“I’m glad I can finally shake the 15-year college student stigma,” Fitzgerald joked to ESPN.
Fitzgerald left Pitt after his sophomore season and was drafted third overall in 2004 by the Cardinals.
But Fitzgerald never forgot the promise he made to his mother, Carol, who died in 2003 from breast cancer.
Fitzgerald spent the past 13 years working toward fulfilling that promise to his mother.
“I wanted to make sure I was doing what I promised her I’d do,” Fitzgerald told ESPN. “I was the only one in my family who hadn’t graduated. So now, finally being able to graduate, I’m part of the family now, for real.”