Warren Moon may have retired from the NFL, but the Hall-of-Fame quarterback hasn't left the game of football. Moon now works as a radio analyst for the Seahawks, and he watched two of his former teams square off against each other in Seattle last week.
Although Moon didn't get a look at Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who didn't play due to a coach's decision, he has seen a number of Bridgewater's performances, including the Wild Card playoff game last January. Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press caught up with Moon to **get his thoughts on the third-year quarterback**.
"One thing Teddy needs to do is drive the ball better down the field, and he showed it with the 49-yard touchdown pass (in the Aug. 12 preseason opener at Cincinnati),'' Moon told Tomasson. "That I think is the evolution of his game. If he can do that, he will make this offense much more explosive.''
Moon said he likes a lot of Bridgewater's game but does see some room for improvements, and he thinks Bridgewater is focused on those areas.
"He understands he's got to do a better job of pushing the ball down the field,'' Moon said. "He's very careful with the ball. He's very safe with the ball. He doesn't turn it over very much for a young quarterback, but he's got to take a few more chances down the field just so everything is not so methodical and they have to work so hard to get their scores.''
The former quarterback, who played for the Vikings from 1994-96 and became the franchise's first quarterback to throw for more than 4,000 yards in a season, told Tomasson that Bridgewater is the anchor Minnesota is building off of and that he will continue improving.
"I think the guys really respect him in the locker room by how he works," Moon said. "He never gets too high or too low. … You want your quarterback to be a stabilizing force.''
Will Cordarrelle Patterson see more action in 2016?
Following last week's slew of the preseason games, Sports Illustrated writer Chris Burke broke down each matchup and **identified takeaways for each team**. In Minnesota's 18-11 defeat of Seattle, Burke zeroed in on wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson's two catches for 17 yards. Burke wrote:
*They both came on screen plays designed specifically for him. So, now what? He averaged 8.5 yards on those attempts in Seattle, briefly flashing his usual shiftiness. But we also know what he can do with the ball in his hands. *
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With better weapons outside and more of a vertical threat from Teddy Bridgewater, a lot of room would be available underneath for Patterson. Was this a sign of things to come? Or just the Vikings getting him some work?
Burke's observations about the Vikings NFC North rivals included a lack of linebacker depth for the Lions, early impressions of Chicago's rookie guard Cody Whitehair and the production of Packers fullback Aaron Ripkowski.
