*Vikings Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater *

We'll take Monday night as a learning experience. We know that we have to play better on the road and didn't execute well. It was a learning experience, but now we have to shift our focus to Detroit, it's a short week. We get to go in today, evaluate the film, move on. We get to play Detroit, a familiar opponent, a divisional game. Those guys know us well, we know them well. They have different faces, but the scheme is still the same, so we're excited.

Q: What did you personally learn from that San Francisco game?

A: I just have to treat it like another game. You have to be prepared to play in prime time. I think I was too excited to play and it showed. Put it in the past and learn from it.

Q: Did you feel early on in the game that you were too excited and what did you do to try and bring yourself down?

A: I think I was definitely too excited. It was the first game of the season and you want to get out there and show all of your hard work from training camp, OTAs and the preseason. I think I just missed a couple throws, easy throws that I make in practice 9 out of 10 times and it played a huge role in the outcome.

Q: Are you surprised Coach Zimmer was so critical of you?

A: I wasn't surprised at all and that's what I love, tough coaching. I try to be my worst critic and to hear it from the head guy, it tells you, "Hey, you need to step up your game." Hearing that just put that chip on my shoulder and I have to continue to just get better and it just showed me and it showed us as a team we're nowhere as good as we are. We got outplayed, San Fran out-executed us and it showed Monday night.

Q: Were there any surprises to what San Francisco was throwing at you?

A: There were some plays where they may have taken away the first progression, we had to get down to the second guy, third guy, so San Fran did some things well also, but I know that I could have done a better job Monday night getting the ball out faster and different things like that.

Q: How do you respond and avoid pressing again?

A: Simple, I watch the tape, learn from it and try not to make the same mistakes twice. This week we're going to fly around practice and Sunday we're going to go out there and just play at a higher level.

Q: What past experiences can you draw during a period of adversity?

A: I just take it as a learning experience. I tell myself, "Hey, I can't do the same thing that I did last week or we're going to be sitting at home 0-2." So I just have to continue to play within myself, play within the system, trust what the coaching staff is telling me and just get the ball to my playmakers and allow those guys to make plays.

Q: Do you think you were a bit hesitant at times Monday night?

A: Like I said, San Fran had some looks where they would take away the primary receiver and I had to get down to the second guy in my read, the third guy, so it may have looked like that, but also there were some plays where I should have gotten the ball out to the first receiver and things like that. So I just have to continue to work, make better decisions, be faster in my progression.

Q: Do you feel a difference now on how teams are approaching you since there is tape out there on you?

A: Definitely. After playing 12 or 13 games last year, there's enough tape out there to learn my tendencies, learn things that I do well, learn things that I struggle with, so teams catch on to that, but I try not to give them too many things to catch on to, try not to give them too many tendencies. I'm just going to continue to try and limit the little things and try to become a better player.

Q: Is that the next step in your progression?

A: Definitely, but I think more as a team we want to try and continue to do the things that we do well, because when we're doing those things, we're playing at a high level.

Q: Was the deep ball to Mike Wallace pretty much where you wanted to put it?

A: Yeah, definitely. It was a bang-bang play and Mike, he's a guy who is going to play a huge part in our success as a team and throughout the course of the year we're going to have those plays.

Q: How do you feel about playing Detroit after struggling against them last year?

A: I'm very excited to go out there and play those guys. Like I said, it's a divisional game. Those guys know us well, we know them pretty well.

Q: Why do you think they gave you so much trouble last year after throwing five interceptions in two games?

A: I think two of them may have been batted balls, a couple were overthrows, so there were different things that factored into those turnovers. I know for me, I can be better in my ball placement and things like that, getting the ball out fast. I think the second time we played them, I showed strides at getting the ball out faster, but I still had the two major turnovers, costly turnovers, that hurt us.

Q: Is there a different tone to that defense without Ndamukong Suh in the middle?

A: Yeah, definitely. There are some different faces on that defense, but the scheme is still the same. They're a fast and physical team that flies to the football. We're talking about the number two defense in the league last year, a team that is coming off an 11-5 season, 11 wins and 5 losses last year, a team that is coming off a loss in Week 1 also, so they're going to come here with a chip on their shoulder.

Q: What was Philip Rivers able to do to them after throwing over 400 yard against their defense last week?

A: You put the tape on and Philip Rivers, he's just taking what the defense gives him. He's not forcing the ball down the field, he's getting the ball to his playmakers, allowing those guys to make plays for him.

Q: Had you ever felt that unpoised in a game before?

A: I felt poised all night, actually. There were just some plays where I may have tried to do too much. It's going to take a whole team effort to win a game, not just me. That's something that Coach Zimmer said after the game, there are 10 other guys on the football field with me, I don't have to do it all by myself. I just have to trust those guys, trust that they know what they're doing and they put their trust in me.

Q: Would you say you felt sped-up at all during the game?

A: I could say that I was probably sped up a little. That's the mindset playing quarterback here, you want to be quick. You want to be fast, but not in a hurry. I think Monday night I was in a hurry. I'm going to get our here today, practice and try to eliminate those mistakes.

Q: How do you approach this week being a shorter week with a quick turnaround?

A: Actually, I'm excited that it's a short week because we now have six days, we have less days until we get out there to redeem ourselves. We can put Monday night in the past now, we get to focus on Detroit now. We can't wait for Sunday. 

Q: What do you think put you in the sped-up mindset?

A: No. I think I was just over-doing it. Over-doing the playing fast part, it just showed.

Q: What was your first game experience with Adrian Peterson like?

A: It was very exciting but we didn't get the outcome that we wanted and that's what is most important. Adrian [Peterson] is going to play a huge part in our success as a team and we can't wait to get him the ball.

Q: Do you notice defenses paying a little more attention to when Adrian Peterson is in the backfield compared to a season ago without him?

A: I haven't noticed it. That entire running back corps, those guys do a great job of spelling each other and motivating each other.

Q: How do you feel the offensive line played and what do you attribute the five sacks to in general?

A: You could point the finger at me. I could have been better, whether it's redirecting protection and things like that. We had a look, I got sacked on the minus-two yard line, a look that we have seen in practice and I didn't redirect the protection. Just little things like that that will hurt us throughout the course of the year.

Q: Even with the losses on the offensive line you don't have any concerns?

A: No. We would love to be healthy up front, but we have to continue to just work with the guys who we have healthy right now. Those guys are going to do a great job for us. Those guys work extremely hard, they come out to practice every day and they're eager to be great.

Q: What was today's team meeting like with Coach Zimmer?

A: We actually didn't have the team meeting yet. I'm pretty sure it's not going to be a good one. We can't focus on San Francisco much longer, we have an important game coming up Sunday against Detroit, a divisional opponent.

Q: You and Coach Turner have mentioned starting fast before, when the first series went how it did, does that alter your mindset for the rest of the game?

A: No, I don't think so, but I had some easy completions on that first series that I could have hit, it prevented us from getting points and we can't have that throughout the course of a game. 

Q: When you go back and watch the first play of the game and they all fell for the fake to Adrian Peterson, is that one of those easy completions that you could have hit?

A: Definitely. We just had a different look, I could have got the ball out much faster to Jarius [Wright].