Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer won't name a starting quarterback for Week 1 versus the Tennessee Titans until Sunday, giving more time for Sam Bradford to try and prepare.
By leaving the door open for Bradford, Zimmer is effectively saying he'd like to start the man the team gave up a first-round pick for if he can get ready fast enough. (Titans coach Mike Mularkey already noted that there isn't such a big difference between the skills of Bradford and Shaun Hill to make Tennessee fret over prepping for both QBs.)
According to Vikings assistants, Bradford's cram sessions have gone well. Tight ends coach Pat Shurmur, who played a significant role in Minnesota trading for Bradford, said the veteran quarterback is picking up the offense rapidly.
"He's had to learn a number of offenses in the past few years, and he's picking it up extremely quickly," Shurmur said, via the team's official website. "We're going to do things to help him, but for the most part, we've been very impressed with how far he's come in just a few days."
When 60 percent of your plays are "Handoff to Adrian Peterson" any offense is easy to pick up (I kid, I kid).
It's difficult for any quarterback to cram in enough knowledge in just over a week to prove fluent in a new offense and have a rapport with new receivers. The last time the Vikings tried that with a quarterback, Josh Freeman put up one of the worst performances in the history of Monday Night Football.
Offensive coordinator Norv Turner is giving Bradford a crash course in the game plan to test the QBs aptitude.
"[He's] learning the parts of the system he needs to know to be able to function," Turner said. "This is a benefit, that we had a lot of the game plan done before he got here, so he can start learning parts of the game plan, and I think he has really done a good job with it."
Whether Bradford plays Week 1 or Week 2, he will be the Vikings starter for the bulk of 2016. Sitting him for one week to learn the offense wouldn't be the worst decision.
