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I am an admitted Teddy Bridgewater honk. I haven't made any bones about wanting the Texans to use the first pick of the 2014 NFL Draft on him. That's not to diminish the talents of Jadeveon Clowney, Khalil Mack, or any other player in the discussion for your Houston Texans at No. 1. I am simply enamored with Bridgewater and believe, for many reasons (including but not limited to the Texans' titanic need at QB and the fact that the new CBA no longer requires teams to give $50,000,000.00 plus in guaranteed money to the first overall pick), Bridgewater should be the guy.
I confess my partiality. Thus, if you're not on the Bridgewagon with me, I understand if you find this article by Jerome Solomon to be little more than a case of confirmation bias. The entire story is worth a read for Texans fans. Here's an excerpt:
Being a good player at the most important position ought to be enough, but we know it isn't. Bridgewater is more than that.
Those close to him say he is a dedicated young man, who sets goals and works hard to achieve them.
He wants to be great. He never stops learning. He isn't afraid to ask questions.
That he wanted the spelling of my name at the end of a phone interview, so that he would know who he had just talked to says something about the young man.
That he asked the NFL teams he met at the scouting combine what he could improve in his game to better fit in their system says even more.
"At the end of the day, it's all about getting better," Bridgewater said. "I was able to gain some knowledge. If there is something I need to work on, I need to know. And I'm going to work on it."
Watson says Bridgewater's sponge-like approach means his growth is far from over.
Early in their relationship, Watson asked him how he wanted to be coached.
"Hard."
What's hard to you?
"I want you to demand excellence out of me."
"Playing the position you have to be able to handle a lot," Bridgewater said. "I showed I'm able to handle a heavy load and a ton of responsibility, not only from a quarterback's standpoint, but from learning what a coach is thinking and trying to be that coach on the field. You have to play smart to do that, you have to know the entire offense, where everybody is supposed to be, know defenses and what they are trying to do and know what the coach expects from you."
SWOON. If wanting Teddy Bridgewater to be a Texan is wrong, I don't want to be right.