Metairie, La. — The Saints have now won 4-straight, all with back-up quarterback Teddy Bridgewater leading the way. For him, each week has meant a new opportunity to improve and learn.
“I’m still just continuing to grow each and every day and learning new things about myself each and every day,” Bridgewater said. “That’s the joy of being in this locker room. You find out new things about yourself just from having conversations with guys on this team. It’s a great place to be and I’m just enjoying learning something new about myself every day.”
Outside of the Saints locker room, the general feeling is ‘pleasantly surprised’, that Bridgewater has been able to hold down the fort in the absence of Drew Brees. But for Bridgewater, who’s thrown 7 touchdowns and just 2 interceptions in this stretch, it’s never been about the doubters.
“It wasn’t trying to prove anything to myself,” Bridgewater said. “It was just proving the ones who believed in me that they were right. But it’s not about me. It’s about this team. It’s about the things we’re doing well and finding different ways to win football games and that’s what’s most important to me.”
Bridgewater may stop short of giving himself credit to rising to the occasion, but his teammates gladly recognize his efforts these past 4 weeks as their starter.
“I would say he’s definitely stepped into the roll when his number was called,” said Saints rookie center Erik McCoy. “He prepared for this moment and he’s really just came in and backed-up and did what he needed to do.”
But that’s not to say there hasn’t been an adjustment for the rookie center with a different QB behind him.
“I would say it’s been pretty good,” McCoy said. “The only difference that I’ve been able to tell is Teddy’s hands are a little bit bigger than Drew’s but besides that things are going pretty smooth.”