Dolphins’ Skylar Thompson Aims to Beat Vikings
The Vikings have had issues in the past facing backup quarterbacks.
Over the last three seasons, they lost games against Chicago in 2019
with Chase Daniel, Kansas City in 2019 with Matt Moore, Dallas in 2020
with Andy Dalton and the Cowboys again in 2021 with Cooper Rush.
On
Sunday in Miami, they are in line to face another backup quarterback in
rookie Skylar Thompson. To be precise, Thompson is the third-stringer
behind Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater, both of whom have been
sidelined with concussions.
Regardless, when asked about the
Vikings’ past issues against backups, safety Harrison Smith said
Wednesday, “Quite a different building now.”
Minnesota (4-1) is
led by first-year coach Kevin O’Connell, who replaced the fired Mike
Zimmer. The Vikings already have pulled out three straight close games,
so now they’ll look to reverse another trend.
“I just look at this
team as regardless of who’s playing quarterback, you’ve got to play
with a great plan to try to limit the explosive plays while also being
great against the run,” O’Connell said.
Tagovailoa began the season as Miami’s starter, and threw six
touchdown passes in a Week 2 game at Baltimore on Sept. 18. However, he
was knocked out of the next game, Sept. 25 against Buffalo, with what
was called a back injury, then was sidelined during the Sept. 29 game at
Cincinnati due to a concussion. There has been much discussion in
recent weeks about how his injuries have been handled, and that played a
role in the NFL making recent changes to its concussion rules.
Bridgewater,
who played for the Vikings from 2014-17, took over as the starter last
Sunday against the New York Jets but was sidelined early in the game
with a head injury. He was not allowed to return and was put in the
concussion protocol due to the new rules after he stumbled following his
injury.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Wednesday that
Tagovailoa won’t play against the Vikings and he hopes Bridgewater will
return to practice and be cleared to play. But Bridgewater, due to
missing practice time, would be the backup to Thompson, who came off the
bench to complete 19 of 33 passes for 166 yards with an interception in
his NFL debut, a 40-17 loss to the Jets.
After winning their first three games, the Dolphins (3-2) have lost the past two.
“As
long as everything goes to plan with his protocol procedure, I’m very
confident that Teddy will be active in that scenario and be backing up
Skylar,” McDaniel said.
So the Vikings are watching film on Thompson, a seventh-round draft pick from Kansas State in line to make his first NFL start.
“Just
watch the tape that we got to watch and see the reps that he got,”
Smith said. “If they put him out there, they’ve got confidence in him to
do what they’ve been doing.”
If Vikings defensive players want
some additional insight into Thompson, they can turn to rookie
linebacker Brian Asamoah. While at Oklahoma, he went up against Thompson
during each of the past three seasons.
Kansas State won two of those games. Thompson threw for 334 yards in one and 320 yards in another.
“He’s
a good football player,” Asamoah said. “He can throw, he can run.
You’ve got to prepare like you normally do (against a starting
quarterback).”
Asamoah played the first six snaps from scrimmage
in his NFL career in last Sunday’s 29-22 win over Chicago. He could get
more action Sunday, with O’Connell saying the Vikings “want to be able
to mix Brian in there” because of his athleticism.
Another Vikings
defensive player who faced Thompson in college was defensive lineman
Ross Blacklock with TCU in 2019. In a 24-17 Wildcats victory, Thompson
threw for 172 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 68 yards.
“Dude’s
got a cannon of an arm,” said Blacklock, who did have a sack of
Thompson in that game. “We’ve got to be best prepared. He’s definitely
in the NFL for a reason. We’ve got to go out and play our best ball and
make this team one dimensional, whoever’s playing quarterback.”
O’Connell,
a former NFL backup quarterback, said there is one significant thing in
Thompson’s favor. Unlike a reserve quarterback having to come in cold,
Thompson will have practiced with the first team throughout this week.
“They can prepare him to play a really good game and be really tough for us to handle defensively,” O’Connell said.
That
has happened before against the Vikings with a backup quarterback. Stay
tuned Sunday to see if the result is different this time.
I think this one's a little different from the QBs who have beaten us in the past. Most of them were older veterans. Even Cooper Rush had been in the NFL 4 or 5 years when we played him. This Thompson kid is a rookie 7th rounder.
Vikings shouldn't take it lightly because we've seen what can happen, but this is a kid you can probably blitz all day long.
Glad to hear that Brian A might get more time on the field. His athleticism playing inside LB would be nice to close gaps in the zone. I think Hicks is a solid player but half the time he looks like he is a step behind to stop a 4 yard out from turning into a 11 yard play.
I'm surprised Bridgewater isnt starting this game...
I think quote "It's not who you play, it's when you play them" applies to the Viking here. They should take full advantage of this opportunity. It's too bad for the Dolphins to have to start a rookie 7th rounder QB, but I'm hoping the Vikes don't feel sorry for them and not make this a close game.
@"purplefaithful" said: I'm surprised Bridgewater isnt starting this game...Teddy is the back-up for this game since he hasn't practiced all week long due to the concussion protocol.
@"purplefaithful" said: I'm surprised Bridgewater isnt starting this game...He was spotted stumbling after a hit and put in concussion protocol. After what happened to Tua, the Dolphins wouldn't dare.
The Vikings have had issues in the past facing backup quarterbacks. Over the last three seasons, they lost games against Chicago in 2019 with Chase Daniel, Kansas City in 2019 with Matt Moore, Dallas in 2020 with Andy Dalton and the Cowboys again in 2021 with Cooper Rush.They conveniently left out the ones we have beaten. Like Dalton and the Saints.
Its going to be HOT on Sunday in Miami; could be a negative factor for Minnesota. Expect lots of cramping.
I think this game is going to be uncomfortably close. They'll gameplan Thompson much like Chicago did Fields and they have the film from last week. This game makes me nervous.
@"StickyBun" said: Its going to be HOT on Sunday in Miami; could be a negative factor for Minnesota. Expect lots of cramping.I think this game is going to be uncomfortably close. They'll gameplan Thompson much like Chicago did Fields and they have the film from last week. This game makes me nervous.
I'm a little less nervous about this game than I was the last three. It's a rookie QB, their OL is banged up and even the healthy players are not playing well. What's more, the Dolphins have one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL, so yeah...
...proceed with caution because anything can happen, especially with Tyreek Hill and Waddle racking up YAC under our shell, but if we trip on our dick in this one, we probably have to start thinking about the purple team a little differently.
I don't see that happening. Vikings 37-13. Vikings take 5-1 into the bye.
@"MaroonBells" said:@"StickyBun" said: Its going to be HOT on Sunday in Miami; could be a negative factor for Minnesota. Expect lots of cramping.I think this game is going to be uncomfortably close. They'll gameplan Thompson much like Chicago did Fields and they have the film from last week. This game makes me nervous.
I'm a little less nervous about this game than I was the last three. It's a rookie QB, their OL is banged up and even the healthy players are not playing well. What's more, the Dolphins have one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL, so yeah......proceed with caution because anything can happen, especially with Tyreek Hill and Waddle racking up YAC under our shell, but if we trip on our dick in this one, we probably have to start thinking about the purple team a little differently.
I don't see that happening. Vikings 37-13. Vikings take 5-1 into the bye.
Well, if we lose this game... This is the best one to lose since it's not a division game, it's not a home game, and it's not a conference game.I'm a little nervous about this one too just from the fact that they have Hill and Waddle who are great turning short throws into big gains. I'd expect a lot of running and short passes with the rookie at QB. If we play off zone coverage, this could be a lot like the Eagles and Lions game where we just keep giving up 6-10 yards on every pass and make it really easy for the QB to play pitch and catch.
The Vikings SHOULD win this game, but the NFL is a fickle f*cker. And while I'm excited we're 4-1, but my expectations aren't getting too high until I see the defense improve. Offense looks great and should only get better, but if we have an off day... do we have any confidence the defense can bail us out? I don't...
I’m with Sticky. I do think we win but I doubt it’ll be easy. Miami is really banged up but they’re 3-2 and have a good roster and good coach. They have lots of speed on offense too. Third string QB is a huge advantage for us but we’ve all seen that movie before and know how it can go. We’re laying 3 points and I expect the final score to be something like 24-20 us.
@"Wetlander" said:@"MaroonBells" said:@"StickyBun" said: Its going to be HOT on Sunday in Miami; could be a negative factor for Minnesota. Expect lots of cramping.I think this game is going to be uncomfortably close. They'll gameplan Thompson much like Chicago did Fields and they have the film from last week. This game makes me nervous.
I'm a little less nervous about this game than I was the last three. It's a rookie QB, their OL is banged up and even the healthy players are not playing well. What's more, the Dolphins have one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL, so yeah......proceed with caution because anything can happen, especially with Tyreek Hill and Waddle racking up YAC under our shell, but if we trip on our dick in this one, we probably have to start thinking about the purple team a little differently.
I don't see that happening. Vikings 37-13. Vikings take 5-1 into the bye.
Well, if we lose this game... This is the best one to lose since it's not a division game, it's not a home game, and it's not a conference game.I'm a little nervous about this one too just from the fact that they have Hill and Waddle who are great turning short throws into big gains. I'd expect a lot of running and short passes with the rookie at QB. If we play off zone coverage, this could be a lot like the Eagles and Lions game where we just keep giving up 6-10 yards on every pass and make it really easy for the QB to play pitch and catch.
The Vikings SHOULD win this game, but the NFL is a fickle f*cker. And while I'm excited we're 4-1, but my expectations aren't getting too high until I see the defense improve. Offense looks great and should only get better, but if we have an off day... do we have any confidence the defense can bail us out? I don't...
Agree with everything....If Miami beats us it will be because of Hill and Waddle's YAC underneath. I suspect they will also run a fair amount with those guys. End arounds, etc.It sounds like the Vikings are going to try to prevent the deep stuff with their shell, but if one slips through like in the Eagles game, that might be all it takes to keep it close. Apparently the rookie has quite an arm.
And if those things happen AND our offense has a bad day, you're right, Miami could win. Just hard to see the offense have a bad day against this defense.
And that rookie QB is going to make mistakes. Probably a lot of them. This isn't Matt Moore or Chase Daniel or Andy Dalton. He's a 7th round rookie. Actually, the worst thing we could do is hurt him. We might see Teddy.
I think little Dalvin is going to run wild in front of family & friends, opening up play action to the new 3 deep, could be fun…! B)
Hmm, Tyreek Hill and J Waddle with a big cushion, I am nervous.
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