CINCINNATI -- Moments after Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater fired a 49-yard touchdown strike to Charles Johnson Friday night, the comments on social media started to come.

See, Teddy can throw the deep ball.

The defense of Bridgewater is in full force as we head to the 2016 season. Like Tony Romo and others before him, Bridgewater suddenly finds himself as a quarterback in the crosshairs of public opinion. He has his defenders, but he also has a lot of doubters.

Is he the franchise quarterback the Vikings think he can be?

It's unfair to try and make that claim as he enters his third year. Bridgewater is just too young. As a rookie in 2014, he was asked to do more because the team was without star runner Adrian Peterson. But with Peterson back last season, the offense reverted more to a run-heavy style, making Bridgewater more of a game manager. That's not a good thing, despite the coach-speak that it might be.

Coupled with a good defense, that style earned the Vikings the NFC North title and they were a blown chip-shot field goal away from beating the Seattle Seahawks in the playoffs. It also led to questions about Bridgewater.

"We play a different style of football, and it's not fancy," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said when asked about the heat on Bridgewater. "That could have something to do with it."

When Bridgewater came out of Louisville in 2014, he was picked apart for a horrible pro day. There were questions about whether he would ever be a top starting quarterback.

As a rookie, he answered some of those questions.

Now they are back.

If it bothers Bridgewater, you'd never know it. He's a likable kid with a big smile, but he won't be drawn into any talk about taking the crown as the quarterback everybody loves to rip.

Teddy Bridgewater appears unfazed by his critics. USATSI

"I don't listen to it," Bridgewater said shortly after his team's 17-16 victory over the Bengals in the preseason opener here on Friday night. "I play the position that is the most scrutinized position in football. It comes with the territory. I am not surprised."

Bridgewater's numbers weren't far off his 2014 numbers, but he didn't take the leap that many expected. In 13 starts as a rookie, he threw 14 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. Last season, it was 14 and nine in 16 starts. He did up his completion percentage some, but he averaged just 201.9 yards passing per game, by far the lowest of any passer who made 16 starts.

"We play a different style of football, and it's not fancy." -- Mike Zimmer

Some of that was the scheme. With Peterson leading the league in rushing, Bridgewater wasn't asked to win games with his arm. He was 21st in the league in attempts.

You can't roll up numbers without the shots.

But make no mistake about it: The Vikings still believe he is more than capable of being a big-time passer.

"Yes, he can chuck it around," Zimmer said. "The year before we didn't have Adrian. We changed the style of play from first to second. But he's nimble, can make the throws and he can get out of trouble when he needs to do so."

That was an issue last season. The Minnesota offensive line had two starters go down early, and it struggled in pass protection. Bridgewater was sacked 44 times, sixth-most in the league. The receiving group was also just so-so, and rookie Stefon Diggs was the leading receiver as a fifth-round pick with 52 catches.

When asked about 2015, Bridgewater just brushed the question aside.

"I really don't want to talk about last year, I want to talk about this year," he said. "Different team, different season."

One of the things Zimmer said the team is spending a lot of time working on is getting more chunk plays down the field. With Peterson seeing a lot of eight-man fronts to slow him, you would think that would seem to be something the Vikings could capitalize on. Yet last season Bridgewater had only 41 passes of 20 yards or more, ranking 23rd in the league, and six of 40 yards or more to rank 25th.

That's why the long throw to Johnson Friday night was a welcomed thing for the Vikings to see.

"We are ready to attack those eight-man fronts," Bridgewater said. "Charles made a nice play, the O-line gave me time, and I was able to make the throw."

"We have to get more of those chunk plays," Zimmer said.

It was in a meaningless preseason game for sure. But nothing about Bridgewater's game is meaningless these days. He's scrutinized on every snap. When the Vikings went three-and-out to open the game, with constant pressure in Bridgewater's face, it looked like his short time would be a disaster. But he rallied to throw the touchdown on the second series before sitting down.

That might squash the outcry for now, but Bridgewater has become a piñata for the quarterback critics out there. There is no denying this is a big year for him, and one gets the sense from him that he knows it. Now it's time for the Vikings to allow him to do more throwing it to show that he can be their guy.

It's hard to put up numbers when you're handing off all the time. Game managers don't get the love, which is why the verdict is still out on Bridgewater.

I'd love to see him chuck it around more this season, but that's probably not going to happen with this team. So I asked him of he is envious of guys who do get to throw it 35 times a game.

"We've been in games where I throw it 35 times and in games where I throw it 15," Bridgewater said. "I just want to win games."

By playing the style he does, the only way to win over the critics might be to win the biggest football game of all.

Until then, ripping Bridgewater will continue -- fair or not, even if he's just doing what he's told.

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