MANKATO, Minn. -- The problem of how to protect Teddy Bridgewater has always been a multi-variable equation, no matter how tempting it might seem to reduce it to Minnesota Vikings' woes on the offensive line or the quarterback's occasionally overcautious tendencies. Bridgewater was pressured on a league-high 36 percent of his dropbacks in 2015, according to ESPN Stats and Information, but some degree of responsibility probably lies with the line, the quarterback and a group of receivers that sometimes struggled to get open.

The Vikings did what they could to address two of those variables this offseason, adding Alex Boone and Andre Smith to their line and spending their first-round pick on wide receiver Laquon Treadwell. The third variable is mostly Bridgewater's to solve, and while there's no knowing with certainty how much progress the quarterback has made until he's getting hit in games, Bridgewater talked about something Sunday that could be an important key to his third season.

The 23-year-old sounded more confident of the clock in his head, knowing with certainty where he should go with the ball once he hits the top of a five- or seven-step drop. Timing throws have shown Bridgewater to be apprehensive on occasion during his first two seasons, but now that he's beginning his third year in the Vikings' system, he believes he'll be in better command of his options as he drops back, no matter what's happening in front of him.

"As long as you’re playing in rhythm, what’s going on around you doesn’t even matter," he said. "You know when you hit that fifth step the ball should be out. When you hit that seventh step the ball should be out. So, having that clock in your head factors out the pass rush."

Should Bridgewater prove to be more decisive in 2016, he might have delivered the single greatest improvement he can to the Vikings' offense, which attempted the second-fewest throws of 10 to 20 yards in the NFL last year, according to ESPN Stats and Information. They had the league's fourth-lowest passer rating on throws of 20 or more yards, too, and Bridgewater's ability to throw deep certainly gets more attention than his intermediate game.

"We knew we had all you guys here and we wanted to make sure you saw some," coach Mike Zimmer quipped Sunday when asked about Bridgewater's success on downfield throws during the first few days of camp. But the intermediate throws that have long been a central plank in offensive coordinator Norv Turner's offense require better timing between Bridgewater and his receivers. And no matter what's going on in front of him protection-wise, Bridgewater believes he has the wherewithal to make more plays as his command of the offense grows.

The Vikings have said before, and Turner said again last week, that they were able to win games by playing a certain way in 2015, and Bridgewater's 17-11 record his first two years as a starter is certainly a solid start. But the Vikings want to be able to win in a variety of ways in 2016, and as they see promising early signs from their offensive line, they can also hope for development from their quarterback that could jolt their passing game even without sterling protection.

"As long as you’re playing in a rhythm, you trust what happening," Bridgewater said. "Sometimes you want to see things happen, but when you’re seeing things that means you’re too late. You’ve got to anticipate those throws and trust that your guy is going to be in the right place at the right time. That’s what it all comes down to."