Teddy Bridgewater motivated by Irvin calling him 'so scared'

Little did we know that the Seahawks player who said Teddy Bridgewater "was so scared" on Sunday is actually a friend of Bridgewater's.

"Bruce [Irvin] and I are close; we're very close," Bridgewater said earlier today when asked about the Seattle linebacker's comments following Sunday's 38-7 win over the Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium. "We talked before the game. Talked about our friend [Rams receiver] Stedman Bailey and things like that. We also traded jerseys after the game."

And?

"I think Bruce was just excited to get the up on us," Bridgewater said. "And I was able to defeat Bruce as a freshman in college [Louisville over West Virginia]. So there's a little history behind that. But those guys were talking all game. Those guys are a pretty confident group. But to hear that, hey, that's typical Bruce."

Are they still close after Irvin also said, "Teddy Bridgewater is a really good quarterback, and he's going to do some big things in this league. But we had him" scared?

"It is a little embarrassing to hear that," Bridgewater said. "Bruce is still a good player and a great guy off the field also."

Does it motivate Bridgewater?

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was asked today if he thinks recent criticism has gotten to Bridgewater.

"You'd have to talk to him about those kinds of things," Zimmer said. "He and I have talked a good amount about a lot of it, but I would say he's human.