Christian Ponder mid-season approval ratings

[Mothman]

None of the wording in the options provided accurately reflected my view so I chose the closest option: "I wasn't sure before, but he's impressed me this season". However, that implies that I AM sure about Ponder's future with the Vikings and I'm definitely not. I think he should start the rest of this season and that point, based on his overall performance, the Vikes need to assess where to go from there.

[joe h]

One game away from seen enough.

[Cliff]

There needs to be a "He has shown enough improvement from year one to year two to keep him as starter" option.

[losperros]

I chose to give Ponder the rest of the year before making a judgement.

Regardless what happens, good or bad, the Vikings absolutely have to go with Ponder throughout this season in order to clearly find out what kind of learning curve he has. Has Ponder topped off or are there more good things to come?

[mansquatch]

My choice is to be patient. He is playing like a 2nd year QB with an incomplete roster in the passing game. He has shown he has the ability to make the plays, now he needs ot find some consistency, which we are not seeing.

IMO the things to watch are how he comes out of this slump. (Assuming he does, I think he will) and whether or not he can step up his game against divisional opponents, esepcially the Bears. IMO, if he can show us some life in these games then we have reason to be excited.

[FailedtoOpen]

I voted for the last option hoping it would be the hipster option, sadly I was mistaken.

If the offense as a whole continues to decline I honestly wouldn't know who to put the blame on, or whether I could accurately judge Ponders ability. The offensive line and receivers are both starting to fail as hard as the QB is. The only player (imo) that is worth anything on that offense is AP because he has shown that he can make things work with very little, to no help.

I guess that's the beauty of a freak like AD he really doesn't need anyone else. Rudolph, and Harvin still need a QB to throw them the ball while also having an offensive line that can give them enough time to get open.

[J. Kapp 11]

Sadly, I have to say I'm not sure anymore.

He's got plenty of ability. But I just don't sense the confidence of a top-flight quarterback. At this point 18 starts into his career, he should be starting to show an air of "I'm in charge," and I'm just not seeing it. Thursday, it was tough to be in the building after a certain point. Sure, he completed 19 passes for 250+ yards, but 9 of those completions and half his yardage came after the Vikings were down by 19. There was this overwhelming feeling that he wasn't going to get the job done ... against a very suspect Tampa Bay pass defense. And honestly, his body language right now is pretty low.

That being said, "I'm not sure anymore" does NOT mean I've given up on him. It simply means I'm not sure. The Vikings obviously are giving him at least this season to show improvement, so I'll stick with him. He's our quarterback for now, and I really WANT him to do well.

[John_Viveiros]

Mine would be "I wrote him off based on last year, but he started to look like a real QB, until I saw the last few games".

Yes, I realize that he was a rookie without the benefit of training camp. It was just that the Vikings offense always performed better when he left the game. That and the passes he bounced to receivers.

[Demi]

No "I hope the turf monster eats him" option.

[VikingLord]

Ponder is in the "stall phase" of his career. His tendencies and weaknesses are on tape. Defense know how to play him and if nothing else changes they will continue to do the same things to him. To pull out of the stall, Ponder is going to have to do something different and it may be counter to what he wants to do. Just as a pilot who has stalled needs to point the nose down towards the same earth the plane is plummeting towards in order to stay aloft, Ponder has got to redouble his focus and efforts to step up into pressure and deliver the ball confidently, or, if that won't work, scramble out, but set (instead of keep moving) and deliver it. He needs to get his feet set under him and get his weight and momentum into his throws instead of going sideways and backwards when he's throwing it.

Basically, he needs to get confident. NOT throwing sideways or chucking it, but getting into a full motion that is confident and smooth. Then he needs to attack. He's not throwing picks going down the field for the most part. Many of his picks are coming when he's scrambling and throwing off-balance, or because he's not firing the ball with confidence.

I've seen a lot of comparison charts showing how Ponder compares statistically to any number of QB's who went on to enjoy a lot of success. I'd argue that the ones who go on to become successful are the ones who manage to pull out of their stall phase, probably with a lot of help from good coaches coupled with something inside them that just clicks over.

[Just Me]

None of the wording in the options provided accurately reflected my view so I chose the closest option: "I wasn't sure before, but he's impressed me this season". However, that implies that I AM sure about Ponder's future with the Vikings and I'm definitely not. I think he should start the rest of this season and that point, based on his overall performance, the Vikes need to assess where to go from there.

I chose the "Give him until the end of the year" option which most closely approximates what your stance is, and it mirrors mine.

[LA Viking]

Like others have said, there is no easy choice which defines how I feel. I would say that I have seen him improve from last season, but not as much as I had hoped, and he needs to improve further (especially in seeing the whole field) before I make a final decision.

He is definitely better than Sanchez though. And for those morons in NY that want Tebow, well, you will be disappointed when it happens. That's ok though, Jets fans are awful, and they deserve it for getting Tebow.

Ponder is an average QB right now (look up the stats, esp. considering he is in the top ten in sacks), which is not too bad for a 2nd yr QB. So instead of an approval rating, I'm grading him at C/C+.

[Infinity]

We've seen a lot of good and a lot of bad out of Christian Ponder this season. This is his 2nd year and at mid-season it's a good time to ask if he is our long-term answer at QB?

*The Mark Sanchez comparison is how they accept him as his starter but without much confidence, fans are divided, yet he's the best option they have, yet clamor if anyone like Peyton Manning or Tim Tebow becomes available.

Christian Ponder 2012:
5-3
1,743 yards
10 TD's
7 INT

65.3 completion %
6.7 yards/pass
85.8 QB rating

104 rushing yards
1 TD
3 FB (all lost)

Those don't seem like bad stats other than the 6.7 yards per pass. He's going to have some tough games as he develops, but I will have To wait till the end of the year before I say anything major.

[Eli]

Sadly, I have to say I'm not sure anymore.

He's got plenty of ability. But I just don't sense the confidence of a top-flight quarterback. At this point 18 starts into his career, he should be starting to show an air of "I'm in charge," and I'm just not seeing it. Thursday, it was tough to be in the building after a certain point. Sure, he completed 19 passes for 250+ yards, but 9 of those completions and half his yardage came after the Vikings were down by 19. There was this overwhelming feeling that he wasn't going to get the job done ... against a very suspect Tampa Bay pass defense. And honestly, his body language right now is pretty low.

That being said, "I'm not sure anymore" does NOT mean I've given up on him. It simply means I'm not sure. The Vikings obviously are giving him at least this season to show improvement, so I'll stick with him. He's our quarterback for now, and I really WANT him to do well.

I'm of exactly the same mind. Still very undecided. He looked OK early, but his game has gone into the weeds. I think he can get back on course, but he'll have to do it this year, not next. If he continues to flounder, the Vikings will be forced to look for a new starter at QB as soon as possible. They can't afford another season of being unsure of Ponder, as they could be left in 2014 having to bring in either a rookie or a retread replacement.

[Mothman]

I agree. I wouldn't give him next season, he needs to show it this season or we move on. We are not an old team, but if we give next year to Ponder and conclude he's not the guy, then we start over and by the time that guy's ready to go, Adrian is very old by RB standards

Sorry to quibble but he's 27. That's not "very old", even by RB standards.

I'm not sure I see the Vikes as ready to peak next year but you're right that whenever it occurs, they need that peak to align with a starting QB playing well in his prime.