Pondering Ponder vs. Ponder

[Sam I Am]

I think we will be alright with Ponder. Put some WR talent around him and he'll get better. All he has at the position is literally only Percy Harvin. Every other guy we have is a 1yr contract kind a guy. Nobody any team wants to commit to. I like what I saw in Wright but he has a long way to go. With Ponder he's gotten better with the games played. Keep him in there and he'll keep getting better. He made strides last offseason I bet he does the same again.

Amendola, Mike Wallace, Dwayne Bowe, Greg Jennings, Welker, and Steve Smith..those are the WR free agents coming up. We gotta get one of them.. Or we can look into the draft again.

Last side note.. I like what the Falcons did when they traded up for Julio Jones. I hope the Vikes are willing to make that kind of move to improve our offense!

[Just Me]

Not very often, because he rarely throws 15+. And when he does it's usually that silly rainbow he loves throwing.

That didn't look like a rainbow he threw to Wright. I'll grant you that's only one pass, but it still illustrates the guy can throw...

[dead_poet]

I think we will be alright with Ponder. Put some WR talent around him and he'll get better. All he has at the position is literally only Percy Harvin. Every other guy we have is a 1yr contract kind a guy. Nobody any team wants to commit to. I like what I saw in Wright but he has a long way to go. With Ponder he's gotten better with the games played. Keep him in there and he'll keep getting better. He made strides last offseason I bet he does the same again.

Amendola, Mike Wallace, Dwayne Bowe, Greg Jennings, Welker, and Steve Smith..those are the WR free agents coming up. We gotta get one of them.. Or we can look into the draft again. !

Of those options, I think you have to go Wallace or Bowe. The others either are slot guys (that we won't have use for thanks to Harvin) or their age would make them less than ideal targets for this roster. I must admit, I'm intrigued by the idea of Wallace + high round stud rookie.

[dead_poet]

That didn't look like a rainbow he threw to Wright. I'll grant you that's only one pass, but it still illustrates the guy can throw...

And the "rainbows" I've seen have been perfectly placed. I don't care how they get there as long as they get there.

[Mothman]

And the "rainbows" I've seen have been perfectly placed. I don't care how they get there as long as they get there.

I'm glad you put quotes around "rainbows". Some of those passes have been perfect and the whole idea on some of these deeper sideline throws is to get enough air under the ball for it to arc in over the (hopefully trailing) defender and over the receiver's shoulder. Ponder's arm strength is fine. He clearly has the physical tools to be a successful NFL QB. The real question is whether he can develop the other aspects of his game enough to become the long term solution at QB.

[losperros]

I'm glad you put quotes around "rainbows". Some of those passes have been perfect and the whole idea on some of these deeper sideline throws is to get enough air under the ball for it to arc in over the (hopefully trailing) defender and over the receiver's shoulder. Ponder's arm strength is fine. He clearly has the physical tools to be a successful NFL QB. The real question is whether he can develop the other aspects of his game enough to become the long term solution at QB.

Ponder not having arm strength is a myth. The guy can throw. His problems remain in his head, which means there's a chance (and maybe a good one) that he can work through the issues and be the QB the Vikings need him to be. Personally, I'm for the guy to succeed, both for his and especially the team's sake.

[dead_poet]

Some insight on Ponder from QBs coach Craig Johnson

here was a little bit of how he explained to me one of the next big steps in Ponder’s development:

“You have to get used to the pressure. How’s my protection? Am I in the right protection to be able to block the blitzes? If I am in the right protection, do I lose check-down options because the guys, for instance, my backs and my tight ends may be involved in protection? Well I may be protected, but now we’re getting fewer guys out. So where now are the holes in the defense? That’s the process he’s going through right now. He can figure out if they don’t blitz and we get everybody out. He can figure out if they blitz me and I have a chance to throw hot. That’s all beautiful. But now what happens if I lose backs and I lose tight ends and lose whoever in protection, now I don’t have those check-down options and they’re still blitzing me, where am I able to go with the football? That’s advanced chemistry for quarterback play. But that’s what Christian is going through right now.

“This is a no mercy league. And teams are going to keep dialing stuff up until they see you can solve it. That’s the way it is. He’s going to keep pushing. And we as coaches are going to continue to try and keep scratching to figure out a way. We get it. We understand that if teams think blitzing is going to cause us problems, that’s what they’re going to do. They’re going to continue to attack until you prove you can beat it. … For Christian, he needs to know where to go with the ball and see it live. Because in the classroom, he’s lights out. There’s nothing I can ask him in the classroom that he can’t answer immediately and correctly. He’s boom, boom, boom, boom. That’s never an issue. But now, he’s a young quarterback in the process. And so it’s now, if they bring a pressure and I lose my ability to stretch the width and depth of the field with my underneath options, where can I go with the ball? Now if I’m in the pocket, where do I go? If I’m on the edge, where do I go? How long do I run to see if I can continue a play? Do I throw the ball away? It’s a flurry of decisions.”

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 16281.html

[mosscarter]

from what i've seen ponder doesn't have that killer instinct in the red zone. some of that might be on musgrave, but how many td's has he thrown this year with some real zip on them when he's been in and around the 20? maybe 1. if he wants to be top notch he needs to develop his scoring element.

[dead_poet]

from what i've seen ponder doesn't have that killer instinct in the red zone. some of that might be on musgrave, but how many td's has he thrown this year with some real zip on them when he's been in and around the 20? maybe 1. if he wants to be top notch he needs to develop his scoring element.

Last season he was #1 in the NFL in red zone efficiency and completion percentage. I don't know what happened this year. But the capacity is there.

[dead_poet]

Some thoughts on Ponder from Spielman. Unless a phenomenal faceplant of epic proportions, expect him to be the quarterback in 2013. Worth the quick read.

"I always have followed the three-year rule," Spielman said. "The quarterback position -- you've got to remember, our guy's only in his second year. You look at the history of development of quarterbacks and I've talked to you guys a lot about that and where they come.

"I know they're getting measured regardless if they're a rookie or second-year (player). They're going to get evaluated from the outside and from the media on their performance that week. But you have to be, from an internal standpoint, looking at the whole picture and looking at a length of time."

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Viki ... says111412

[Mothman]

Some thoughts on Ponder from Spielman. Unless a phenomenal faceplant of epic proportions, expect him to be the quarterback in 2013. Worth the quick read.
http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Viki ... says111412

He'll take some heat for those comments but I think a "three year rule" makes a great deal of sense. It's a tough position to learn, as the comments you posted from Craig Johnson today really emphasized. Hopefully, Ponder's performance the rest of the way will make it easy to justify that third year.

Regarding the red zone discussion: I think that's one of the areas where they could really use a big, athletic playmaker on the outside. Harvin's height makes him a less than ideal endzone target when they get in close and teams are doubling Rudolph down there because they know he's target #1. Maybe they need to try using Ellison or Carlson more in those situations (along with Rudolph).

[mondry]

Regarding the red zone discussion: I think that's one of the areas where they could really use a big, athletic playmaker on the outside. Harvin's height makes him a less than ideal endzone target when they get in close and teams are doubling Rudolph down there because they know he's target #1. Maybe they need to try using Ellison or Carlson more in those situations (along with Rudolph).

Definitely would like to see Ellison more in those situations. Some times the most effective guy is the guy who will be open from lack of attention. Let's face it, especially inside the 10, Peterson is going to get a lot of attention, as you said Rudolph gets doubled, Harvin, despite his size still needs quite a bit of attention, just asks the Titans. A guy like Ellison (and it was the same thing with Sauce) even though not the most talented physically can get open because he's not on anyone's radar as a threat. Just like Jarius Wright probably didn't seem like much of a threat on the 2 yard line for his wide open TD.

[Mothman]

Definitely would like to see Ellison more in those situations. Some times the most effective guy is the guy who will be open from lack of attention.

Exactly!

Let's face it, especially inside the 10, Peterson is going to get a lot of attention, as you said Rudolph gets doubled, Harvin, despite his size still needs quite a bit of attention, just asks the Titans. A guy like Ellison (and it was the same thing with Sauce) even though not the most talented physically can get open because he's not on anyone's radar as a threat. Just like Jarius Wright probably didn't seem like much of a threat on the 2 yard line for his wide open TD.

Yes, and note that he was pretty hard to find after that first drive. I haven't had a chance to see if the Lions did something to take him away but he wasn't much of a factor after setting up and catching that first TD. I suspect that put him on Detroit's radar in a big way.

[dead_poet]

Yes, and note that he was pretty hard to find after that first drive. I haven't had a chance to see if the Lions did something to take him away but he wasn't much of a factor after setting up and catching that first TD. I suspect that put him on Detroit's radar in a big way.

Just reading some comments from the players and coaches, it sounds like that forced the Lions to respect the pass a bit more, which certainly couldn't have hurt the run game (though we've all seen it doesn't usually matter how many guys you have in the box when AD is in the backfield). All the more reason why Wright should probably be on the field more often than not. Don't mess with a good thing! I will be awfully disappointed if he's inactive next week.

[Cliff]

Just reading some comments from the players and coaches, it sounds like that forced the Lions to respect the pass a bit more, which certainly couldn't have hurt the run game (though we've all seen it doesn't usually matter how many guys you have in the box when AD is in the backfield). All the more reason why Wright should probably be on the field more often than not. Don't mess with a good thing! I will be awfully disappointed if he's inactive next week.

I'll be disappointed too. It's one thing if he wasn't showing what he was capable of in practice ... but after showing he can be useful in his first start on a team desperate for someone to step up at the position? He needs to be in there.