The Minnesota Vikings are OFFICIALLY Scary!!

[Mothman]

Jim, you're always such a good diplomat on this board!

Thanks! I try...

allday1991, thank you too.

[Skoltastic_Voyage]

I absolutely cannot believe that I alone, would like to see a triple threat of explosive running, short passing, which Minnesota does, and lots of down the field throwing. What am I missing here forum brothers who question anyone who question Ponder's lack of throwing passes further then 20 yards? The focus of this topic is that a writer espoused that Minnesota is now "scary." That's great, in the running attack yes, they are. The defense, with luck, will get even better, and I'm sure all Vikes fans will want a more explosive throwing attack. Again, what am I missing? A long threat will definitely make them very "scary."

...wisdom through opining

Nothing like a light you up play in the Lions game when he hit Wright that crowd went nuts. They said in practice he was overshooting him! He has the arm I don't care what peoples opinion is I have seen it. If he can get some 1 on 1's with CP2 in the backfield I betcha we see more 15-25 yarders with the occasional 40+'s coming up. Of course this is pending on BM letting his offense go to work (not just AD). Of course these plays should only be a few times a game or in 2 minute drills imo.

Last year Ponder came out pretty damn tight (until early mid season) and I fully expect him to come out smooth as silk this year and if not lets hope Cassel can launch a couple.

Go for it on 4-1 every time you're over the 50 (or let Blair nail it). Launch some 30-40 yard passes when opportunity permits (should be often enough with loaded boxes), and for the love of God win us a SB!

[mondry]

Huh, I want him fired because it isn't even an *option*. Whether it's because of our terrible QB or not. This dink and dunk horizontal shrink the field offense isn't going to win playoff games, much less a super bowl. (Not that Ponder is good enough to get very far no matter what offense he was in)

Unfortunately the only thing we had at WR were dink and dunk kinda guys. They had a few attempts for simpson but he couldn't perform at 100% making it nearly useless. I can see blaming them for not giving Wright a shot earlier though, once he got some playing time he and Ponder connected on a few nice deep balls.

[Arma]

Very well written good sir! I think fans outside of MN view our last season an anomaly..but we are here to stay with an even better team.

[Skoltastic_Voyage]

Very well written good sir! I think fans outside of MN view our last season an anomaly..but we are here to stay with an even better team.

This bothers me so much. People have such short memories. Vikings oh they suck because I don't know who their QB is! I can name Aaron Rogers of the packers so they must be awesome I know his name!

When you bleed purple you live and breathe Viking football. The ups the downs the inexplicable tendency to always fall just short .

[VikingLord]

I absolutely cannot believe that I alone, would like to see a triple threat of explosive running, short passing, which Minnesota does, and lots of down the field throwing. What am I missing here forum brothers who question anyone who question Ponder's lack of throwing passes further then 20 yards? The focus of this topic is that a writer espoused that Minnesota is now "scary." That's great, in the running attack yes, they are. The defense, with luck, will get even better, and I'm sure all Vikes fans will want a more explosive throwing attack. Again, what am I missing? A long threat will definitely make them very "scary."

...wisdom through opining

For me it's not so much about downfield passing as it is being able to exploit the whole field consistently. While the offense's strength is running and run blocking, Ponder will have to do a better job of finding and exploiting both the wide and deeper areas of the field if the offense is going to reach it's full potential. That did appear to start happening in those last few games, and hopefully he can keep expanding on that, because when he's hitting his targets out there and AD is in BEAST MODE, good luck stopping the Vikes.

Musgrave and Frazier also have to design plays that offer those opportunities. If everything is in close and tight the options for exploiting the field are fewer and you really do end up relying on guys like Harvin and AD to break a lot of tackles to get the bigger plays. Hopefully with a more complete set of options in the passing game Musgrave will relax things a bit and try to take the top off defenses a little more than he appeared willing to try last year.

[dead_poet]

Frazier said they are going to really open up the passing game

Where did you read that?

[Uptown Murf]

IMO the one single stat that can show if an offense is scary or not is 3rd down conversion rate. A rate of 33% isnt that scary a rate of 75% would be down right terrifying

Listen bro- this is a projection. Meaning I factored in what happened in the past, the new players acquired, and the continuity of the coaching staff etc. Why are you guys talking about something that's in the past? This is for future references. Hence why I compared them to the Falcons who took a significant leap in Matt Ryan's third year.

[Uptown Murf]

Greg Jennings is a possession receiver than runs great routes and will group with Rudolph to make a great intermediate threat.

I was with you until I saw this blunder. Greg Jennings is NOT I repeat NOT a possession receiver. He's a an intermediate nightmare, combined with a premier tackle breaker. He has avg over 15.5 yards for his career which was brought down significantly with last seasons 10.4 avg debacle. He avg 17.4, 16.2, 16.4, 16.6 in a four year stretch where he was the primary #1 receiver. Those aren't possession averages my man.... But you're pretty much on the $$ with your other statements.

[Eli]

I think fans outside of MN view our last season an anomaly..

We'll know for sure after this coming season. If they can do better than .500 again, then it wasn't an anomaly.

[PacificNorseWest]

Fans outside of Minnesota think the Vikings would be taken much more seriously if the Vikings "had a quarterback."

That's the perception. Ponder is poo.

[Uptown Murf]

Greg Jennings is a possession receiver than runs great routes and will group with Rudolph to make a great intermediate threat.
[/quote]
I was with you until I saw this blunder. Greg Jennings is NOT I repeat NOT a possession receiver. He's a an intermediate nightmare, combined with a premier tackle breaker. He has avg over 15.5 yards for his career which was brought down significantly with last seasons 10.4 avg debacle. He avg 17.4, 16.2, 16.4, 16.6 in a four year stretch where he was the primary #1 receiver. Those aren't possession averages my man.... But you're pretty much on the $$ with your other statements.[/quote]

Did you stop reading right at that point? It says intermediate like 4 words later lol. I highlighted it for you up above. And I highlighted what you just said... Plus from my understanding this is how he will be used in our offense. This is not the packers, this is the Vikings and he will be our possession receiver, no way around it.

I would consider any wide receiver who gets the majority of "possessions" to be the #1 WR... that's why he gets the ball, because he is the best on the roster and they trust him enough to constantly go to him. That is what I mean by possession. I don't understand how possession receiver is a bad thing. Wouldn't Calvin Johnson be considered the possession receiver for the Lions? he gets the ball thrown to him more often because he is the best on the roster (and in the league)

I really think Jarius Wright is going to become a great receiver, like a Cruz but in purple. I have a lot of faith in Wright and I am really rooting for him to become our starting slot.[/quote]
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Ha yeah I didn't see the intermediate thing, sorry about that. But saying "Possession" cancels out anything said afterwards..A possession receiver is a scouting term that means a guy that can get open but isn't a threat to take it the distance. TJ Houshmanzadeh was the ultimate possession receiver. He could have 100 catches but his avg would be like 9.4 to 10.5. That would constitute that he has great hands but no after catch savvy or athleticism. He's good for a first down but not a touchdown...Jennings avg 17 yards a catch, that means he's explosive. a lot of his catches go for 20+ yards. So No Megatron would not be considered a possession receiver, he's the ultimate explosive threat...But I totally get what you're saying, I'm just responding in scouting terms.

[indianation65]

Actually, in today's NFL, like the past 10 years, no team is deemed scary or a weak sister until roughly 4-6 games into the season! I want the passing attack to be fierce. I wanted Ponder to emerge, and I still hope for the best. If he turns from Ponder to Flounder, I'm all for a raising a new Cassel! I'm not in the Minnesota/Iowa area anymore, but from DFW. I've heard of Ponder for several years now.

...wisdom

[J. Kapp 11]

Okay, let me specify by stating I'd like to see proof with down the field passing, qb to wideout, further then 30 or so yards. Remember, I am as big a Vikings fan as anyone here, and have been since the 70s childhood. I, however, want to see Ponder look and hook up deep into the secondary, and not the majority of his completions between the linebackers.

...wisdom through a new WR!

Curious.

What does the length of time you've been a Vikings fan matter when it comes to evaluating the passing game?

I've been a Vikings fan since 1969, but I have never once used that as ammunition for any analysis or opinion I hold. So I would like to offer this in the most respectful way possible -- you'll earn a lot more credibility around here by backing your opinions with sound analysis than you will by blazing your fan resume in virtual neon.

[losperros]

For me it's not so much about downfield passing as it is being able to exploit the whole field consistently. While the offense's strength is running and run blocking, Ponder will have to do a better job of finding and exploiting both the wide and deeper areas of the field if the offense is going to reach it's full potential. That did appear to start happening in those last few games, and hopefully he can keep expanding on that, because when he's hitting his targets out there and AD is in BEAST MODE, good luck stopping the Vikes.

Musgrave and Frazier also have to design plays that offer those opportunities. If everything is in close and tight the options for exploiting the field are fewer and you really do end up relying on guys like Harvin and AD to break a lot of tackles to get the bigger plays. Hopefully with a more complete set of options in the passing game Musgrave will relax things a bit and try to take the top off defenses a little more than he appeared willing to try last year.

I very much agree with what you're saying here, Edward. While I'd love to see the Vikings go downfield when needed, what I'm really hoping for is a passing game that improves across the board. The Vikings now have several guys who theoretically should be able to stretch the field, plus they have WRs that can run after the catch, which I think is just as important. I'm hoping that this season there are better targets for Ponder to throw to and more reliable pass blocking to give him time. And, of course, I hope Ponder will also pick up his game by making better decisions and being more consistent in his reads and passes.