PurpleMustReign wrote:Really? Some of you don't like Ponder? I never would have guessed...
Focusing too much on yardage totals misses the point, as does taking a purely statistical view of Ponder's performance in the last 4 games of the season that get talked about so much. It's not that Ponder was superb in all 4 of those games, although he did have a very good game against Green Bay) but rather that he played winning football and showed genuine progress in his decision-making over some of the mistake-prone performances of the previous 5 or 6 games.
As PsyDanny wrote above, context is everything. Fussing over passing yardage totals on a team with the best running back in football overlooks a rather obvious point. Ponder's critics need to remember, the team goal is to win and the QB's role is to play winning football within the overall context of the team. Ponder did that down the difficult 4 game stretch that yielded a 4-0 record and put the Vikes into the postseason. That's significant.
Demi wrote:
Yeah that whole "ended the season on a good run" has gotten as ridiculous as Tjoke "leading the Vikings to the playoffs". I think after it's repeated enough people just start to believe it.
this is certainly partly true. but you have to look at the other side too. isn't it just as ridiculous to hammer the guy to no end starting the minute he was drafted? he's been called every name in the book and said he'd be terrible. good game, bad game, average game....it doesn't matter. he's still a bum who'll never amount to anything at this level. i've seen it time and time and time again here. so sometimes people jump to his defense and try to add a hint of perspective. i've sure there have been some that were over the top defending him too. but i can assure you i can find way, way, way more comments predicting the future claiming the guy will always be a bum than i have seen posters claim he's a 2nd coming of joe montana.
here's a thought....maybe he's somewhere in the middle.
Mothman wrote:
No, they're drills, not games and I doubt everybody's on the same page yet. OTAs are where that begins.
Here's a thought: maybe we should be happy. The defense needs to make more INTs.
or how about this. if ponder had 10 td's and 0 pick in these OTA drills and someone dared to say they were impressed with that....what would the odds be that some posters would immediately disregard them because they are in OTA's in june and not games in November! i'd say high....
or how about this. if ponder had 10 td's and 0 pick in these OTA drills and someone dared to say they were impressed with that....what would the odds be that some posters would immediately disregard them because they are in OTA's in june and not games in November! i'd say high....
Of course, that's the way it is. Only negative plays mean anything this time of year
mosscarter wrote:they said that ponder threw 3 interceptions during an ota session. 3? it will more of the same with this kid he has no vision whatsoever.
ponder should show much improvement, if not cassell will be starting.
808vikingsfan wrote:
Yeah, you guys are probably right. It's too early to tell anything. I'm just a little concerned since INT's are usually a result from bad decision making which was his biggest problem last year.
Anyone have any positive feedback of Ponder? I think I need to hear some.
i just don't put much stock in anything that happens in june...good or bad. i realize this day and age with social media that is nearly impossible. we just don't have any context at all unless you were there in person. if he had thrown 5 td's i wouldn't be here saying he's gonna be better than aaron rogers either.
if he throws 6 interceptions in the first couple games i'll be more concerned. in the meantime....i'll just assume our secondary is just #### right now. surprised no one here drew that conclusion about the interceptions!
808vikingsfan wrote:Yeah, you guys are probably right. It's too early to tell anything. I'm just a little concerned since INT's are usually a result from bad decision making which was his biggest problem last year.
Anyone have any positive feedback of Ponder? I think I need to hear some.
It's been a mixed bag coming out of OTAs but they've reported some good throws. I know he connected with Simpson on a go route.
blitz drills or no blitz drills, what difference should that make for a qb going into his 3rd season? for the love of god he should be able to anticipate a blitz by now. i'd actually be in total favor of cassell starting. even though his stats the past 2 seasons stunk; so did the chiefs team. regardless of what people might say, bowe is one of the most overrated receivers in football and that is all he had to throw to.
mosscarter wrote:blitz drills or no blitz drills, what difference should that make for a qb going into his 3rd season? for the love of god he should be able to anticipate a blitz by now. i'd actually be in total favor of cassell starting. even though his stats the past 2 seasons stunk; so did the chiefs team. regardless of what people might say, bowe is one of the most overrated receivers in football and that is all he had to throw to.
I love the way that you Ponder haters twist things around Going into his third season yes but.....he has only played for 1.6 seasons.
Some one made a great point. If Ponder had thrown zero interceptions in this relatively unimportant drill or did really good then if anyone dared to say anything POSITIVE you and your ilk would have blasted them.
Do not mistake KINDNESS for WEAKNESS!
Best to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool rather than open it and remove all doubt.
mosscarter wrote:blitz drills or no blitz drills, what difference should that make for a qb going into his 3rd season? for the love of god he should be able to anticipate a blitz by now.
I doubt anticipating or recognizing the blitz during blitz drills was a problem.
I guess you can overlook or over analyze the situation. Ponder's one INT was off a blitz where he overshot Rudolf by some bit, it wasn't good. You could say heavy pressure, too many defenders and the obvious of it's just the off season. Truth is it was a mistake but I rather he figures this crap out now then on the field for real. Like others said (me a few times as well) Ponder is hopefully going to get himself together this year and if not Let's go Matty! Either way don't worry about it too much.
!@#!@# is it football season yet?
My guide to being a Vikings fan:
Step 1.) Drink beer.
Step 2.) See step 1.
Its no wonder why most fans are only fans, and not coaches. People look at practice and think that its suppose to be all offense, and when the offense has a bad day, people blame the QB. In some practices, the defense has their day. Basically what im saying is maybe we should lighten up on the miscues our offense is having and salute our defense for breaking up passes and catching INTs. INTs will happen all day long in practice, BECAUSE ITS PRACTICE. If Ponder or any other QB went 25 for 25 every game with 25 TDs and 0 INTs every season then they wouldn't need practice.
And you sure dont expect any QB to go 10 for 10, with 10 TDs and 0 INTs every practice, let alone 1 practice. From what I seen Ponder and company were owning the Defense during the first few OTAs, and now it seems towards the end that the D is making more plays.
I think it has more to do with the defense getting better than Ponder being terrible.
Going into his third season yes but.....he has only played for 1.6 seasons.