VikingLord wrote:Man, that overthrow to Jenkins that led to a Madieu Williams TD was a horrible play. I have to admit, some part of my consciousness blocked that out for good reason.
It was an awful throw and an ugly play.
I came into this season really wanting to believe Ponder would turn the corner, and part of me still has hope that he will, but after watching him up to this point, and also watching how Frazier is handling his playing time, I am growing more doubtful by the day that there is any corner to turn for him.
Think about what you're saying. "You came into this season..."? This season
hasn't started! Don't make the mistake of overreacting to preseason football.
I was hoping to see better footwork and more accuracy. I was hoping to see better patience in the pocket and recognition on the field. It's just not there. I wish I could have seen him play another series or two in the first preseason game (Frazier's fault, not Ponder's), because he would have had more chances to demonstrate those improvements, but based on the other two games he did play more snaps, it's been mostly short attempts, tons of 3-and-outs, a relatively high percentage of inaccurate throws, happy feet, etc. When I watch a guy like Kaepernick fit the ball into a tight window or hit a guy running a slant in stride or escape pressure to find a guy and make a nice throw, it just reminds me what the Vikings don't have in Ponder and are unlikely to ever get at this point.
There were good plays alongside the bad and regarding Kaepernick: remember, he was completely ineffective to start that game. He went 1 for 7 before going 6 for 6 to finish the 49ers third possession.
I know there is a relatively large contingent of fans on this board who are willing to be patient and even defend Ponder, but as much as I want to keep hope, I'm losing it for him bigtime. I think Spielman is going to have to take a haircut on this one. I'm pretty sure Ponder will get his year to fully prove himself, and after that I have no idea what the Vikes will do, but Spielman had better be working on something. He's running out of time to get the most out of AD, and this run-oriented attack that Frazier and Musgrave can get away with because of AD's super-human production is going to look a lot less impressive if they can't find a guy who can throw it down the field more effectively.
I definitely hope Spielman is "working on something" because whatever the Plan B is if Ponder doesn't pan out, it's not apparent... or maybe it is and it's just drafting a QB in the first round or two next year. Hopefully that won't be necessary. We'll probably know 16 games from now.
Meanwhile, if you had hope for Ponder a month ago there's no sense in losing it now, based on less than a full games' worth of preseason football, the majority of which came against one of the most talented defensive teams in the NFL.
