Christian Ponder to share Vikings' first-team reps

[Eli]

... and you know what his body language signified

He looked like _anyone_ saying "WTF". I'm pretty certain he wanted Johnny Manziel.

[Purple bruise]

What would you have him do? Jump around like a spazz giving awkward high fives to the Wilfs?

Geez this seems so trivial and so stupid. If the Vikings wanted JFB he was there for the taking with their 8th pick. Watch the video, this is how an intelligent GM conducts his business IMO. Yeah he wasn't running around pissing his pants with the move back up into the 1st round to draft him but of course there are those people who try and make a big negative deal about everything.

http://www.vikings.com/media-vault/vide ... 0be706f054

[King James]

Not when they signed Josh Freeman in the middle of the season? Or when Ponder was benched after recovering from his injury? Or when Matt Cassel was re-signed in the off season for two years with a significant pay raise?

Drafting Bridgewater or some other QB in this year's draft was a given.

Had Coach Frazier and his crew still been here then yes the writing would have been on the wall. However we have new coaches, which means new opportunities for some players. Plus I don't think anyone can be honestly certain that Matt Cassel was signed to be a starter of Ponder. I think he was given a contract to compete for a starting job, despite how well he may have looked over Ponder last season

Because you've seen _how_ much video of Spielman during this or any other draft?

Well sir if you have NFL network or even ESPN on your cable during draft days, you will see that the camera will usually show reactions when teams pick big name players. Every time I seen the Vikings draft war room on TV, I don't ever recall them having many big reactions. He just usually sits there emotionless. I usually see the Wilfs crack a smile but that's about it.

[jackal]

I understand trying to build trade value but
I think at this point the Vikings would be better
with that time invested into a real starter and
his wideouts

[Dirtyswabby]

Honestly this is nothing new. If ponder gets the Starting Job it will be because Cassel is injured, and Bridgewater isn't what they thought he would be (Highly Unlikely They would admit this).

[Eli]

Honestly this is nothing new. If ponder gets the Starting Job it will be because Cassel is injured, and Bridgewater isn't what they thought he would be (Highly Unlikely They would admit this).

Or vice versa. Because Cassel isn't what they had hoped and Bridgewater is injured. Or because they just want to wait a bit longer with Bridgewater. Too many scenarios to list, actually.

Face it, folks, the QB situation is far from resolved, and by the time the dust settles it may not be a pretty story.

We all know exactly what we have in Christian Ponder. I don't expect any OC on this planet, nor any miracle-working QB coach to fix that pile of slow-thinking, tunnel-visioned, low-football-IQ bag of muscle and bones. And we all know that Matt Cassel is more than capable of stinking up any NFL field. To the point that the aforementioned QB could actually be an upgrade. Then we have a new contender that everyone is hopeful could be an upgrade over both, and possibly even the QB of the future for this franchise, but nobody knows when (or if) that will happen.

[CbusVikesFan]

Now, wouldnt it be something if Ponder ended up with the starting job this year??????
Stranger things have happened. It is fun to speculate.

[Dirtyswabby]

Or vice versa. Because Cassel isn't what they had hoped and Bridgewater is injured. Or because they just want to wait a bit longer with Bridgewater. Too many scenarios to list, actually.

Face it, folks, the QB situation is far from resolved, and by the time the dust settles it may not be a pretty story.

We all know exactly what we have in Christian Ponder. I don't expect any OC on this planet, nor any miracle-working QB coach to fix that pile of slow-thinking, tunnel-visioned, low-football-IQ bag of muscle and bones. And we all know that Matt Cassel is more than capable of stinking up any NFL field. To the point that the aforementioned QB could actually be an upgrade. Then we have a new contender that everyone is hopeful could be an upgrade over both, and possibly even the QB of the future for this franchise, but nobody knows when (or if) that will happen.

I can agree with this but I doubt Ponder is with the team come september, unless injury happens. Better to give him a new start somewhere else.

[King James]

Now, wouldnt it be something if Ponder ended up with the starting job this year??????
Stranger things have happened. It is fun to speculate.

I can only imagine that majority of the fan base will implode. A lot of fans already have in their heads that Ponder is done. But as you said, stranger things have happened. But I probably doubt it will ever get to this point though. On the other hand, his wife is sexy.

[Ally]

I think his wife is ugly (actually, I think blonde hair is ugly on anyone - reminds me of Nazis Germany when they wanted everyone to have blonde hair and blue eyes). Anyways, here's an update from OTA's:

"All three Vikings quarterbacks got an opportunity to run with the first group, and Christian Ponder’s best moment of the day came during one of those reps. He diagnosed the defensive look pre-snap and adjusted his protection before taking a snap from the gun formation. After taking the snap, Ponder manipulated the safeties and identified single coverage on Simpson. Seeing an opportunity to let Simpson make a play, Ponder lofted a perfectly-placed pass in a spot over the top of the cornerback and underneath the safety, allowing Simpson to make a leaping catch for what would’ve been a 30-yard completion down the right sideline."

http://www.vikings.com/news/article-1/5 ... 7e1077a307

[Funkytown]

Wow. They are really trying to sell that pass by Ponder.

How about my dude, Simpson, though? And my Teddy "throwing bombs"?

Thanks for the link. Definitely some good stuff there.

[King James]

Wow. They are really trying to sell that pass by Ponder.

How about my dude, Simpson, though?

That's just Mike Wobschall being Mike Wobschall. I hate his reports at times because they are too bias. Maybe he has to be that way because team wants him to say nothing but positives. I thought that 50 yard bomb from Teddy was more impressive than any practice highlight we've ever seen from Cassel and Ponder.

As for Jerome Simpson, I'm just not feeling this guy for some reason. He's not garbage but I don't think he's worth the opportunities the Vikings keep giving him. I hope someone like Adam Theilen or Robert Smith can take his roster spot.

[Funkytown]

Robert Smith is coming back?! Eh, at this point, I'll have to stick with Jerome.

[Webbfann]

Wow. They are really trying to sell that pass by Ponder.

How about my dude, Simpson, though? And my Teddy "throwing bombs"?

Thanks for the link. Definitely some good stuff there.

Yes, it sounds like everyone played perfectly, even poor underrated underwearing underdogging underthrowing Ponder on that pass that Simpson had to leap to catch. But that pass was perfect! Hard to imagine that kind of positivity coming from an objective source like vikings.com.

[S197]

Yeah just Wobby being himself. In the Bridgewater video it looks like he would have been sacked before getting off the pass if it were a game situation. Ponder does tend to look pretty good when he has the red jersey on though, it's mainly when the pressure ramps up that his mechanics and decision making falls apart.