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Nice interview. Very informative stuff from QB Coach Craig Johnson.

Thanks for the link.

There's a new interview with QB coach Craig Johnson here:

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Zulg ... 120612?t=2

I liked this answer at the end:

Q. What's your confidence as we talk today that Ponder will be the long-term starting quarterback for the Vikings?

A. "The reason I think there's a positive there is because I try to coach him positively and what I talk to him about is, 'This is what I have seen you do. I have seen you bring a team from behind. I have seen you have high passing yards. I have seen you have high-percentage quarterback ratings. I have seen you extend long runs for big plays. I have seen you throw on the run, I have seen you pull up, I have seen you throw the ball 60 yards down the field and I have seen you make tight throws.'

"All those things I have seen on tape. That shows me you have the tools to get the job done. What I have yet to see, and that's what I think everybody out there wants to see, is more consistency in doing that. So the challenge is going to be, 'Are you going to consistently play at a high level like that?'

"That's what we're striving for, that's what we're going to get. When he plays at that level, I think he can play with a lot of guys in this league. But he's got to be able to do that, so I have to do the job to get him to do that."

That will probably draw a lot of anger and sarcasm but he has a point. Ponder has done all of the above. The question is, can he get to a point where he's doing it consistently? He's probably running out of time...

Mothman wrote:There's a new interview with QB coach Craig Johnson here:

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Zulg ... 120612?t=2

I liked this answer at the end:
That will probably draw a lot of anger and sarcasm but he has a point. Ponder has done all of the above. The question is, can he get to a point where he's doing it consistently? He's probably running out of time...

This was excellent. Thanks for posting. Very fair in my estimation. He has the tools to do those things individually. The two big questions are: 1) Can he do them together in a game and 2) Can he do them consistently? I agree that his time to show that he can is running out fast. Because he's also showing he has the ability to have colossally poor games that rival some of the worst QBs to take the field this year. The dichotomy that is Good Ponder vs. Bad Ponder is incredibly frustrating to watch.

dead_poet wrote:This was excellent. Thanks for posting. Very fair in my estimation. He has the tools to do those things individually. The two big questions are: 1) Can he do them together in a game and 2) Can he do them consistently? I agree that his time to show that he can is running out fast. Because he's also showing he has the ability to have colossally poor games that rival some of the worst QBs to take the field this year. The dichotomy that is Good Ponder vs. Bad Ponder is incredibly frustrating to watch.

Well said. In fact, I think it's the fact that he has the tools to do the job and that he's done it well at times that makes performances like the one he gave us last Sunday so unbelievably frustrating.

I'd love to see him finish the season strong, beginning with a winning performance against Chicago this weekend. I don't expect a strong finish from Ponder and in a way, it would just open a can of worms, but it would still be nice to see.

Mothman wrote: Well said. In fact, I think it's the fact that he has the tools to do the job and that he's done it well at times that makes performances like the one he gave us last Sunday so unbelievably frustrating.

I'd love to see him finish the season strong, beginning with a winning performance against Chicago this weekend. I don't expect a strong finish from Ponder and in a way, it would just open a can of worms, but it would still be nice to see.

This is exactly my view on Ponder. He has shown us that he can do it. He just hasn't shown us he can do it every week. That is why I think it is much more a head game than anything physical. It sounds like the QB coach thinks the same thing. I hope he gets it together, it will be better for everybody if he does.

mansquatch wrote:This is exactly my view on Ponder. He has shown us that he can do it. He just hasn't shown us he can do it every week. That is why I think it is much more a head game than anything physical. It sounds like the QB coach thinks the same thing. I hope he gets it together, it will be better for everybody if he does.

Agreed. We're definitely on the same page about this. Ponder's problems (including the breakdowns in his mechanics, which strike me as carelessness more than anything else) are all upstairs.

Mothman wrote: Agreed. We're definitely on the same page about this. Ponder's problems (including the breakdowns in his mechanics, which strike me as carelessness more than anything else) are all upstairs.

So is that good or bad? I honestly don't know. Is a physical mechanic problem easier or harder to fix than a mental one for a team and its QB?

losperros wrote:So is that good or bad? I honestly don't know. Is a physical mechanic problem easier or harder to fix than a mental one for a team and its QB?

Good question. The answer might vary from one individual player to the next. My gut feeling is that it's bad.

Gee, it's nice that they see some nice plays here and there, but with Ponder at the helm, the Vikings have the worst passing game in the league. The numbers don't lie.

#32 in total yds passing (2167)
#32 in yards per game (180.6)
#32 in yards per completion (9.6)
#31 in yards per passing attempt (6.0)
#31 in net yards per pass attempt (5.3)
#30 in 4th quarter comebacks led by QB (1)
#28 in Game Winning drives led by QB (1)
#26 in TD's (14)
#24 in QB Rating (79.4)
#21 in INT percentage (2.9%)
#19 in INT's (11)

Mothman wrote:
Good question. The answer might vary from one individual player to the next. My gut feeling is that it's bad.

Just my opinion, but it depends on the individual player. How stubborn are they? How well do they look in the mirror? Etc.

Has all the tools.

Every QB in the league has "all the tools" in that case. Four deep and into Canada....

Is his ONE game winning a drive the FG Longwell kicked in the Carolina game with like 4 minutes left?

NextQuestion wrote:Is his ONE game winning a drive the FG Longwell kicked in the Carolina game with like 4 minutes left?

No, he led a come-from-behind drive to tie the game and a game-winning drive in OT against Jacksonville.

We've been talking about Ponder and the WRs in other threads but here's an example from the GB game of one of the many ways the Vikes find to fail on passing plays. As people have been saying all season long, it seems there is always a breakdown somewhere. Sometimes it;s a bad throw by Ponder, sometimes a receiver drops a pass or nobody gets open and sometimes it goes like this:

2nd quarter, 2 minutes to go...


Ponder drops back. He's looking for Simpson, who is open.


Ponder throws but he's unable to follow through at all because Charlie Johnson is being pushed into him by a GB defender.


I couldn't capture an un-blurred shot of this but the ball ends up going into the ground. Simpson has the defender beat and dives for it but he has no chance.


As Aikman said on the broadcast, it's hard to make an accurate throw in that situation.

So, here's a play where the WR did a great job of getting open, Ponder made the right read and a breakdown up front led to a missed opportunity. As I'm going through the game, I'm seeing many of the same things I've seen in other Vikes games this season. There are plays where Ponder is too impatient or just does something poorly. There are plays where he has nowhere to go with the ball and then there are plays like this, where blocking is still a problem. It seems that with this Vikings passing game, it's always something... it's exasperating.

I'll post some other plays later.