Should the Vikings Just Release Ponder?

[TheFoxInDetox]

...and fire Offensive Coordinator Musgrave?

That is what I think needs to happen today. Put the entire team and staff on notice and force the team to make drastic changes.

Would you guys be in favor of such a radical move?

[majorm]

...and fire Offensive Coordinator Musgrave.

That is what I think needs to happen today. Put the entire team and staff on notice and force the team to make drastic changes.

Would you guys be in favor of such a drastic move?

Release Ponder? Yes I would be in favor of that. Today!!

I'm not ready to give up on Musgrave yet. Everybody complains about the play-calling, but if properly executed, gaining yards and scoring points, nobody would care what plays were being called.

I think the offense and what they call is so limited because Ponder is limited. Ponder is so awful that no offensive coordinator could look good with him executing your plays. Musgrave can't throw the ball for him. If you had Favre from '09 under center I'll bet Musgrave's offense would look a lot better.

Heck, it would look a lot better with Brian Hoyer under center!

[PurpleHalo]

I hops this gets locked....................False titles to grab attention are uncool.

[PurpleMustReign]

Someone is looking for attention.

[TheFoxInDetox]

Are you guys kidding? This is a Vikings message board, not an official media outlet. For Gods sake, the newspapers use false headlines to grab attention all the time and people pay money to look at that crap.

I posted it to get opinions on the idea because I think it's a good one. Everybody is saying that the Vikings should bench Ponder, I think they should go a step further and just release him. No need to set him on the bench at this point, we know what he is capable of.

(I fixed it for you, didn't mean to mislead anybody )

[majorm]

Are you guys kidding? This is a Vikings message board, not an official media outlet. For Gods sake, the newspapers use false headlines to grab attention all the time and people pay money to look at that crap.

I put it up there to get opinions on the idea because I think it's a good one. Everybody is saying that the Vikings should bench Ponder, I think they should go a step further and just release him. No need to set him on the bench at this point, we know what he is capable of.

Ha,ha! I knew it was too good to be true.

[Just Me]

Are you guys kidding? This is a Vikings message board, not an official media outlet. For Gods sake, the newspapers use false headlines to grab attention all the time and people pay money to look at that crap.

I put it up there to get opinions on the idea because I think it's a good one. Everybody is saying that the Vikings should bench Ponder, I think they should go a step further and just release him. No need to set him on the bench at this point, we know what he is capable of.

What possible advantage would we get by releasing Ponder (not arguing the whole "benching opinion," as there may be an advantage to doing that)? We still will pay his salary (I doubt if any team will "rush to pick him up" at this point). Heck, we might get him to the practice squad at this point

[PurpleHalo]

What possible advantage would we get by releasing Ponder (not arguing the whole "benching opinion," as there may be an advantage to doing that)? We still will pay his salary (I doubt if any team will "rush to pick him up" at this point). Heck, we might get him to the practice squad at this point

He would get picked up, Seattle actually started jackson for awhile.

[TheFoxInDetox]

What possible advantage would we get by releasing Ponder?

I think the advantage is, you make it crystal clear that he will not be coming off the bench no matter how poorly his successor plays. You also make it clear that mediocrity (or worse) will not be tolerated. It puts the entire team on notice and makes them realize that nobody's job is safe. If anybody in the locker room doesn't like it they can follow him down the road.

[Just Me]

I think the advantage is, you make it crystal clear that he will not be coming off the bench no matter how poorly his successor plays. You also make it clear that mediocrity (or worse) will not be tolerated. It puts the entire team on notice and makes them realize that nobody's job is safe. If anybody in the locker room doesn't like it they can follow him down the road.

Couldn't you make the same 'statement' by moving on to MBT if/after Cassel fails with both Ponder and Cassel riding the pine? Look, I'm not trying to say we necessarily gain anything by keeping him, but other than satisfying a 'revenge urge' for poor play, I don't think we gain anything by cutting him. Even if we trade for a 7th round pick (its still a draft pick - and I'm not even saying we get the chance for another team to offer us a trade - they likely will not, but if you cut him - I know they will not). I'd understand if we had a QB and needed to make room on the roster, but we don't. I'm not going to fight to say Ponder should stay (I'm kind of "meh!") but let's at least have a benefit for making that decision. Just MHO -YMMV

[TheFoxInDetox]

I know they are not going to do it but I think it would make a statement that sorely needs to be made right now. A statement that says the coaching staff is not a bunch of spineless half-wits, that they are not afraid to make bold moves, they will not settle for mediocrity and that they have faith in the guys they put in place to do the job if the starters fail.

You cut one throat and leave him bleeding in the hallway and the entire organization will take notice. Nothing good will come of putting him on the bench. You absolutely can not put him back on the field under any circumstance once he hits the bench so why not take the opportunity to make a strong statement? It might just save Frazier and Spielmans jobs. If they ride him through the season they WILL go down with the ship.

[NDVikeFan]

This is one of the dumbest things I have ever read here. And that's saying a lot.

[Rus]

Releasing Ponder won't fix the defense nor will it fix the coaching!

This all why I was pushing so hard for the Vikings to draft themselves some linebackers earlier this year. Winfield took a lot of pressure off on the run game, then he was gone. Williams has lost a step. They've put tall, athletic guys back at corner, so obviously teams are going to test the interior of that defense. It didn't sit well with me at all that they only came away with Hodges and Mauti (and no, I wasn't crossing my fingers for T'eo, though when the Vikings passed up all the really good prospects I was getting desperate).

If your quarterback is running an offense that is generating more than 25 points per game, and still losing to teams that have no business scoring more than 25 points per game, it's probably because your defense is terrible. Or your coaches suck. Pick one.

By the way, just ask Kansas City fans how great an idea it is to start Cassel when you have a terrible defense.

Quarterbacks throw interceptions. They throw fewer interceptions when they aren't forced to play from behind or aren't pushed to score a lot of points right away because they know their defense will give up a few.

[TheFoxInDetox]

This is one of the dumbest things I have ever read here. And that's saying a lot.

Care to elaborate? I think that allowing Ponder to continue to play is a major mistake at this point. He is clearly not NFL starter material, time to cut our losses and get this team headed in some sort of direction. Because the Viking ship if currently foundering and rudderless.

Plopping his useless butt on the bench isn't going to help either. He is what he is and it isn't good. Once the Vikings dump him I would bet that you never see him start another NFL game.

[mondry]

Care to elaborate? I think that allowing Ponder to continue to play is a major mistake at this point. He is clearly not NFL starter material, time to cut our losses and get this team headed in some sort of direction. Because the Viking ship if currently foundering and rudderless.

Plopping his useless butt on the bench isn't going to help either. He is what he is and it isn't good. Once the Vikings dump him I would bet that you never see him start another NFL game.

It's pretty obvious but benching him doesn't have the massive amount of negative effects cutting him does. If you need that elaborated too then I'll put it this way. If we cut every single player who plays mediocre / isn't the answer at their position we would field about 8 guys. IF we're cutting Ponder under those circumstances why stop there? Let's just cut half the team right? It doesn't make any sense, sorry.

The other side effect is whether you like it or not, players befriend other players. There are guys in the locker room that would be pissed if they cut Ponder, he's a nice guy, likable, and as the QB you're gonna form relationships with your teammates. Players getting benched is part of the business, cutting them after 3 games into a season is a good way to lose the trust of your team. IF the starting QB isn't safe after 3 mediocre games, who is? We saw what a Tyranny did for the team when childress was here, or did we already forget how that worked out? How did cutting Moss work for him after a couple games? Oh the team still went 3-13, what a good message to send them!