Good Luck Ponder!

[RiverFish]

[quote name='Steve Foss

Stats don't always tell the whole story. Often' date=' stats even tell the WRONG story. [/quote']

Steve,

If a QB is only throwing at 40% completion rate we are getting a pretty good story of he is playing. Even if he is accurate. He won't be playing in the NFL very long if his completion rate stays at 40%. You guys are talking about throwing balls away, some of those are due to line not blocking or WR not getting open. But a lot of those to are due to the QB not reading the coverage right or not going through his progessions right.

Time will tell on Ponder. I hope he has a better game today.

[Steve Foss]

If a QB is only throwing at 40% completion rate we are getting a pretty good story of he is playing. Even if he is accurate. He won't be playing in the NFL very long if his completion rate stays at 40%. You guys are talking about throwing balls away, some of those are due to line not blocking or WR not getting open. But a lot of those to are due to the QB not reading the coverage right or not going through his progessions right.

Put that way, I agree with you.

[RiverFish]

Like you stated earlier Steve, WRs play a big part in the completion rate.

If the Vikes had at least an average WR core, I think Ponder would have a better completion rate.

And now Harvin and Shainco are dinged up, that won't help.

[zamboni]

A Gophers win over a Big Ten opponent and a Vikes win in the same weekend. Wish I was in Vegas again and put $20 on that to happen- I'd be rich!! Good job guys!! Ponder looked good today, Newton looked better- but I'd still rather have Ponder in the long run.

[harvey lee]

Give Ponder a better O line and a few WR's that are at a minimum average or better and Ponder will do fine.

One can only do so much if you know their guys are coming and coming fast at you with our line.

Ponder will only get better with time on the field and playing with the same guys. Needs to learn their routes also.

[Jarrid Houston]

I think having a checkdown to Ap did wonders for the passing attack today. Didn't have the numbers that Cam had, but also did not turn over the ball like cam did either. Good decent decisions, and having AP and (Toby is the later part of game) helped Ponder out with this win. On top of that we get to go into a bye week, which means more time to heal our wounded, and study up for the rest of the season. Which includes a big game at Lambeau on Monday night! Sure Hope Ponder can play good against the pack again, and maybe, just maybe get a HUGE W in GB! Go Vikes.....not to bad with a new QB, not to bad at all. Still need to see some more games though before I go out and get a new #7jersey..... GO VIKES~~~~~~~~~

[james_walleye]

A solid game for ponder. I think the vikes have found the future.

[RiverFish]

A decent game for a rookie. But against a terrible defense, ranked outside the top 20 in pass defense and I think 30th on run defense.

He should have played well and he did. As stated earlier, a lot of short dump passes. I don't blame him, he has no deep WRs.

A good game from him.

[FISHINGURU]

I'd rather have Ponder then Fig Newton in the long run also. Although he is playing much better then I ever thought he could, we'll see what happens as teams get more film on him.

I can see Ponder being more of a Franchise QB and Fig being a 1 trick pony. Only time will tell, I know Steve Smith is loving him as his QB right now.

[james_walleye]

Ask drew brees about bad defenses. It's not always that simple. I liked how he stuck some beautiful balls where they needed to be on many 3rd downs when the defense knew the vikings had to pass. Definately a promising future. I'm pleasantly surprised. He has played better than I though we would see so early on.

[RiverFish]

Lets see how he handles "HISTORIC" Lambeau Field in a couple of weeks.

[Jarrid Houston]

I am sure he will go in there cool calm and collected, plus, the Vikes seem to always play a good game against the Pack. Hoping the pack loose to the chargers, and obviously the Vikes!

[RiverFish]

Hoping the pack loose to the chargers, and obviously the Vikes!

I can see the Pack easily losing in San Diego, long trip to the West Coast. Chargers will have one hell of week of practice fighting for the division. Pack is also due for a loss, it is very tough to go undefeated in the NFL.

[bucketmouth64]

He's a smart kid. Get in the film room with coaches and learn from his mistakes or misreads. Hopefully, he can correct some of his over throws, and be more accurate while on the run or rollouts. Once he adjusts to the speed of his receivers and the opposing defenders his accuracy in placing the ball in the right spot will be better. I think the bye will help him a lot and you see progression after each game. I hope he's not talking to McNothing(should trade him to like Miami for a draft pick). His best resources at this point are his coaches and Webb.

[Jarrid Houston]

To add to that, I think they should play Webb in a somewhat reciever type roll. Kid is obviously talented, and having him sit the sideline is just a waste. And as far as Ponder learning a lot during this bye week. I think the only thing he is learning is to hunt since Frazier gave them some time off (which is good-keeps up morale) to enjoy sometime with teamates Greenway, and some others hunting in the Dakotas! This week will be balls to wall, and I am so hoping for a great rest of the season... YAY for CP7!!!!!!!!

[FutbolGuru]

Ponder is legit. Accurate, mobile, throws a pretty ball, very quick release, good decision maker thus far.... all the makings of a future elite NFL QB. Let's just hope he stays healthy and that we find some WR help for him.

[SkunkedAgain]

I still believe that Ponder will be a good player, but am wondering how many of your that were calling for him to start, still believe that was the right move for him and the team?

[reinhard1]

i do for one. he should of started from day one this season. i believe our record would be better, but our play off chances still would of been slim. the way i look at it is, you can go to all the schools and read up on a specific job, however i believe in "on the job training". sitting on the sidelines watching a washed up quarterback is meaningless. Rodgers watched Farve who was more in his prime, and probably could have started earlier had not Farve stuck around until they released him. good luck.

[grizrunner]

Ponder was the right move. Too bad they didn't make a few other right moves over the past 4-5 years(sans AP and JA).

The next move the Vikes make will probably be via U-Haul.

[Steve Foss]

Here's a question for you folks with long-term knowledge of the Vikes. Can Ponder even reach his full potential in Minnesota? Is it just me, or is this an organization that for a long time has had pepepepeee-poor success selecting and developing young quarterbacks?

And no, this is not a Vike-hater troll question. But of course I've spent most of my life in Wisconsin, N.D. and Minnesota, so I've been watching the Vikes since the '60s even though I'm a Packers fan. I'm interested in what folks have to say about this.

[Getanet]

Other than the pick I actually thought he looked like one of the few professional players in purple last night.

He completion percentage was bad last night but that's entirely expected out of a Rookie QB, especially in that environment. Certainly think that having him start for the remainder of the year is best for him and the team.

[Antero]

i Rodgers watched Farve who was more in his prime, and probably could have started earlier had not Farve stuck around until they released him. good luck.

Good thing he was not watching when all those picks were thrown.

[FISHINGURU]

Yeah, I'm still glad Ponder is on the field, I still don't think he should of started from the beginning of the season with the lockout, without the lockout and a normal offseason I'd say start him from day 1.

This is as bad as it will get for this team so as he progresses and learn we will also be building around him to make it easier as he goes, nothing substitutes for real life experience.

Heck, all we need to get to compete is 2 safety, 2 corners, 2 LB's, a DT, 3 O-linemen, and 2 WR's!! After that....IT'S ON!!

[SkunkedAgain]

I'll say this until the day I die, and it infuriates Viking fans every time that I do, but the best coach since Bud Grant was Denny Green. He produced winning seasons in 9 of his 10 years as Vikings' coach, reached the playoffs in 8 of 10 seasons, and produced playoff victories in half of those seasons. Further to the point, he could turn a nobody (Brad Johnson) or past-prime veterans (Gannon, Salisbury, Moon, Cunningham, and even Jeff George) into playoff QBs. Most notably he was responsible for the development of Duante Culpepper. It's also worth noting that Green was a product of Bill Walsh's west coast offense though. I'll agree though that Green was bafoonish in his antics and not good with clock/game management, but those are things that a good GM should have been able to corral.

All of that said, I'm not sure that an organization has as much to do with a lack of QB success versus the coaching staff. Of course, the organization chooses the coaches but you really have to analyze in this situation if Musgrave and Craig Johnson are the right men to develop Ponder. My gut sense is that Ponder has the raw tools to be a really good quarterback so any half-decent coaching will get him to improve. Whether Musgrave and Johnson can turn him into a prototypical NFL pocket passer (and whether that's the right mold for him) is the real question. I think that they can but that's based on Musgrave's work with Matt Ryan in Atlanta and Ponder's inherent abilities.

Bring back Denny Green and the purple would be on a wild playoff ride again!

[Steve Foss]

FWIW, I wasn't separating the coaching from the front office when I used the word "organization."

Next question. Can Ponder reach his full potential in Minnesota? Oh wait, that was my original question, which so far has gone unanswered.