Cassell starting Sunday

[RumRiverRat]

Who cares.

The Vikes are garbage.

Going to be a gorgeous day to be on the water Sunday.

[broodwich]

I guess I'm the only one who is excited about this. I don't think Cassell will be much better than Plunder, but it does end the Ponder debacle that should have ended a season ago. C-ya Ponder.... I bet he wishes he didn't spend $15,000 on a stinking bracelet for his wife now! The next step is to see the entire coaching staff replaced.

[FISHINGURU]

Sad part is if Cassell is just mediocre then we are right back to Blunder.

[Scott K]

I guess I'm the only one who is excited about this. I don't think Cassell will be much better than Plunder, but it does end the Ponder debacle that should have ended a season ago. C-ya Ponder.... I bet he wishes he didn't spend $15,000 on a stinking bracelet for his wife now! The next step is to see the entire coaching staff replaced.

[Stick in Mud]

Who cares.

The Vikes are garbage.

Going to be a gorgeous day to be on the water Sunday.

I can't believe I fully agree with you. Don't tell anyone.

[BuckSutherland]

Cassel will be much better than Flounder. He wont lose the games like the other donkey did.

[fishersofmen]

If he stinks up the joint would Leslie actually go back to Ponder or give MBT a shot? What would we have to lose.....

[Shack]

Remember! Ponder just has a cracked rib.

[schmitty3]

Cassel will be much better than Flounder. He wont lose the games like the other donkey did.

Tell that to Chiefs fans...

[Finns]

[Scott K]

I didnt watch the entire game, I was out enjoying the beautiful day, but it looks as though Cassel hasnt done a bad job.

[hockeybc69]

Nice change of pace at the QB position.... Not great. Not close to bad.

One thing was nice to see..... use more of the field! Play calling was different. Interesting....

Was it different because the quarterback is different? Or was it different because they wanted to try something new?

I dont believe it was the latter....

[BuckSutherland]

Cassel looked all-pro compared to Ponder. Hopefully with a few more weeks he will have a little better timing with the receivers. He is not the answer long-term. I hope we draft a QB first round this year.

There are three throws that really stood out with Ponder this year.

1. The god-awful INT were Suh hit his arm in Detriolet

2. The terrible pick six he threw in Chicago

3. And then the terrible over throw of G Jennings last week in the 4th quarter on the 5 and out that he threw a pick on at Chicago.

11 for 11 to end the game

0 Turnovers

[LMITOUT]

Despite Cassel's smart performance, Vikings coach Leslie Frazier says post-game that Christian Ponder will be the starting quarterback.

Leslie should be fired the moment he gets off the plane, just like Lane Kiffin did.

[Big Dave2]

Despite Cassel's smart performance, Vikings coach Leslie Frazier says post-game that Christian Ponder will be the starting quarterback.

Leslie should be fired the moment he gets off the plane, just like Lane Kiffin did.

I heard Frazier say that but he can't really be so dumb as to actually mean it, can he?

I'm thinking the rib injury may "linger" until Cassel has a bad game.

[LMITOUT]

I heard Frazier say that but he can't really be so dumb as to actually mean it, can he?

At this point I have to believe he is completely inept and does actually mean it. He's about as sharp as a bowling ball.

[Big Dave2]

If anyone wants to see how the QB position should be played, just watch Payton Manning work the ball down the field.

[FISHINGURU]

No one is as good as Peyton Manning, he's a surgeon.

I don't think anything was different with the play calling it's just Cassel has bigger seeds then Blunder.

[YiGGiN4SLoBS]

Cassel CLEARLY has a stronger arm. Got the ball out quicker too. He was putting some zip on his passes. Thats Something you never see with Ponder. He lolly pops it all over the field. If Leslie goes back to Ponder he will be laughed out of town.

[DTro]

Based on today's performance, I would say there is no question which one should be playing the next game...

[schmitty3]

After watching the presser it sounds to me like Cassel will be starting the next game. All he said was Ponder is their quarterback, and he's not gonna make any decisions until he can evaluate things more...

[thatoneguy]

If Frazier starts Ponder again, he should be fired immediately. Even a pedestrian talent like Cassel is a huge upgrade over Ponder.

[archerystud]

The O did look much better overall. Even the line protected him better than I expected.

Unless the D improves I don't see the Vikes winning 4 more games. It was nice to see Jared get some sacks but he got 3 in one drive!! Teams are converting 3rd and longs way too easy on the D.

[CANOPY SAM]

I'd say the scheme of play calling actually was more strategic based on the QB's abilities. Obviously, they are going to give more opportunities to a proven arm. Not that Cassel is amazing, but c'mon, how many times would you call deep pass plays with Ponder in the position?

It was truly fascinating to see how the entire team, minus our pass defense, stepped up with a new guy at the helm. Considering what team's have done in the past in terms of a "secret team agenda", I wouldn't be surprised if the o-line was softly allowing a pass rush on Ponder just to make him look bad, get him hurt, and simply get him out of there entirely.

I mean honestly, these guys aren't stupid. They want to win. They know when the admin guys are making poor strategic decisions. If all the offensive coordinators, owners, and managers were committed to Ponder, and the team was clearly not behind him, what's the next step???

We still have really soft pass coverage. This has been a problem with the Vikes for a long time, and it continues to be our Achilles' heal. We came WAY too close to giving this one away at the end AGAIN! Any team with a couple good receivers, and a QB with a decent arm, can move the ball down field at will against the Vikes.

Having a good QB isn't going to get us thru the playoffs. We'll need more than that, and obviously it's NOT going to happen this year.

REBUILD THE TEAM.....THEN REBUILD THE STADIUM!!!!!!!

And Frazier's comment about Ponder post game, think about it guys, what head coach hasn't said the same thing about their lame duck QB early in the old switcheroo? It's just the politics of the game. I'd bet the farm Frazier will be calling Mike Tice for advice in the next few weeks!

[MNice]

Replacing Ponder with Cassel is analogous to replacing 4 absolutely bald tires with only 1 new one. The other three will eventually fail, and you're no better off than when you started.