The Christian Ponder Thread #2 (News, Stories, Articles, Opinions)

[jhood_121]

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vi...177196011.html

Call a spade a spade.

[dimgim]

Why make excuses for Ponder, everything from phantom injuries, its Musgrave, its the wr's c'mon its nuts. Last season Andy Dalton was able to get the ball to Simpson and Musgrave isnt the one not seeing wide open players like commentators are noticing every game with Ponder. Injury really now Ponder is hurt, please thats bs if you step on the field you own up to your performance.

[jhood_121]

Why make excuses for Ponder, everything from phantom injuries, its Musgrave, its the wr's c'mon its nuts. Last season Andy Dalton was able to get the ball to Simpson and Musgrave isnt the one not seeing wide open players like commentators are noticing every game with Ponder. Injury really now Ponder is hurt, please thats bs if you step on the field you own up to your performance.

I second that notion. I mean AP is coming off a torn ACL and MCL. Did he make excuses? Not that Ponder is making excuses. The people that are blaming it on everything but him are just too deep into their man crush.

[chrism516]

Why make excuses for Ponder, everything from phantom injuries, its Musgrave, its the wr's c'mon its nuts. Last season Andy Dalton was able to get the ball to Simpson and Musgrave isnt the one not seeing wide open players like commentators are noticing every game with Ponder. Injury really now Ponder is hurt, please thats bs if you step on the field you own up to your performance.

You mention the Bengals, they have one of the better young football minds at OC in Jay Gruden, they also have AJ Green on the other side, plus Jermaine Greshem. They have weapons, and a OC who is willing to let his QB take chances downfield.

Ponder has started 19 NFL games, with 1 training camp, he hasn't been put in a position to succeed. I'm not completely letting him off the hook, he makes some terrible plays and looks scared to death at times, but he is in his second freakin' year.

[iowavike]

I second that notion. I mean AP is coming off a torn ACL and MCL. Did he make excuses? Not that Ponder is making excuses. The people that are blaming it on everything but him are just too deep into their man crush.

Amen brother,I always thought we had a poor mans Tony Romo, but that'd be an insult to the cowboys QB.
On a 1-10 scale we have at best a #4 QB. He was a 1 yesterday. He'll do better at home vs. Detroit.
I have to keep kicking this dead horse, but nothing in Ponders past ever suggested that he was going to be a great QB.
I still want a ELITE franchise QB here. I knew the day we drafted Ponder this was going to happen. This doesn't make me a bad Vikings fan. Neither does wanting to stick with Ponder forever make those of you a bad Vikings fan. We all want to win.
Going back to the end of last season I wanted to lose out so maybe we'd have a shot at Luck. I was called a freaking idiot. He's already shown that he's something special. Record 433 yds. for a first year QB. No rookie QB ever had a winning record EVER. He's doing it with a bad gutted team whose first year head coach isn't even there.
This is all water under the bridge now. But for Gods sake lets not waste AP , Percy, Jared etc. talents.

[dimgim]

You mention the Bengals, they have one of the better young football minds at OC in Jay Gruden, they also have AJ Green on the other side, plus Jermaine Greshem. They have weapons, and a OC who is willing to let his QB take chances downfield.

Ponder has started 19 NFL games, with 1 training camp, he hasn't been put in a position to succeed. I'm not completely letting him off the hook, he makes some terrible plays and looks scared to death at times, but he is in his second freakin' year.

Ponder doesnt have the ability to not look at the rush so he cant keep his eyes down the field so not seeing wide open players is just going to be a consistent problem first year second year or even fifth year for him haha wait i dont think he'll make it in the league that long hope he got a degree at FSU I wish him the best.

[chrism516]

Ponder doesnt have the ability to not look at the rush so he cant keep his eyes down the field so not seeing wide open players is just going to be a consistent problem first year second year or even fifth year for him haha wait i dont think he'll make it in the league that long hope he got a degree at FSU I wish him the best.

I don't know a QB who wouldn't look at the rush when our OL almost got him killed last year, and this year, our Guards and RB miss assignments on a regular basis. Peterson missed blitz pickups, and Johnson is an awful LG and consistently loses in pass blocking. With WR's unable to get any separation and pressure on most plays, he has no confidence, I think it is something that can be corrected.

[iowavike]

I'm reading how we have to give Ponder a pass because he's only in his 2nd. year. Well Luck, RG3, Tannahill,and the guy we played yesterday are all in there first year and outplaying Ponder. Ponder is putting up Tebow first 3 qts. numbers.
So is it the OL, the receivers or Musgrave.
This bad OL with the best LT to come down the pike in many years has an injured AP near or at the top of the rushing leaders.
The receivers, Percy Havin has been mentioned by some announcers as a possible MVP canidate. Also we went out and got Ponder one of the top free agents last year, Simpson. Not to mention 2 very good tight ends. Rudolph could be an all pro if we'd throw to him.
Or is it Musgrave who groomed Matt Ryan into one of the top QB's in the league.

[Sota4Ever]

Why do people compare second year players to first year players. Compare apples to apples not apples to oranges.. Compare Ponder to the likes of Dalton, Newton, Gabbert, Locker. Don't just pick and choose what makes your argument better. Almost every nfl qb has a worse second year then first. Josh Freeman for example. I am sorry if this is to complex for all of you to understand, but take awhile to ponder it and get back to me. Also I would love to keep Musgrave as a qb coach. That is where he belongs in the nfl. Look at his past as an OC it has been abysmal.

[dimgim]

I don't know a QB who wouldn't look at the rush when our OL almost got him killed last year, and this year, our Guards and RB miss assignments on a regular basis. Peterson missed blitz pickups, and Johnson is an awful LG and consistently loses in pass blocking. With WR's unable to get any separation and pressure on most plays, he has no confidence, I think it is something that can be corrected.

Seeing how that was his biggest knock coming outta Florida St guess that was there fault to always someone elses fault your right Ponder just keeps getting put in bad situations its the oline, coach, wr's, best running back on the planet, a stud of a slot wr its everything around Ponder you win.

[100%CHEESE FREE]

I'm reading how we have to give Ponder a pass because he's only in his 2nd. year. Well Luck, RG3, Tannahill,and the guy we played yesterday are all in there first year and outplaying Ponder. Ponder is putting up Tebow first 3 qts. numbers.
So is it the OL, the receivers or Musgrave.
This bad OL with the best LT to come down the pike in many years has an injured AP near or at the top of the rushing leaders.
The receivers, Percy Havin has been mentioned by some announcers as a possible MVP canidate. Also we went out and got Ponder one of the top free agents last year, Simpson. Not to mention 2 very good tight ends. Rudolph could be an all pro if we'd throw to him.
Or is it Musgrave who groomed Matt Ryan into one of the top QB's in the league.

Sorry to burst your bubble but there's all sorts of things wrong with your perception here. Our interior offensive line is really coming up short both of our guards have faded down the stretch, Fusco is twitchy and Johnson is a liability in pass protection. Simpson wasn't even close to one of the top FAs available last year, thanks to his dope charges and suspension (just look at when we signed him and how much we paid him). Percy Harvin is one RECEIVER, as amazing as he's playing he doesn't make up for Jenkins and Aromashodu. One of our two very good TEs has been an MIA so far this year thanks to repeated injuries causing him to miss camp and take on a very marginalized role. As far as Musgrave goes, just because he was a good QB coach doesn't mean that he's going to be a good OC, Musgrave is living proof of that.

All that said, none of these things account for Ponder's regression, its on him to get better, however every one of these things is a contributing factor towards why he went from being one of the top performing QBs in the NFL into someone we want to run off and bench.

[P Harvy]

I keep saying this in a bunch of different threads and I'll say it again here. It's time everyone stops making excuses.

Good QBs make WRs productive. Sure is it nice to have an AJ Green? No doubt. But why can Blaine Gabbert get the ball to a division 3 WR in cecil shorts? Why has Ponder thrown for under 100 yards twice in three games? I'm done with the excuses. It has nothing to do with lack of weapons. Rudolph is good enough to be a 60 yards a game TE. Simpson is good enough to have 100 yard receiving days on occasion and we haven't even seen him sniff that. Jenkins and Aromashodu whether you guys like it or not are still able to catch the ball.

It isn't on the WRs. I'm done with that cop out excuse.

[Sota4Ever]

Yeah total cop out excuse I mean even though cb's can jump every route that jenkins or aroma run. That doesn't matter cause they CAN CATCH THE BALL. To be in the nfl all you have to do is catch the ball... Damn I should be in the nfl. I mean I can catch a ball thrown my way.

[100%CHEESE FREE]

I keep saying this in a bunch of different threads and I'll say it again here. It's time everyone stops making excuses.

Good QBs make WRs productive. Sure is it nice to have an AJ Green? No doubt. But why can Blaine Gabbert get the ball to a division 3 WR in cecil shorts? Why has Ponder thrown for under 100 yards twice in three games? I'm done with the excuses. It has nothing to do with lack of weapons. Rudolph is good enough to be a 60 yards a game TE. Simpson is good enough to have 100 yard receiving days on occasion and we haven't even seen him sniff that. Jenkins and Aromashodu whether you guys like it or not are still able to catch the ball.

It isn't on the WRs. I'm done with that cop out excuse.

Nope, Aromashodu and Jenkins are great WRs, its Ponder's fault that he doesn't throw well to them. Justice for Michael Jenkins . I'm sorry but its not an excuse at all, there are plenty of other parts on this team that absolutely ****ing suck right now. Christian Ponder is not the only reason we are losing football games. This blame should not go to Ponder, not 100% of it like you're doing now.

It does go the other way too, Ponder has to own when he's doing on the field, he is making mistakes and he isn't playing well. He HAS TO improve because right now he just isn't measuring up, however there is a lot more to this story than "OMG CHRISTIAN PONDER SUX!!!!!!"

[P Harvy]

Nope, Aromashodu and Jenkins are great WRs, its Ponder's fault that he doesn't throw well to them. Justice for Michael Jenkins . I'm sorry but its not an excuse at all, there are plenty of other parts on this team that absolutely ****ing suck right now. Christian Ponder is not the only reason we are losing football games. This blame should not go to Ponder, not 100% of it like you're doing now.

It does go the other way too, Ponder has to own when he's doing on the field, he is making mistakes and he isn't playing well. He HAS TO improve because right now he just isn't measuring up, however there is a lot more to this story than "OMG CHRISTIAN PONDER SUX!!!!!!"

When did I put 100% of the blame on Ponder? I've been the most adamant one in the forum about firing Musgrave.

Did you watch the game yesterday? Because I was there and I saw more than three times that Ponder absolutely missed throws that could have resulted in first downs. Oh and by the way one of those throws was to a WIDE open Aromoshadu... And no Jenkins and Aromashadu aren't very good at all but they still can get open on occasion and they still can catch the ball but guess what?? THEY CANT CATCH IF THE BALL IS HITTING THE TURF 4 YARDS IN FRONT OF THEM.

And I'm sorry I'm not trying to come at you but you all need to stop taking my posts out of context. Obviously everything isn't always on Ponder but when you have two under 100 yard games I think it's safe to say he's A LOT of the problem.

And sota4ever I'm not even going to respond to you. You can read this post and continue to not understand basic concepts.