2014 Vikings Practice Notes/Interviews

[dead_poet]

‏@GoesslingESPN -- Vikings' 11-on-11 passing stats today: Cassel 12-for-20 with one INT, Bridgewater 15-for-18, Ponder 0-for-1.

[Texas Vike]

Ponder sucks.

(Sorry, I had to. )

[Texas Vike]

Judd's response:

Eleven years of covering the NFL has provided some valuable lessons.

The most important one might be this: Go with your gut, even if the people in charge try to convince you otherwise.

That's why one should put little stock in the fact that coach Mike Zimmer gave no indication Tuesday the Vikings will go with only two quarterbacks this season and offensive coordinator Norv Turner added, "Having three quarterbacks, if that's the way we end up going, it's extremely valuable to me."

This means the Vikings want you to believe that Matt Cassel, first-round pick Teddy Bridgewater and Christian Ponder are all going to wind up on the 53-man roster.

Common sense, however, says that only Cassel and Bridgewater will be with the team on opening day, something that Zimmer, Turner and general manager Rick Spielman would never admit before final cuts are completed and one last attempt to deal Ponder for a late-round draft pick is made.

More at link: http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Zulg ... vice081914

[Mothman]

Ponder sucks.

(Sorry, I had to. )

Norv Turner judges you, Texas Vike!

Hmmm... Cassel only went 12-for 20 and threw a pick while Bridgewater was 15 for 18? Has the rookie just pulled ahead in the competition?

[Mothman]

Judd considered that a common sense response? He may end up being right but his reasoning is pretty weak. He writes as if Ponder's reps for the preseason are done but there's a good chance Ponder would see significant time in the 4th preseason game and perhaps even a little in the third (although I'm thinking he'll get a series at most in that one). he also wrote about how the coaches wouldn't put Ponder into a regular season game with so few reps in the offense but then he asserts that if they needed a third QB they would just sign one off the street (who would, of course, have no reps in their offense). It's almost as if he's thinking the only need for a third QB would be to insert him off the bench in one game. However, if the starter goes down for an extended period of time, the #3 QB suddenly becomes the #2 QB and consequently, he would get an increased number of reps because the possibility he might have to play has increased. Meanwhile, the advantage of keeping a QB who has been with the team throughout the entire offseason, the installation of the offense, training camp, etc. is that even with minimal reps, he has been studying, observing, learning the offense, working with the coaches and interacting with the other 2 QBs. Ponder offers the additional benefit of being familiar with the receivers.

I don't know if the Vikes will be willing to go with just two QBs or not but I don't think there's much "common sense" behind Judd's take. Just my two cents...

[Eli]

Way too much hand-wringing over the 3rd string QB spot. Even for everyone's favorite flop.

[Texas Vike]

Norv Turner judges you, Texas Vike!

Hmmm... Cassel only went 12-for 20 and threw a pick while Bridgewater was 15 for 18? Has the rookie just pulled ahead in the competition?

Yeah, and I don't blame him for judging me either. That is crappy that Ponder got booed. I don't think there is any other way that Norv would answer the Q's he fielded re: Ponder, though. What was he going to say: "Yeah, we're definitely going with 2 QBs this year, Christian is even worse than the fans think"?

He's not going to show their cards w/ regards to Ponder's future.

RE: Judd. He's not the brightest bulb, but I think he's on to something. Ponder's getting almost no practice. I liked his line:

The Vikings' first-round pick in 2011 often has had a deer in the headlights look when he's been asked to run an offense that he knows, but now he's going to be asked to run a completely different scheme with no prep?

Part of the faith we have in Zimmer and Turner is the fact they are professionals at what they do. Playing Ponder in a game with meaning would be a very unprofessional move. They won't do it.

[Mothman]

Yeah, and I don't blame him for judging me either. That is crappy that Ponder got booed. I don't think there is any other way that Norv would answer the Q's he fielded re: Ponder, though. What was he going to say: "Yeah, we're definitely going with 2 QBs this year, Christian is even worse than the fans think"?

He's not going to show their cards w/ regards to Ponder's future.

Agreed and they may not have even determined Ponder's short term future yet. In the long term, his days with the Vikes clearly seem numbered but this season? they may not make a decision on that until the final cut down.

RE: Judd. He's not the brightest bulb, but I think he's on to something. Ponder's getting almost no practice.

What he seems to be missing is that third string QBs often don't get much practice, especially when a team is installing a new offense and trying to develop a first round rookie QB. In the Vikings situation, the top two QBs are going to get the majority of the reps, especially because one of them is new to the league and needs the work.

I liked his line:

The second line was one of the lines that bugged me because I think he's presuming way too much. "They won't do it"? How would he know?

I don't understand why it would it be unprofessional to play Ponder, a QB who has more than a little starting experience in the NFL, in a meaningful game. They won 10 games doing that in 2012 and could easily have won 5 or 6 more doing it last year (instead they got just one of them). He belongs in a backup role but it would hardly be unprofessional to bring him off the bench and ask him to play QB during the regular season. It's more professional to sign a street free agent and put him into a meaningful game? Ponder went into GB last year, completed 21-30 passes (there were some drops too) and put up a QB rating over 100 in a divisional game the Vikings should have won. I'm thinking Zimmer and Turner would be happy to get a performance like that out of their 3rd string QB if they're forced to go that deep on their depth chart.

I think Judd's doing what a lot of fans do and assuming too much based on camp and a couple of preseason games. I suspect there are several options still on the table when it comes to Ponder.

[Superfreak84]

I know it's early, but I can't help but think that one of the stud CBs or Safeties would have been a smarter choice than Barr, whose role in the D seems fuzzy at this point. We have a serious problem w/ lack of talent in the secondary.

I understand where you're coming from but you can't just draft based on need. The board obviously had Barr as the top player available and I'm confident Zimmer can mold him into a great pass rusher.

[Texas Vike]

The second line was one of the lines that bugged me because I think he's presuming way too much. "They won't do it"? How would he know?

He asked his magic 8 ball?

He's actually a clairvoyant, wearing the disguise of a somewhat grumpy and very frumpy sports writer.

I don't understand why it would it be unprofessional to play Ponder, a QB who has more than a little starting experience in the NFL, in a meaningful game. They won 10 games doing that in 2012 and could easily have won 5 or 6 more doing it last year (instead they got just one of them). He belongs in a backup role but it would hardly be unprofessional to bring him off the bench and ask him to play QB during the regular season. It's more professional to sign a street free agent and put him into a meaningful game? Ponder went into GB last year, completed 21-30 passes (there were some drops too) and put up a QB rating over 100 in a divisional game the Vikings should have won. I'm thinking Zimmer and Turner would be happy to get a performance like that out of their 3rd string QB if they're forced to go that deep on their depth chart.

I think Judd's doing what a lot of fans do and assuming too much based on camp and a couple of preseason games. I suspect there are several options still on the table when it comes to Ponder.

As much as I tease Judd, he HAS been at camp and, I believe, most practices and has seen that Ponder is not being given serious consideration despite the lip service that he'd get a shot. I think you're right, though, that there just isn't enough playing time to go around for what they want to do this pre-season. Cassel seemed to force them to play him a bit too, petitioning for more action after the OAK game. We'll see.

[Texas Vike]

I understand where you're coming from but you can't just draft based on need. The board obviously had Barr as the top player available and I'm confident Zimmer can mold him into a great pass rusher.

Sure, that adage exists for a reason, but when you have as many holes as we do you don't have the luxury to completely disregard need. As I stated before, it's too early to tell, but my first impression of Barr is not a good one and it's what I feared from the time we drafted him. it just didn't strike me as a great fit for us. I hope I'm wrong.

[DK Sweets]

Saying Barr doesn't look good yet is a fair assessment, but we all knew that he was a project from day one. I don't understand why we're so worried about it so suddenly. 1 month is not long enough for him to no longer be a project, and he HAS flashed athleticism and pass rush ability.

[Eli]

Saying Barr doesn't look good yet is a fair assessment, but we all knew that he was a project from day one. I don't understand why we're so worried about it so suddenly. 1 month is not long enough for him to no longer be a project, and he HAS flashed athleticism and pass rush ability.

Short term, the biggest thing that worries me about Barr is that he appears to be a starter. And he also appears to be one of the two LBs they'll leave in when they're in a nickel D.

My long term concern is that he may never become a legitimate 4-3 linebacker. If he becomes a 15 sack per year DE, that's fantastic, but if that happens it means that the Vikings did little in this draft to improve the LB corps, and that the coaching staff is deluding themselves by thinking they're going to turn this guy into a linebacker. Long term, though, we can't say for certain. For now, just call it a bad feeling.

[Purple bruise]

Saying Barr doesn't look good yet is a fair assessment, but we all knew that he was a project from day one. I don't understand why we're so worried about it so suddenly. 1 month is not long enough for him to no longer be a project, and he HAS flashed athleticism and pass rush ability.

I think Robison might have a little better insight than some fans about Barr's potential. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... or-vikings

[frosted]

Short term, the biggest thing that worries me about Barr is that he appears to be a starter. And he also appears to be one of the two LBs they'll leave in when they're in a nickel D.

My long term concern is that he may never become a legitimate 4-3 linebacker. If he becomes a 15 sack per year DE, that's fantastic, but if that happens it means that the Vikings did little in this draft to improve the LB corps, and that the coaching staff is deluding themselves by thinking they're going to turn this guy into a linebacker. Long term, though, we can't say for certain. For now, just call it a bad feeling.

What if he becomes a 12-15 sack linebacker? A 4-3 linebacker can be something other than the Tampa 2 definition we have come to know.