Ponder's Done

[purplehaze]

If Ponder is the starter again I won't go to any more games unless he magically figures it out from the bench. With Cassell I'll probably try to get to 2 or 3. I hate to break it down like that but I really just have no interest in paying to watch the Ponder lead vikings.

My sentiments exactly. I usually go to a couple games a year but last year I told my two boys I am not going to any more games as long as Ponder is the Q. Not going to waste my money.

[VikeMike]

If I were the one making the decision, I'd keep Cassel as the starter and look for the long-term solution at QB in next year's draft. That, of course, depends on how we finish this year and our position in the draft. One game isn't a definitive sample to base a decision on — the Steelers obviously have problems on defense (as do we) — but the reaction of the rest of the players tells you Cassel deserves to start the next game. Maybe the light comes on for Ponder and he becomes a reliable starter, but I doubt that will happen and I'm not comfortable with waiting to see if it happens any longer.

The Steelers were still putting eight in the box in the second half, but here's the thing: at least Cassel has the capability to make a defense pay for that strategy. Ponder hasn't been able to do that remotely on a regular basis. Give Cassel the reins, see if he can get the job done and produce (now and in 2014?) while the team looks for, at minimum, a better-than-average starter and, hopefully, an elite QB down the road.

[Texas Vike]

Souhan's take:

Cassel completed 16 of 25 passes for 248 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He fumbled once, and was lucky a teammate recovered. He threw one deep pass and one short pass that could have been intercepted. The difference between him and Ponder was not the quality of their poor throws; it was the quality of their quality throws.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 44831.html

[King James]

Cassel is the perfect short term solution until we draft another QB. He may not be the best QB but I think he has enough talent to give us more options on offense. Ponder limits the offense. He's athletic but his offensive awareness is so horrible. He should be demoted down to a back-up for a few years. You don't spend 3 years waiting for a guy to develop unless he's on the bench. Time to save this season and start Cassel.

[Reignman]

And now there's playoff push comments whereas a week ago we're going 0-16.

The difference is they were saying 0-16 when they thought Ponder was still the starter. The playoff comments came after they saw how much better our entire offense played with Cassel starting and Felton being back.

However our historically bad pass defense and cover 0 scheme will put an end to any playoff chances. We got a crap load of good QB's left to face. Newton, Manning, Rodgers, Romo, RG3, Wilson, Rodgers again, Cutler again, Flacco, Vick (no he'll be hurt), Dalton, and Corky again. We're doomed unless a few of those guys go down. But even that might not help, we just got torched by Hoyer the 3rd stringer. First defense to allow 5000 yards passing is coming. Imagine facing Dan Marino every week, that's how bad our defense is playing.

[Demi]

And now there's playoff push comments whereas a week ago we're going 0-16.

Playoffs.

[purpletinted66]

I'm not fooling myself -- Cassel isn't the second coming of Dan Marino......

hey maybe he's a fan and always wanted to be a viking, a kind of late bloomer waiting for the keys to our roadster offense that we have here today......

[PacificNorseWest]

Cassel

On paper, completing two-thirds of his passes for two touchdowns and a 128.5 QB rating, while leading his team to its first win on the season, seems like a good day for Matt Cassel. However, as his -3.7 grade suggests, he was far from perfect and, in fact, wasn’t terribly different than what we’ve seen from Christian Ponder – for instance, both players have an average depth of target of roughly 9.0 yards. Cassel did make a few really impressive throws, such as on his third quarter touchdown pass to Greg Jennings on a post. At other times, though, the Steelers let him get away with some poor decisions, including a pair of balls that could have (and perhaps should have) been picked by Ike Taylor. One of these came on the first drive of the game, when he missed long on a 9-route in the end zone, and was saved only by Cordarrelle Patterson’s last-second pass defense. On the other (0:39, Q1) he made a dangerous (and probably predetermined) throw that allowed Taylor to break on an in-route deep in Viking territory and could have resulted in a pick-six. Losing the ball late in the first half didn’t help either in a grading system that isn’t too kind to fumbles.

It will be interesting whether the Vikings stick with Cassel going forward; he didn’t make an overwhelming claim for the starting job based on his performance in London, though leading the team to its first win can’t be understated. He also avoided the costly turnovers (luckily) that have plagued Ponder early on. One striking difference between the two was how quickly Cassel got rid of the ball, with an average time to attempt of 2.18 seconds. This helped minimize pressure as the Steeler rush got to him on just three of 27 drop backs. Conversely, Ponder’s average time to attempt of 2.59 has led to him seeing pressure on 38.5% of drop backs.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2 ... gs-week-4/

[Vette3434]

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2 ... gs-week-4/

Thanks for this! Really informative and especially appreciate the time to throw stat comparison.

[Demi]

You mean a better QB can make an offensive line look better? NOOOOOOO
Cassel would get KILLED murdered and MAIMED if he played behind this horrible offensive line.
QB is overrated compared to players around them.

[mosscarter]

demi you must at least admit cassell looked brilliant compared to ponder. i'm not usually one to be optimistic, when it comes to this team. but worst case scenario, both ponder and frazier are gone at the end of the season and maybe we can trade up some and draft a qb and the rookie can work with cassell for another season. best case scenario, cassell hits his stride (unlikely, but at least he has the potential to) and maybe we sign him to a small extension. all i know is anything is better than christian ponder.

[CalVike]

The Vikings are going to play the QB who gives them the best chance to win. Look what happened to recent wunderkind Matt Flynn, benched to third string on the lowly Raiders. Coaches play the best QB or they go away fast. Ponder won't have much more life if he loses games while not producing. Spielman and Frazier will both be gone this off-season if they pull that one. Cassel starts the next three games, more if he keeps winning. No one cares Ponder was #12 one day, they only care he is bottom tier today.


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[dead_poet]

Facebook trolls are saying 1500 espn reported ponder will be out 5 weeks, anyone hear anything about this? I'm not seeing anything on the website

https://twitter.com/1500ESPNJudd/status ... 6559638529

And

Coach Leslie Frazier said Ponder had an CT scan on Monday, which revealed the fracture. Ponder said the fractured rib is near his heart so doctors were concerned about him possibly doing more damage if he took a hit in that area.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 89302.html

[purplehaze]

All I have to say is from a guy who has broken 3 ribs is this is funny stuff.

[King James]

https://twitter.com/1500ESPNJudd/status ... 6559638529

And
http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 89302.html

I'm not a doctor or anything but I did a little research on fractured ribs. It says it takes atleast 6 weeks to heal.

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/frac ... iew?page=2