Yesterday was a seemingly harmless Sunday. I went out and about in Western Wisconsin, made one of the worst fantasy moves in the history of fantasy football (benching Rashard Mendenhall for Darrius Heyward-Bey), and then watched the Vikings get crushed beyond belief.
At this point, I had decided that I had enough of the Vikings struggles for one Sunday evening, and then something interesting happened. The Vikings let their "quarterback of the future" Christian Ponder enter the game.
I watched the end of the game, and the kid did pretty well for the circumstances. He ran around in the pocket trying to buy time against the ungodly amount of pressure that the Viking offensive line was giving up. He kept his eyes downfield. He was aggressive and went for a couple of deep balls and quick passes. All these were things Donovan McNabb hasn't done this season.
So that begs the question. Do the Vikings have a quarterback controversy? I would say not, because Christian Ponder should have been starting all along.
Christian Ponder, as you may know, was the 12th pick of the 2011 NFL draft out of Florida State. At the time many of the draft "experts" declared Ponder the most NFL ready quarterback in the draft. It was said that guys like Cam Newton (of Carolina) and Blaine Gabbert (of Jacksonville) would need more time to develop and it would benefit them to sit on the bench for a while.
Things have played out a little bit differently since then. Carolina bucked the conventional wisdom of having a quarterback sit and watch for a couple of seasons by throwing Newton into the fire. Turns out Newton was ready to be a complete and dominant force in the NFL.
Gabbert also was thrown into the fire recently, and although he has struggled a bit, the future still looks bright for the kid because he has exactly zero offensive weapons in Jacksonville.
So you look at the Vikings situation and wonder why Ponder wasn't starting in the first place. The Vikings decided to gamble on McNabb instead of using an unproven rookie quarterback.
It may be that the vetrans convinced first-year head coach Leslie Frasier that they were better than they really were. There is talent on the Viking roster, but there are also way too many holes to have that make up for anything. For example, without a legitimate offensive line, the running game anchored by Adrian Peterson is significantly watered down.
The veterans may also have their pride, but they also have to realize that they won't be winning any Super Bowls with Donovan McNabb at quarterback. It's time to let Ponder play.
With a start next week against the Green Bay Packers, Ponder has a chance to re-energize the jaded fan base. If Ponder could knock off the mighty Packers, Ponder could become a cult hero in Minnesota, and it might be the key to getting what the Viking ownership really wants: a new stadium.
Keeping the focus on the field, Ponder is the best way for this team to go as the season becomes a lost cause. At 1-5, the Vikings are not going to make the playoffs. It makes more sense to have the future of your franchise get his feet wet, and then go from there.
The Ponder era needs to begin Sunday, and if it fails...well, the Vikings could always get "lucky"...if you know what I mean.
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