The High Point of the Low Point? The Start of a New Era.

I blame my lack of fine article writing on my AD- wait what’s that?

Bravo

I’m crossing my fingers for the Vikings/Packers match-up on Sunday too. The Packers are currently undefeated and playing good football, but it isn’t flawless football. If the Vikings are going to be able to be the Packers at all this season, then it seems more likely to happen at the Metrodome than in Green Bay. While the Packers offensive line has given Aaron Rodgers good pass protection, they’ve been less effective at igniting a running game. If the Vikings can harass the Packers’ receivers and make the Packers run the ball it could keep things close. Fingers-crossed :)

The thing that reminded me of of the main man Fran is his ability to move. His first couple passes he was getting calmed down and ran right away but after that he kept his eyes down field.

Then you’re going to really be interested in what happens this coming Sunday at the Metrodome. It might not be pretty, but it will certainly be interesting.

If I have an ENTIRE web site full of guys supporting me, does that mean I can call on you to go beat up the guy who just broke my heart? Oh, there’s a funny image, a bunch of DN readers knocking on his door. That just might make me giggle all day.

You’re so right, division-wise, the Vikings are toast. I’m kind of surprised that the Vikings didn’t make any moves before yesterday’s trade deadline because, with the team clearly headed for significant rebuilding, there is going to have to be some serious roster churn. Veteran players like Cedric Griffin, Visanthe Shiancoe, and even Kevin Williams could end up on the trading block so the Vikings can start hoarding draft picks for revamping the roster. At least we’ll get to see Christian Ponder and, if Bill Musgrave is smart, we’ll see more of Kyle Rudolph. I really like what I’ve seen of Rudolph so far.

Correct, sir.

He won’t be able to miss what he hasn’t had. I hope the Vikings are working with Ponder on his ability to slide, he may need it.

When Ponder is able to put the ball in his receivers’ hands while running for his life, it really makes me wonder what he’d be capable of if he had time, protection, and a genuine deep threat receiver. Granted, this is the NFL we’re talking about an very few quarterbacks consistently have all of those things, but it gives me hope.

Is your 13-month-old cruising and walking? Man, everything changed when my niece started walking—you suddenly realize just how much more baby-proofing you need to do.

They looked lifeless. No focus. No passion(except for a probably Percy, AP, and JA). Those guys always seem to go 100 MPH. My faith in Greenway is slipping with each passing week. I want to seem him get real agressive. I want him to show me he can shed a block in the hole and make the stop. He’s playing like it’s amateur hour. I don’t know where that frustration came from but it’s somethign that I’ve been seeing more and more of lately. He looks pathetic.

I think he’ll always be on of my all-time favorites. Of course, that might be the result of imprinting because Kramer was the Vikings quarterback I grew up watching.

They won’t take no for an answer. Even without polish or protection, on Sunday night you could see why Christian Ponder got the Vikings’ attention. Should be interesting to see what he does against the Packers.

If Ponder doesn’t start sliding after a run, his playing days are going to be really short—you nailed it, in the NFL you just can’t get away with that. I liked what we saw of Ponder on Sunday night, but I think everyone was just thrilled that he wasn’t McNabb. We’ll get a better look at him this coming Sunday. Hopefully, that will restore some interest, excitement, and hope in this franchise.

I thought he looked a little bit like Fran when he was running for his life out of the pocket…he throws a pretty ball, too. Not saying he’ll be anything like Fran, but…there were some moments!! :D

I think he’s got better moves than Culpepper did, and not the same ability to shrug off tackles that he had. As for the rest of em it makes me sad that they are the only things we have to compare him with..

Although he did kind of remind me of Spergon when he chucked the long ball.

I was pressed into babysitting duty tonight. Again. It’s a good thing I like the little monster.

Going to be interesting to see how Sunday goes for Ponder. There’s going to be the temptation for all of us to read too much or too little into it.

To be honest, I don’t even need “that” to drink. Actually, I have been drinking for a while now. Maybe I’ll stop drinking to “that”.

Fast. Very, very fast work.

Unfortunately, there were only about 5 Ponder-passes to look at, but from what I saw, the accuracy is right there, as is his ability to read the D and find the gaps. His throws are very pretty spirals and they’re fast enough out to 20 yards but I didn’t see anything beyond that. I loved the quick release and the way he adapted to that one crappy hike that sent the ball above his head.

The only thing that gave me some concern was that his throws weren’t very powerful. His 20 yard pass to Harvin was good, but I was honestly surprised it wasn’t intercepted because it almost floated. I hope that his arm strength can be improved so that he picks up his ball speed.

I did see some Tark-like flashes in his moves, tho, and I liked his chutzpah on the long 1st down situations. Can’t wait to see more :)

Because the Vikings offensive line isn’t going to give him a lot of protection so a quick release and happy feet will have to keep him healthy.

He had a great long ball and I’m not sure Ponder has shown us that.

A lot like Steve Young. And yes, it resembles a young Gannon more than Tark.

Super quick feet, can throw darts on the run, in stride to the receiver. Now, can Bill Musgrave design an offense to utilize an inexperience, right handed Steve Young? That might seem like an easy assignment, but remember how Steve Young’s career got started, on an absolutely awful Tampa Bay team. Many remember Steve Young in his glory days with the 49ers, but in fact, he spent the first few years of his career running for his life on a team whose offensive line was about like the Vikings today. Even if Christian Ponder is a right handed Steve Young, that does not mean he will be a winning quarterback. Not on this team. I’m not sure any NFL quarterback could win half his games with this offensive line and a below average receiving corps.

The highlights only gave me 5 plays to look at and I wasn’t sure if he was doing checking down (not that he had much time to do that). I don’t think he was staring anyone down because the Bears didn’t seem to see his throws coming until it was too late.

I haven’t taken the criticism seriously that Matthew Stafford was fragile his first two seasons in the league. Stafford got hit like a punching bag on a pretty regular basis his first two seasons because he had so little protection. Ponder is in a similar boat right now because the offensive line starters have been underperforming and then in Chicago John Sullivan and Phil Loadholt both left the game with injuries. It’s a good thing that Ponder can throw on the run—he’s going to need to.

I disagree a little. I think LF does in fact realizes that Ponder gives us a better chance than McNabb. He saw his improvement from Preseason to this past Sunday and saw the offense run the best it has all season(through the air). He saw Ponder putting the ball on the #s and in stride. Also, he saw us picking up first downs. We didn’t score(went on 4th down twice and couldn’t convert), but we did move the chains a little. Without Peterson in there, the offense looked like it could go through Ponder, as opposed to McNabb simply being a fascilitater(sp?)

The best part? The Bears were blitzing and trying to get pressure on Ponder(which they did) and he handled it beautifully. Like I said before, that would have been 2 field goals we would have gotten. Not sure if we were technically in the RedZone, but that’s basically two RZ visits in two possessions. Pretty successful so far if you ask me.

why the Steeler’s only use their logo on the on the one side of the helmet. Cheap bastards!