Spielman on the draft: "If one of those QBs is too good to pass up..."

Interceptions will happen. I’m actually okay with that in the sense that I think rookies learn from those mistakes. I’m more concerned that Ponder never progressed in seeing the field. He continued to look at one and only one option through almost every play of every game. And I’m concerned that he stopped looking down the field for decent yardage throws — the sort that Webb looked for on most plays. I used the example of the interception play because I had access to the full field overhead perspective on that play and it showed two things: 1) Ponder didn’t look for targets down field, despite having the time to do so; and 2) Chicago played a very strange defense in which they essentially released two receivers to noone (as the safeties continued to run down field) presumably on the belief that Ponder wouldn’t even look downfield at those receivers. That’s the sort of stuff that concerns me. I’m also concerned that unlike the rookies you mentioned above that Ponder isn’t gifted with a strong arm. His decision making will presumably improve, but I’m doubtful that he’ll suddenly develop a strong arm. The dude has serious guns on him already. I doubt weight strength is the issue.

…if he’s a first year QB then he shouldn’t be evaluated. The truth is that college players are evaluated on their ability to stretch the field and make the NFL throw to the sidelines. If they can’t do it, they are considered less desireable than those who can make those throws. Ponder’s not getting any criticism that a college player wouldn’t get for the same limitations to their game.

Every young quarterback has done that. If he continues making the same mistakes over and over again, then I’ll throw him under the bus.

Yes, every young quarterback misses opportunities. Even the veterans do. What concerns me about Ponder is that he almost never seems to look for alternative options. He seems to get really focused on the short throws to the point that even the announcers in the Chicago game commented that if you rely on the short throws so much you’ll attract a lot of defenders in the vicinity which is when tipped balls become interceptions (Goose said this after the pick 6 play).

Ponder needs to be able to stretch the field from time to time to keep the defenses honest. The purpose of mentioning the pick 6 play was to illustrate a case in which a defense stopped playing honest defense. It was a crazy coverage scheme that showed no respect for Ponder’s ability to see the field. My point isn’t the interception itself, my poit was the coverage, the pass protection and Ponder’s lack of vision.

The throw to Harvin has been discussed previously. It was not a 40 yard “strike.” It was a throw to a player who ran to the end zone uncovered. A linebacker came in at the last moment but didn’t turn to the ball. The ball was thrown to the side the LB approached from. Had he turned his head and put up his hands, he would have had himself an interception. Plays like this happen all the time, so it is not a knock on Ponder. It was a decent play for a very good result. However, it is not a good example of Ponder’s ability to throw an accurate deep ball. I vaguely recall Ponder commenting on that pass and mentioning it wasn’t a great throw. Still, it got the job done which is always a good thing.

went to the Pro Bowl. When is the last time that ever happened?

No use throwing Robert Griffin under the bus before he has even had a chance to play in the NFL yet. And for the record, the Vick comparison is a really bad one. His college passing stats were miniscule and underwhelming, they aren’t worthy of comparison to Griffin’s. He literally ran the ball more times than he passed it. But also for the record, Vick has been to 4 Pro Bowls in his career, and he is a punk.

Griffin, on the other hand, outpassed Andrew Luck and went miles past anything Ponder did in college as a passer, and he is a top notch individual, not a thug or prima donna. I can’t phathom why people are trying to discredit him, it is very suspect.

Coming from a guy who goes by “revenge4 webb” and has had nothing good to say about Ponder from the start, your whining is bordering on pathological.

And there is no deflection, as neither of us have said Ponder is a sure thing, but you seem a bit too caught up in the Ponder bashing.