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Why Ponder threw so many short passes last year.

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So I was wandering about the interwebs at lunch today and came across this by Pelissero. In it he talks about why Jennings is such a good move by Minnesota and one of Harvin's bigger flaws as a receiver.

One of the dirty little secrets about Percy Harvinas an NFL receiver is how often he's not where he's supposed to be.

He's unbelievable once he gets the ball in his hands. He's as dangerous in space as anybody in the league. And he did improve as a route-runner in 2012, before an ankle injury ended his fourth, final and finest season with the Minnesota Vikings after nine games.

But it's tough to get someone the ball when the quarterback doesn't know where he's going to be, which is why the Vikings manufactured so many of Harvin's touches near the line of scrimmage -- something the Seattle Seahawks surely will do after trading for him, too.

Coupled with the lack of a vertical threat at split end, Bill Musgrave's offense evolved to heavily emphasize short throws that only enhanced Christian Ponder's reputation among some scouts as a one-read quarterback who is challenged to produce in the intermediate to deep passing game.

Now I know we've beaten this thing to death and a lot of people have happily crucified Ponder over this. Many of us have stated it was a game plan issue and shouldn't all the fault for this shouldn't be laid at Ponders feet. With this there is a bit of validation that the offense was called for certain reasons and next year we should be able to look forward to more 'forward' passes.

Not saying Ponder isn't who we think he is, but laying the incredibly low passing yardage before the catch at his feet is starting to seem less of a Ponder problem and more of a personnel issue.

Well, hammer away.

This FanPost was created by a registered user of The Daily Norseman, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the site. However, since this is a community, that view is no less important.

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