Something from Kevin Seifert's NFC North blog on ESPN today. ESPN football analyst Ron Jaworski is doing a 30-part review of the NFL's top quarterbacks, and coming in at number 28 on his list is Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback Christian Ponder.
Jaworski says that he expects Christian Ponder to improve significantly in 2012, and I think that we all do. But he already has plenty of good positives to build on.
The one thing that stood out to me was this tidbit:
And how about this for a rookie quarterback: Ponder's rating was 114, the NFL's best inside the 20. His movement was also a big factor, as was his willingness to make stick throws into those small windows, a necessity in the tight red zone area.
For a rookie quarterback to have the best quarterback ranking in the National Football League in the area of the field that is, generally, the most difficult portion to be productive in shows that he really does have a ton of potential, in my opinion. As Jaworski says, he just needs to get better at reading his progressions and making decisions.
With an actual off-season and what should be a much-improved offensive line, not to mention better weapons around him, I would expect Ponder to be much better at the former, which will naturally lead to him being better at the latter as well.