Help me understand the Freeman move

[Ragnar]

Frazier got desperate after the Cassel loss. He thought that Freeman starting could be a career saver for him.
He deliberately de-activated a healthy QB who played well in this team's only win in order to forcer Freeman
for 4 quarters and hope for some magic to happen.

50+ passes, sub 200 yards, no points scored offensively, obviously the magic did not happen.

This was career-saving desperation. Cornered rats bite and all that, but all he did was bite the fans.

this was not Frazier's move. From what I understand he did not want Freeman. This was dictated from on high by Speilman and/or the Wilf's. And yes, corndered rats do bite. This was Speilman's attempt at glossing over the Ponder pick, and it blew up spectacularly.

[Funkytown]

I don't think Ponder was their guy because AD and Jennings were openly happy when Cassel got the start vs Pittsburgh. And their comments suggested they had more confidence in Cassel than Ponder. If anyone is their guy I would say it was Cassel, the only QB that has looked good and won for us this year. The guy that was inexplicably listed as inactive for the game.

Regardless, the players had to sit and watch each other get destroyed out there for a guy who they aren't loyal to yet. That was supposed to somehow benefit the team? No. I think it tore them apart further--and helped destroy whatever was left of Freeman's confidence.

I was so disgusted. I actually watched the game with my Grandma, and I apologized to her after it was over. I told her she should have just gone to bed. lol. I got her all into football...for this?!?! She was even cracking jokes about them. MY GRANDMA WAS MAKING FUN OF THE VIKINGS!!! Yep, it's that bad.

[Reignman]

Well I don't think anyone knew Freeman was going to be as inaccurate as he was tonight. Regardless of him not knowing much of the system, he still shouldn't have missed all those throws as bad as he did. I mean wow! I don't even think Ponder made throws as bad as some of the ones we seen tonight. If he played like this in Tampa, well then I guess we all owe Schiano an apology.

[Funkytown]

Well I don't think anyone knew Freeman was going to be as inaccurate as he was tonight. Regardless of him not knowing much of the system, he still shouldn't have missed all those throws as bad as he did. I mean wow! I don't even think Ponder made throws as bad as some of the ones we seen tonight. If he played like this in Tampa, well then I guess we all owe Schiano an apology.

Eh, no we don't.

And Freeman was so off, I thought I was watching Joe Webb vs. the Pack. I was having ugly flashbacks. It wasn't pretty.

Oh well, we'll be better next week. Right? ...right? .............anyone? .......no? Thought not.

[PurpleKoolaid]

Regardless, the players had to sit and watch each other get destroyed out there for a guy who they aren't loyal to yet. That was supposed to somehow benefit the team? No. I think it tore them apart further--and helped destroy whatever was left of Freeman's confidence.

I was so disgusted. I actually watched the game with my Grandma, and I apologized to her after it was over. I told her she should have just gone to bed. lol. I got her all into football...for this?!?! She was even cracking jokes about them. MY GRANDMA WAS MAKING FUN OF THE VIKINGS!!! Yep, it's that bad.

There really were quite a few Viking fans looking forward to watching this game, so no part on getting your grandma to watch it as well. As much as I dislike Ponder, if they even put him in, it may have been an interesting game. And with Cassel, we would have won. So this type of outcome was a shock to us all.

[mosscarter]

oh so now we are ponder fans again? get this straight: there isn't a real starting qb on our roster; we have four back ups. yes, freeman looked horrible, but if simpson comes up with that catch we were right back in the game. this whole team needs blown up beginning with our joke of a coaching staff. in addition, i haven't seen a qb get hit like freeman did tonight since favre in new orleans. our offensive line was non existent.

[thatguy]

Just got back from the game tonight. You know what...I may be the only one, but for as poorly as Freeman played tonight, I'm still interested to see what he has in store for us. The throws that he missed were NOT due to a lack of talent but rather due to a lack of chemistry with his receivers. The one thing that should make Vikings fans happy to see is that Freeman, for the most part, looked confident in the pocket even with closing pressure - something that people have been knocking Ponder for since the beginning.

Please keep in mind that this move was made with long-term intentions and that while it would be nice to have Freeman help the Vikings win some games in the process, this is very much a tryout for next season and beyond.

[King James]

Start Freeman, they said. He's ready to go, they said. He gives us the best chance to beat the Giants, they said.

[thatguy]

Start Freeman, they said. He's ready to go, they said. He gives us the best chance to beat the Giants, they said.

They may have said that, but do you think they really believed that? Christian Ponder ABSOLUTELY gave the Vikings the best chance to win that game; however, they've made their choice to give Freeman a big chunk of the season to prove himself, and they wanted to start with tonight. This is about getting him ready to go for the next several weeks and getting some time w/ receivers, plus film to study.

[PurpleKoolaid]

They may have said that, but do you think they really believed that? Christian Ponder ABSOLUTELY gave the Vikings the best chance to win that game; however, they've made their choice to give Freeman a big chunk of the season to prove himself, and they wanted to start with tonight. This is about getting him ready to go for the next several weeks and getting some time w/ receivers, plus film to study.

How can you be wrong about everything? Ponder gave no one a chance to win, he is 0-3, and hopefully don't with the Vikes. Cassel came in, learned the O quick, and won his first game, with great number and stats.

Freeman played horrible, as he has done most of his career. Ints. He overthrew so many times, he acted like the receiver were 10 feet tall. Theres a reason he was just flat out cut.

[DanAS]

They may have said that, but do you think they really believed that? Christian Ponder ABSOLUTELY gave the Vikings the best chance to win that game; however, they've made their choice to give Freeman a big chunk of the season to prove himself, and they wanted to start with tonight. This is about getting him ready to go for the next several weeks and getting some time w/ receivers, plus film to study.

The problem is that Ponder has proven himself to be capable -- as a backup. The team needs to find a legit starter. So they are trying out a number of alternatives. Unfortunately, I think they are realizing what has seemed obvious to many of us for a couple of years -- that the next quality Viking starting QB isn't on the roster.

[soflavike]

Anybody ever coach QB's? How do you correct a guy consistently throwing high?

[dkoby]

Anybody ever coach QB's? How do you correct a guy consistently throwing high?

Almost all throwing mechanics can be corrected with proper footwork.

[thatguy]

How can you be wrong about everything? Ponder gave no one a chance to win, he is 0-3, and hopefully don't with the Vikes. Cassel came in, learned the O quick, and won his first game, with great number and stats.

Freeman played horrible, as he has done most of his career. Ints. He overthrew so many times, he acted like the receiver were 10 feet tall. Theres a reason he was just flat out cut.

How can I be wrong about everything? I don't know, you tell me...you've done it for years now.

Oh, and just an FYI - Cassel has been with this team since BEFORE training camp...I would sure hope he knows the offense better than Freeman who's been here for a total of 2 weeks now. Get real, dude.

[dead_poet]

Goessling does a nice job of packaging this mess with some historical perspective. Here's one line I felt was particularly appropriate:

The Vikings, it seems, have been caught between what they know they will eventually have to do and what they'd like to do for immediate success.

He follows it up with this:

Freeman is the least familiar quarterback with the Vikings' scheme, but he might also be the most talented and the most capable of delivering a quick fix. He could allow Spielman to reclaim some credit as a quarterback evaluator after the Ponder pick, and he might deliver Frazier enough wins to keep his job. But the Vikings also are trying to get Freeman to that point in short order, and the NFL has a funny way of thwarting teams who try to piece things together on the fly.

And I agree with his conclusion:

At 1-5, the Vikings can no longer be caught between the future and the present. They've started their Freeman experiment, and they've made it clear in the past two weeks -- by sitting Cassel and refusing to put Ponder in two games where the offense has struggled -- that they don't see either of those two quarterbacks as their ultimate solution. The best way for the Vikings to attach some significance to this season is to ride with Freeman, as awful as he looked Monday night, see if he can play and decide either to move forward with him (to the tune of a long-term contract) or dip back into what's expected to be a talented quarterback draft next spring. It's entirely possible Frazier could lose his job if the experiment leads to an 11-, 12- or 13-loss season, and it's even feasible that Spielman could suffer consequences for missing on the Ponder pick.

But the Vikings have pursued a disjointed strategy at quarterback for too long, and as painful as it might be, they need to spend the rest of this year seeing what Freeman can offer them. Their only way off the island is to set a course for the future, with a plan to solve their quarterback quandary and a commitment from all parties involved to press forward through the squalls that could come.

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