Vikings @ Lions Game Day Discussion Thread -- Week 1

[BGM]

No, he doesn't see the open receivers. I swear on my life, AD was so wide open 2 time, within 10 yards of Ponder and I mean WIDE open, my dog could have thrown him the ball. But BoyBlunder didn't even see him there. AD, the MVP of last year...

I wondered this in another thread... maybe he has been picking up the playbook and executing well in practice, but he just does not see it in real game time. His game is not improving over last season, at least with this small data set. So is he a workout warrior who can't produce? Or is he this bad in practice, too?

[King James]

Im not saying Matt Cassel is the answer and I know he's not that good but I think our chances of winning is better with him than Ponder.

[Demi]

Patrick Reusse ‏@1500ESPN_Reusse
Did you hear the one about Mike Tice? Lions were 0-8 against him.

[PacificNorseWest]

Im not saying Matt Cassel is the answer and I know he's not that good but I think our chances of winning is better with him than Ponder.

Hard to officially say, but I've really seen enough from Cassel. At least Ponder can run and he does make plays with his feet in crucial moments. Cassel is more susceptible to being sacked and throwing up mindless passes that will get picked. If you go to another quarterback then may as well skip over to McLeod, in my opinion. This team has no use for a stopgap QB anymore.

[John_Viveiros]

Remember when everyone and their brother was pooh-poohing Kaepernick as a terrible draft pick, and certainly not an NFL caliber QB prospect? We gotta stop the backward thinking that smaller college programs can't produce great QBs. Obviously the FSU pipeline has done crap for the Vikings.

I have to be honest here. As a contrarian, I have to say that something about Kaepernick's game makes me hold off on annointing him as one of the next great QB's. I love his wins against the Pack, of course, but I still am not convinced he's great at reading defenses. Or that he's consistently accurate. He's a great running QB of course. But I think his game has flaws that may cap his potential.

[PacificNorseWest]

I have to be honest here. As a contrarian, I have to say that something about Kaepernick's game makes me hold off on annointing him as one of the next great QB's. I love his wins against the Pack, of course, but I still am not convinced he's great at reading defenses. Or that he's consistently accurate. He's a great running QB of course. But I think his game has flaws that may cap his potential.

You have no idea the arguments I've been in about this. Specifically geared towards all the young ones (Colin, Russell, RGIII, Luck). He has yet to demonstrate he can read to his 3rd and 4th progressions. Never said he can't, but that so far his ability and that of his teammates and the defense having not yet fully adjusted have allowed him from getting away without it.

With Crabtree going down, his 3rd and 4th receivers are guys that he probably doesn't have a great rapport with, which makes me feel like he'll take small step back this year. And if you watched today..He RARELY had to go to another read outside of his first. And his escapeability mixed with Boldin's experience and beastliness, they were able to dominate the GB secondary.

We can go in as much detail as you want about this, but I may not be into it. It can seriously drain me when I do it and nobody listens. Bottom line is that a lot of corrections to the "power rankings" go on after the first week. It's the biggest faux pas in football to judge a teams performance from the first game in relation to what it means for their future prospects.

[Crax]

I was curious after the game today what the chances were with that many TO's on the road, looks like Kluwe has the numbers:

Chris Kluwe ‏@ChrisWarcraft 1h

If anyone's curious, 3+ giveaways as the visiting team means you have a 2% chance of winning, independent of anything else. #numbers

[King James]

I left my Ponder jersey in the tree out back and its still there, no one took it yet

I'd rather have an Eli Manning Kindergarten jersey before Id even touch a Ponder jersey..lol

[Funkytown]

I was curious after the game today what the chances were with that many TO's on the road, looks like Kluwe has the numbers:

Very interesting.

[Funkytown]

Aside from Peterson's first run for a TD, this is about all I want to remember from this game:



I don't care who you are, that's funny! As mad as I was, this made me laugh.

I saw that some people were hating on this at the time. Are you kidding me? I dance JUST like that in my living room.

[yezzir]

Aside from Peterson's first run for a TD, this is about all I want to remember from this game:



I don't care who you are, that's funny! As mad as I was, this made me laugh.

I saw that some people were hating on this at the time. Are you kidding me? I dance JUST like that in my living room.

Because you're a chick.

[NextQuestion]

I have to be honest here. As a contrarian, I have to say that something about Kaepernick's game makes me hold off on annointing him as one of the next great QB's. I love his wins against the Pack, of course, but I still am not convinced he's great at reading defenses. Or that he's consistently accurate. He's a great running QB of course. But I think his game has flaws that may cap his potential.

LMFAO at the posters saying Kaepernick doesn't go through his reads. OMG...he lit it up yesterday with multiple weapons and passed for over 400 yards, 3TDs, and no INTs. Get real.

[NextQuestion]

John_V might of just had one of the worst takes ever. Kaepernick throws lasers that are pin point accurate and maybe rushed for 25 yards yesterday? This kid can throw.

[HardcoreVikesFan]

Meh. We lost and we did not deserve to win.


This team definitely looks like an 8-8 team. It is going to be a very inconsistent season I am afraid. Unfortunately, 8-8 may or may not get us rid of Christian Ponder.

Why Desmond Bishop didn't play at all yesterday is mind boggling. My trust in the capabilities of this coaching staff is dwindling each and every day.

[yezzir]

I have to be honest here. As a contrarian, I have to say that something about Kaepernick's game makes me hold off on annointing him as one of the next great QB's. I love his wins against the Pack, of course, but I still am not convinced he's great at reading defenses. Or that he's consistently accurate. He's a great running QB of course. But I think his game has flaws that may cap his potential.

Admitting you are a contrarian sounds somewhat anti-contrarienish(?) in itself. Kaepernick is a stud pocket QB. He audibles when necessary, goes through his progressions, and throws darts to the open receivers. As of now, his game has no flaws in my opinion.