Vikings Message Board.Com

S197 wrote: It would be a rather large calculated gamble but it's pretty rare to have to go to your #3 guy for any significant amount of time, I can't recall the last time (excluding the whole Freeman fiasco).

Wasn't the last third stringer (before the Freeman mess) to see playing time Spergon Wynn? (I could be mistaken).

Just Me wrote: Wasn't the last third stringer (before the Freeman mess) to see playing time Spergon Wynn? (I could be mistaken).

It was actually Joe Webb in 2010 after both Favre and Tarvaris Jackson went down.

There's a new article about Ponder on the Strib site today:

Christian Ponder trying to make the most of his situation

“For me, it’s exciting to head into Friday’s preseason game to try and get some good film out there,” said Ponder, who is expected to play at least the fourth quarter against the Raiders at TCF Bank Stadium. “That will help when I am looking for a team come, hopefully, after February. It’s a crazy game. Anything can happen. But I assume once the season is over, I’ll be looking for a job somewhere else.”

Ponder said he hasn’t asked to be released or traded. He says it’s possible that his guaranteed contract could be the reason he’s still a Viking, but also points to the fact the Vikings traditionally keep three quarterbacks.

“I honestly don’t know what the future holds for me,” he said. “That’s a strange feeling considering how different things were my first three training camps.”

Defensive end Brian Robison gives Ponder a verbal pat on the back for keeping his mouth shut.

“Everybody at some point thinks they’ve been given the short end of the stick in the NFL,” Robison said. “You don’t want a guy in the locker room that’s crying and whining about it. Christian hasn’t been that guy.”

To be fair, Ponder’s situation is the result of his own cumulative performance. Veteran Matt Cassel and rookie Teddy Bridgewater deserved to move forward based on better consistency and potential, respectively. What is unfair, however, is spewing venom based on Ponder not yet living up to a lofty draft pick he had nothing to do with.

HardcoreVikesFan wrote: It was actually Joe Webb in 2010 after both Favre and Tarvaris Jackson went down.

I've never liked the idea of only going two deep on the depth chart at QB. I've seen a team's top 2 QBs go down with injuries in the same game or in back-to-back weeks. It's such an important position that I'd much rather the Vikings have a #3 QB who knows the system and has been practicing in it all season than to see them have to go to an emergency QB who plays another position and then sign someone off the street to play the following week.

Mothman wrote:I've never liked the idea of only going two deep on the depth chart at QB. I've seen a team's top 2 QBs go down with injuries in the same game or in back-to-back weeks. It's such an important position that I'd much rather the Vikings have a #3 QB who knows the system and has been practicing in it all season than to see them have to go to an emergency QB who plays another position and then sign someone off the street to play the following week.

I agree. It would be a poor decision to NOT keep him at this point. Ponder is probably the best QB in the NFL....(wait for heads to explode...wait for it!!! )...at the #3 position..
There is no good reason to "downgrade" our #3 spot.

Just Me wrote: I agree. It would be a poor decision to NOT keep him at this point. Ponder is probably the best QB in the NFL....(wait for heads to explode...wait for it!!! )...at the #3 position..
There is no good reason to "downgrade" our #3 spot.

And I agree as well. Even if the Vikings had traded Ponder, they would still need a #3 QB.

QBs get hurt in the NFL, so I think Ponder is a good #3 QB to have around.

I have to agree with the common consensus...Ponder is a better number three option than you're going to find anywhere else. Even though at this point nobody has confidence in him, he knows most of the players and they would have more confidence in him than somebody off the street with an equally abysmal resume. He's never going to be what we all hoped he would be, but don't let the fact that we overdrafted him cloud what he really is.

Todd R wrote: I agree that ponder is probably the best #3 but personally I would have rather kept Webb for that position, but only because of his versatility and he was far more fun to watch.

If Webb was the one under contract and guaranteed more than a million dollars on his contract he would be the one staying.

Joe Webb. Never again after the playoff game in Green Bay. I was actually IN Wisconsin and I had to watch that game with a bunch of Packer fans. It was terrible.

Mothman wrote:I've never liked the idea of only going two deep on the depth chart at QB. I've seen a team's top 2 QBs go down with injuries in the same game or in back-to-back weeks. It's such an important position that I'd much rather the Vikings have a #3 QB who knows the system and has been practicing in it all season than to see them have to go to an emergency QB who plays another position and then sign someone off the street to play the following week.

I think moreso because it's Ponder. Love him or hate him, he's probably the best #3 QB in the league. It was more or less just me thinking out loud/outside the box but the one downside is that there really isn't any development potential. What I mean by that is we all know there's a very slim chance he's with the Vikings next year so essentially he's just an insurance policy (albeit a prepaid one which is why he's on the team). But it is what it is, and I do understand why the decision was made to go the route they're going, it's just a little bittersweet knowing a guy is eating up a roster spot who really won't in all likelihood contribute this year or in the future.

I really don't understand all the talk of having a "developing QB" in the #3 spot. Really, who was the last #3 QB to develop into being a quality NFL starter? Tony Romo as a rookie in Dallas?
Think of all the guys who have been through here in the last two decades or so, the guy drafted in the 5th round or later to develop, the guy picked up off the waiver wire, the undrafted FAs who stick on the roster. Chad May, Gino Torretta, Spergon Wynn, John David Booty, Tyler Thigpen, Joe Webb, and MBT amongst others. So many fans thought that this guy was going to be the next...what exactly? In all those years Brad Johnson became a good starter and Shaun Hill became a solid backup, and you could make an argument that you could do worse than Joe Webb in a pinch. In 20+ years, the Vikings have "developed" two QBs from the #3 position.
I don't think the Vikings are an anomaly either. If a guy is seen as a developmental prospect, he's usually brought in as the #2 guy. I think at best, if you bring in a "developing" guy, it's because you think he can be your #2 in two or three years. But really, how many number threes stick on any one roster for more than a year or two? They show promise in the preseason and someone brings them on, they don't pan out and are released, the next team remembers what they did in the preseason and brings them on...it's the vicious cycle of the third QB in the NFL. The rarity is a guy like Jimmy Garropalo (I know that isn't spelled correctly) who is drafted early, and expected to learn behind Brady and Mallett before taking the #2 next year, and 3 or so years from now taking over for Brady.
If you have to pay Christian Ponder this year, it's better to keep him as the best (probably) #3 QB in the league, in case both Cassel and Bridgewater were to be hurt, you'd have a QB who can at least prevent your season from becoming a 1 or 2 win fiasco. That's opposed to a guy who maybe in five years, if you can sneak him through waivers once or twice, may be capable of completing 55% of his passes for as many interceptions as touchdowns...we have that guy already. Why dump the first Christian Ponder in the hopes of finding the next?

Here's a link to a new AP article on Ponder:

Rapid Descent: Ponder's slip from would-be franchise QB to 3rd string

Most of the time after the Minnesota Vikings practice these days, Christian Ponder walks off the field largely unnoticed, not unlike the rest of the third-stringers on the roster in training camp.

Matt Cassel and Teddy Bridgewater are often swarmed by reporters eager for nuggets from the two competitors for the starting quarterback spot. Bridgewater, in particular, gets the star treatment from screaming fans clamoring for his autograph or at least a smile as he crosses the street toward the locker room.

Status and outlook can shift quickly in the NFL, and Ponder's situation is just one example from around the league. The contrast from then to now is nonetheless stark for the 26-year-old Ponder. When the Vikings released their first depth chart of the season this week, the descent from first-round draft pick and most important member of the organization to third-stringer with an unclear future became official.

"I'm a competitive guy. I want to be the guy taking the first-team reps and getting more plays than I am, but I understand that's the direction they're headed," Ponder said recently. "As bothersome as it is to not take as many reps, I'm trying to be a professional about it and just learn."

Ponder is a cancer to the team, and has never proven anything to the fan base, other than he isn't a good QB. The Vikings never seemed concerned with money before, let the bum go, and pick up some qb another team drops. Its a new system, Ponder offers NOTHING even as a 3rd string. Except a lot of fans like me just want him off the roster.

PurpleKoolaid wrote:Ponder is a cancer to the team, and has never proven anything to the fan base, other than he isn't a good QB. The Vikings never seemed concerned with money before, let the bum go, and pick up some qb another team drops. Its a new system, Ponder offers NOTHING even as a 3rd string. Except a lot of fans like me just want him off the roster.

That's a little strong...I wouldn't call him a cancer. He worked hard and gave solid effort, he just wasn't talented enough. There is a strong distinction.

DKSweets wrote:That's a little strong...I wouldn't call him a cancer. He worked hard and gave solid effort, he just wasn't talented enough. There is a strong distinction.

Sadly, not to everyone.