I know I sound like a broken record but I think it needs to be mentioned. In the 4 games for Cassel listed above, Peterson averaged 5 carries per game (11, 10, 0, 0). In the 5 games for Ponder, Peterson averaged 24 carries per game (32, 25, 26, 25, 13). In fact, when you look at last year, there were only a couple of games that Cassel had the luxury of a healthy Peterson in the backfield.Mothman wrote:
It was so simplistic that I think you're being kind to refer to it as analysis.
Thanks for putting all of that together but you needn't have gone to so much trouble.I'm aware of the quality of the defenses Cassel faced in those 4 games but that doesn't make the low scoring totals much more palatable (to me anyway). I'm not putting them all on Cassel alone either, which is why my comment really was simplistic. I don't care at this point if Cassel and Ponder are equally good, equally bad, if Cassel is marginally better than Ponder, etc. I think we agree that being a little better than Ponder is hardly the standard we want set for the Vikings starter. My point was just that even with Ponder, who everyone agrees was not good enough to keep the starting job, the Vikings ended up with 14 or fewer points on the board at the end of a game less frequently than it's happening with Cassel. I want to see a QB and an offense that can actually put up 21+ points against those good defenses. That's why I said I'd love to see Bridgewater start the Falcons game. I'm ready to move on to a QB with a better chance to do that. Ponder belongs on the bench and I think Cassel belongs there too.
That being said, I'd also like to see what Bridgewater can do. When Zimmer was choosing the starter in preseason, he said his choice also depended on how the team was playing. My guess in what he meant is if the protection wasn't up to par, he might opt to go with the more mobile QB. Not sure I agree with putting him in as early as the Falcons game, but it sure would be nice to see a QB extend and make some plays.