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"Hope
Ponder" @ 8.3 Rating
A passer rating of 8.3. Say again ... that's right 8.3 .... 4 completions on 10
passing attempts for 28 yards. Once again ... another pick 6. So
what was it that we saw? We saw Christian Ponder tossed like a rag doll
... injury. Did we just conveniently forget Ponder's injury history or
have our eyes been blinded by hope ... and the company line? We watch the
game while the network commentators rattle off this franchise's company
line. How Ponder is our future! How Ponder is the Vikings #1
quarterback. How smart he is. How he's our #1 pick of 2011. It
was all I could do to keep down the vomit from spewing into my mouth.
After 2 running plays, facing a 3rd & long my son says to me, "Can't we
just punt on 3rd down (because there is no way Ponder's going to pick up this
first down)?" It's hard to hide the obvious. "Hope
Ponder" sitting on top of a well documented 0 wins & 10 losses
(although I'm willing to concede the final loss). This, is our
future? Allow me to contain my erupting vomit.
For Ponder to win he's going to need this ... and this ... and this ... and this
... and this. Then he can win. I certainly hope Ponder finds all
those things ... on another team. Hell ... he has more excuses and alibis
that he's got to be worth at least a first round pick to some teams that thinks
it's already got all those pieces in place. Where's Mike Lynn when you
really need him? This franchise is certainly not anywhere close to
fulfilling those needs ... nor will we ... because trying to achieve this pipe
dream is not necessary.
Now let's keep one thing in absolute focus. We had to lose last Sunday to
secure that #3 overall draft selection. The cost of winning that game was
way too great. By winning, we would drop to as
bad as #7 - a huge difference.
Making the statement that Joe Webb managed only 3 points on eight (8) drives is
a stretch ... don't you think? After Ponder did his rendition of a
smashed string puppet, Joe Webb comes off the bench cold. Once again,
we're behind 14-10. Run two plays & punt. We get the ball
back. Webb leads this team on two (2) consecutive drives. 3rd &
long - no problem. Webb goes 6 for 8 however 2 were balls thrown away
(smart). We lost by 4 points (17-13). Problem is, we had one field
goal blocked and one errant snap/fumble on another. We make both those
kicks and we win that game 19-17, and maybe Jared Allen gets that 23rd sack (on
a team playing with a lead). Yes, boys & girls, even Jared Allen was
made to pay for having to lose that game yesterday.
So what is it that we saw with Joe Webb on the field. This play by play
crew never saw anything like it. Here's one of their comments, "Look
at this kids balance". Said another way it took 2 or more defenders
to bring him down. How many times did he escape with his super human set
of skills. All that could be said was ... absolute awe! In taking notes, how many times did we start to write
the words sack, only to wonder exactly how in the hell did Joe Webb get away
from that onslaught? There was one time that the word sack was even
scratched out, were the ball came out anyway for a completion that was just
short of the line of gain. You got to be kidding me. At this point,
I don't think the commentators even knew what they were saying out loud,
You know they wanted to rave about Joe Webb, but its again the company line, so
instead they switch to Lovie Smith that states, "Webb definitely has a
future in the NFL ... this kid can play". Minnesota's gags them ...
translation, the Vikings organization must be a bunch of complete morons.
Leslie Frazier, "...Ponder is our starting quarterback ..."
Blah! Blah! Blah! Blah! Blah! Response from NFL universe
(collective) .... MORON!
Webb's first interception was a fluke ... a far cry from Ponder's pick 6 on an
errant throw gone wrong ... again! Webb's pass was low however for the pick to occur a whole
lot of things had to happen. The most important of all was in having
Harvin's incredible set of skills to keep his hands under that ball, falling off
balance, to keep the ball from hitting the ground. Bounce! Big
Bounce! As for his final pick,
to end another extremely well executed 2 minute drive, something that hasn't
been in Minnesota for many years, I might remind you of a fact. Tim
Tebow's last pass on Sunday was a pick. Carson Palmer's last pass on
Sunday was a pick. Before you throw stones ... you better know why Webb threw that pass!
Here's something that you might have missed yesterday. The Viking offense
after a few drives began sputtering under Webb. Not realizing what they
were saying, the commentators stated out loud, "They (Vikings Offensive
Coordinator) were recycling the same plays over and over again ... an indication
of Webb's limited repertoire", playing into Chicago's hands. The
booth caught it and the book on Webb opened back to execution ... indicating
that there is a great deal more there. What we all tend to forget is that
Webb was slated as our #3 QB through the pre-season up to and including our 6th
game, which means virtually no #1 team reps. In our
16 game schedule, Webb was allotted 1st team reps for a grand total of 1 week
only. Said another way, all of this teams resources were invested and then
summarily wasted in
McNabb and then into "Hope-Ponder". What Joe did this year was
nothing less than astounding. Imagine what might occur when this Viking
organization finally sets aside its racist set of standards that has prevented
Joe Webb from achieving within this league. It is absolutely what it
is! He didn't waste his time ... you wasted his time.
So again, what was it that we saw yesterday? Now comparing Joe Web to Ben
Roethlisberger is an insult to Joe however there is one important point.
There are very few quarterbacks within the history of the game that ever
exhibited this "Wicked-Heavy-Duty-Stature". This kind of stuff
just doesn't show up on film. Ben (and to a lesser extend Dan Marino & Brett
Favre) exhibited incredible body strength to extend the play. Most of Joe
Webb "Wicked-Good-Stuff" occurred without his final two pieces ... Gerhart & Harvin
... on the field. Shades of both Peterson & Harvin ... tough! With actual receiver threats, Joe
Webb's ability to extend plays has got to be absolutely lethal to every defense that he
opposes. Choosing between "Wicked-Good" & "Wicked
Smart", I'll take Harvin-Peterson-Webb "Wicked-Good" every day of
the week.
Now lets take a look at those stats: 17 of 32 (53% completion percentage) for
200 yards. What is the most telling of all of Joe Webb's stats is 2 yards
on 4 carries? We were all awaiting Joe Webb taking off to shred that
Chicago defense. It didn't happen ... did it? Why? We had to
lose the game! He had to do it with his arm and with the final threats
(Gerhart & Harvin) on the bench.
Before you waste another draft pick upon another quarterback, you better first
put the clip board in Ponder's hands giving Webb his due. His performance
has deserved that opportunity. We have numerous draft needs to fill before
we select another 1st round quarterback or running back. It's time to get
back into a defensive attack mode. Before you select the next Prima Donna
... understand what we really want. We want a man ... not another cup-cake
that everyone is telling us that we need to take with that #3 overall pick.
The Viking Ghost Writer
http://MyVikingBlood.org
Date: January
3, 2011
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