Rick Spielman Endorses Christian Ponder For 2012

It’s a big political year so I thought I’d go with the political-sounding headline. Yes, Rick Spielman has officially named Christian Ponder the starting QB for 2012 (pending off-season activities, training camp, the preseason and anything else that might derail the plan). Spielman told PFT, “He’s going to be our starting QB when everyone is back for OTAs.” Yesterday Spielman said Leslie Frazier will have final say on who starts at QB, so I assume Leslie has already signed off on this. Otherwise Spielman just set a record for fastest GM flip-flop ever.

What do I think of the move? I think it’s the only move to make. You’re not going to give up on a #12 overall pick after half a season with a bad offensive line and no legit #1 receiver. This doesn’t slam the door on the Vikings drafting Robert Griffin III because that door was never open to begin with. And it doesn’t mean Joe Webb is getting stiffed because Webb was never genuinely going to be considered for the starting job. You can say Webb SHOULD be considered, but the fact remains, Ponder is a first round pick and Webb is a sixth. So which guy is going to get the shot? Which guy’s confidence is the coaching staff and front office going to build up as best they can? Exactly.

Spielman isn’t saying anything here we didn’t already know. What he’s doing is shutting down any talk of a QB controversy. There never was a legit QB controversy, but some might’ve still tried whipping one up (media guys can be nasty that way). Now the trouble makers can put that notion away. Like Leslie Frazier himself, Christian Ponder will get a chance to prove himself after a full, normal, non-lock-out-screwed off-season. This is only fair.

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