Nov 11, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder (7) looks on during the second quarter against the Detroit Lions at the Metrodome. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE
Last week I took out a little frustration on Ponder and for the most part it was deserved. However, Ponder has shown that he can overcome adversity and put in the work needed to get the offense going. Although Percy was not available for Ponder this past week, Jarius Wright made a huge impact to jump start the Vikings early. Not having Percy last week forced Ponder to look elsewhere to make plays and this could actually work out in the teams favor. Now that Ponder knows he can trust other players to make plays he should be able to find guys downfield and every now and then give those guys a shot to make plays too, not just Percy. Ponder went 24-32 for 221 and 2 TDS. Not bad at all. the key here is 0 interceptions. The lions have a top ten secondary so he definitely went to work in the film room and found the holes in the defense. Another good thing to point out is Ponder’s rushing performance. I’m not looking at numbers, but just pure game action. As I watched the game I noticed that he only ran when absolutely needed. Last couple weeks he looked uneasy as soon as the ball was snapped and just dropped back and took off. This past week against Detroit he seem to calculate his runs a lot better. He took his time in the pocket to find an open an man and when he couldn’t find one he would extend the play a bit and then see what he could do with his feet. Probably the best stat of the game though is the one sack against Ponder. The Lions D-line is relentless and unforgiving when it comes to quarterbacks and luckily, the O-line was able to protect their QB. The Vikings will need Ponder to generate some momentum after last weeks huge win. Essentially, the season will be decided in the next 3 weeks with two games against division leader, Chicago and one game in Green Bay. Ponder is a very intelligent man and I imagine that Ponder will use the time during his bye week wisely…After he spends some time with Ms. Steele of course.